After Christmas

When I was younger I loved Christmas, I would get so excited I would make myself sick. I have grown out of that and still look forward to the season but I don't know if I would say I love it anymore maybe enjoy is a better verb. I think as I have gotten older Christmas has definetly become more about being with family. And I decided that I love my family and my soon-to-be family they are all great. Andrew officially saved Christmas this year bringing over the ham and helping to get me involved cooking. He also danced with me and my Mom, I mean it was great we were dancing around like ballroom dancers in the kitchen.

Half an Hour Left

Down to the last half hour of work then to the rec to work out then home to clean up my room/organize and read..no one is in town to hang out so its a night of chillin by myself.
This last weekend was great on Saturday Simon graduated and it was a great day of celebrating and honoring him. It was so much fun to be around people who love both of us, it makes me that much more excited for the wedding.
Sunday we went to church at the Salvation Army to watch Michelle( my lil sis) sing. It was great to be in a small church where it felt like a family. We went to see Chronicles of Narnia which is a must-see for all. Don't be worried if you have read the books this movie captures it all. I loved Lucy! My roommates had a gift exchange, that I forgot about, but I got to open my gifts when I got home anyways. A pair of earrings from Leslie and Laura and a Blockbuster gift card from Haave. Then Jason made an amazing meal where I ate way too much and probably drank too much too. There was ham, twice-baked potatoes, a wild rice concotion, salad, rolls, wine and of course really good friends. It was a great way to finish off the weekend.

Fast Post

Meg, I will call you tonight! I promise:) I have been working on filing articles all morning and soon will have lunch with Missy and Emily...I am excited:) Although part of my morning has been spent putting all the weddings I have coming up and my friends birthdays in my nifty calender/planner thingy I got this morning. I get stuff all the time here, its like Christmas every day...although I am unsure if normal people would be excited about a calender...so if you are having a wedding this summer let me know...I will put it in my new planner:) ok thats it for now..I will probably post more this afternoon.

Christmas Shopping and Simon's Graduation

Hello all
I know I am horrible at posting...decided I would go with a few of my thoughts for the day, sice I am bored out of my mind at work. I have decided to leave work early and hopefully beat the Christmas Rush this afternoon to go shopping. Another semester is done...which means I only have two more left, which for me is scary and exciting. I am excited about a lot of my classes next semester so that will also be very good.
Lately I have been thinking about how God provides...two times this month I have been really low on cash, and both times God has pulled through. First with a Christmas bonus I didn't know about and then with $120 from selling back my books, I never would have made it to my Teach For America check tomorrow if it hadn't been for those two other things. I guess that makes me think about trust, I am pretty sure I have no idea how to trust in God because whenever Simon tells me he doesn't know when he is going to get paid it scares the hell out of me. I don't really know how you develop a stronger sense of trust for things like money...especially for someone like me who either thinks it is either there or not.

Meg, you make me smile!

Sitting, bored at work and so I decide to post on my blog. I have stuff I need to get done but I can't do it because I can't get a hold of any of the people I need to talk to, but then I read a blog comment from my dear friend megan hamilton and it totally makes me smile. I hope you are still not wearing black Meg and I miss you too! I don't really have much new news...I got a job as the communication intern at the Nebraska Foundation, so I talk to people on the phone, Read a lot about nothingness and stare at my computer screen. We (meaning Simon and I) that we are getting married june 23rd at UNO alumni center. I also picked out a cake which was fun and next week I am going wedding dress shopping with my Mom and hopefully Amelia and anyone else who wants to come! ok I better do something productive for the last half of an hour I am here. Back to work.

The engagement story

so I know I haven't written in forever...but for everyone who hasn't already heard it here it is:)

SO, it all happened on Friday night Sept. 2, Simon said we were going to go on a date and everything was going to be a surprise...so he was tricking me the whole way to Omaha, telling me we were going to go places and then he kept driving by. We ended up going to Charleston's in Omaha and we were telling stories about our relationship and how we met stuff like that. After dinner he took me to Old Navy at the mall(now any other time I would have thought this was weird but I had a drink in me) At Old Navy he was like this was the first place after we talked and I couldn't stop thinking about you and then I saw you here at Old Navy and you said hello to me...it was really cool. The whole time I was like "oh this is nice.." Then we went to Conagra downtown by the water and walked around. We sat down by where you can see the big colorful fountain and also this smaller fountain that has water coming out of masks. And he asked me "I really want to know your birthday wish," I said "No I don't want to tell you" he asked why and I said because if you tell someone a wish it won't come true. He kept pestering, and finally I was like "fine, I really want to get engaged." He said "Oh thats heavy" I said "yeah it's never going to happen because you have no money and we are just going to date forever" He was like "Oh" then he said, "You know how in the movies the beginning and the end aren't all that great but in the middle is the best part where something changes?" I said "yeah" (I still had no clue) Then he asked" Are you ready for your best part?" I said "I guess so" (Still no clue) Then Simon sat there for five minutes and said nothing, I was like" Simon, are you ok, what's wrong?" He looked down at his feet and said "well, it's just a lot harder than it looks in the movies." Then it cliked in my head. and I whispered "Oh my gosh" Then he took both my hands in his and said "Elissa, I really want to marry you." I said, "I want to marry you too!" an dthen he said, "Will you marry me?" then he pulled out the ring. I started crying, and I said yes, and then its so beautiful (about the ring)

Beuatiful huh? I think so...k well I guess I have chapter soon and then ballet class...

Babies and Weddings

Two days ago Anna had her baby, a boy, Ethan Morgan(no middle name, Morgan is their last name). Tomorrow my friend's Erica and Justin are getting married. And no meg, there is still no ring...I promise I will tell you when it happens! In the midst of all this I am trying to get ready for Okoboji, Teach for America and help out my parents. Its this time of year that my life gets crazy and I wonder why it happens...this year however I am trying to counteract that. I have developed an excellent pattern of taking time to myself to read and write and have become skilled at doing nothing at work...:) thats for you again meg! So the question becomes how do I keep this up once school starts? I am not exactly sure, but here are two of my game plans...so far the class schedule looks good MWF done by 12:20...which will be AMAZING, 2nd no SMART...I am really hoping Shelley is not assuming I will do it, 3rd no choir, this is going to free up a ton of time(excited) anyways woohoo its looking better already!

Running

I decided I am going to do a triathelon this fall with either Amelia or Simon, well kind of...its running canoeing and biking. Either way I would have to do the running part which is 12 miles. I like to run though, it is relaxing for me and clears my mind. I don't know ho wI am going to run 12 miles but I have 3 months to get ready for it.
In other news, Simon's second show opens tomorrow night Bustop, if you didn't go see the first, Resident Alien then I would highly reccomend it we saw it last week when it opened last week and the sound design was just amazing, breathtaking in fact....ok seriously its good, mainly because the boy I'm in love with did it and if you haven't seen a show that Simon has designed you are missing out..here is your opportunity.
Well I tthink I am going to go to sleep soon so I can run more tomorrow, need to get some miles on these legs:)
-Lissa

Lonely

so tonight, I'm feeling a little out of touch and in despair, I miss Theresa, and I feel like I have no friends and my boyfriend has ditched me. ok so maybe I am overexagerrating a little, I sound a little too pathetic...but that is how I feel. I have called every single one of my friends in my phone book in the lincoln area, all I assume are working or now suddenly hate me. Except for theresa she called me five times tonight just to cheer me up...but I wish she was here with me.
I have also decided that maybe I have become too open with this whole blog thing, it sounds like my journal today, but I figure I think I know all five of you who regularly read it and hopefully you all know I am not a self-pitying mess...or at least I hope I am not.
-lissa

Fourth of July, Amee, and a little faith

Between convincing my Mom that she and my Dad were not going to live in a cardboard box and meeting Amee, the girl Micah is going to be married to next summer, I had a pretty interesting fourth of July. Let me explain..
All the job leads my Dad had basically fell through and their house isn't selling. My Mom is really depressed and is crying all the time and saying that she won't have a house for her grandkids to come visit and I am trying to convince her that grandkids don't remember houses they remember spending time with their grandparents. It was all depressing and I felt like I couldn't do anything.
I'm also having a hard time with this whole Micah being engaged thing. Maybe its because he is like my brother and I feel like I am losing him, or maybe its because she is 18 and does not talk, or maybe I am just a little jealous. But still I know I need to be supportive and give Amee all the pointers of dealing with the Yost boys I can...its just so hard.
I think God puts little things in our lives that mean a ton so amidst the crap we can see them more. While watching the fireworks on Sunday night a little girl named faith was sitting in front of me. Her parents kept telling her to sit down and watch the fireworks, she kept saying "They're not over here, Whats the big deal?" Then after a little bit she said tapped me on the shoulder and said "Hi, my name is faith, look the water is turning blue." The was a huge fountain that was changing colors but no one was watching cause of the fireworks, but she was superglued to it...it was beautiful. I think maybe all we need is a little faith to help us get through..or at least some glimpses of it. And more than ever now I am needing faith in my life, faith my parents will make it, faith that Micah and Amee being engaged will bring us closer to them. just faith..somehow.

SICK

yuck...I hate being sick, so much that I actually went to work today and missy (my boss) told me to go home because I look like crap. yes that is a direct quote, she gets right to the point. Anywho I feel much better now and I am thinking of all I accomplished on my sick day....1. got up to date on the new real world, I really don't like the girl who says she is a nymph or the one who tries to do the gwen stefani hairstyle 2. almost perfect show on price is right...the double sweepstakes taker at the end made up for the one lost game. 3. was on hold for 45 minutes so I could get my loans consolidated 4. watched baby story, makeover story and wedding story and noted that they have redone the format on them all 4. received about four phonecalls from various employees at work ( still not sure if they can live without me) 5. had a movie night with Amy and Sheri ( my crazy roommates...or not so crazy) basically a pretty unproductive day.
going home this weekend to see my fam and my cousins and Simon's family and hopefully meet Micah's Amy (the fiancee) should be very fun!

Quick update

Hey this has to be quick cause I need to get to bed...don't know why I get sudden bursts of energy to stay up late. I had a great weekend(even though its almost the next weekend:) Went to a CWS game Texas vs. Baylor and then on Sunday, Simon and I went to KC to see Theresa and go to his meeting...lots of stories to tell, but need to get to bed right now. Big YWCA staff retreat tomorrow...last year's turned into a girl fight....we will see what happens this year...:) -Lissa

Cheyenne

I love teaching swimming again...or maybe I have a renewed love for it today. It only takes me feeling like I made a difference in one person life to make my job not seem pointless. Cheyenne did that for me today. A little native american girl in a tie-dyed swimsuit with her hair in pigtails, she is completely perfect in every way that a seven-year-old girl would be except that she has autism. I'll be frank, teaching disabled children wears me out, many times I feel like they are going to learn nothing, I can't think of anything to do with them...it's frusterating. But Cheyenne is different, she made me smile today, she tried everything I asked her to do and had a huge smile on her face and kept telling me how fun it was. I never realized how much fun kicking on your stomach is until today. The best part was when she was leaving and I could hear her prancing down the hall saying "I did good, I did good," in a singsong voice. She was my little miracle for today.

Pilates and the College World Series

Simon told me he reads this tonight...so that makes me wonder how many other mysterious people are reading what I write?? Well if anything its relaxing. I love pilates, I know love is an overused word in the english language and I wish I had some other word to describe how I feel about it, but "like" doesn't do it justice. I love the way I feel after I get done doing it...like I can take over the word one roll-up at a time..it's fabulous.
Going to the College World Series this weekend..Tulane vs. Oregan State here we come. It will be me, Simon, Drew and his buddies, Liz(aka Selma Hayek look-alike), and my parent...this is definetly the formula for a good time. That same morning I will be golfing in the Estrogen Open...Yes I know I don't golf, but neither do Missy or Emily who are on my time. We are screwed or just counting on Lisa to have an incredible day of golfing. But hey, its to raise money for the YWCA, which is an excellent cause that I stand firmly by:)...so if anyone has a couple bucks, I can get the KFRX guys to do something crazy and give the YW some extra cash. Anyways need to go to bed, going to try and get up and run early then I have swimming lessons to teach, then more pilates with Em!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming

So I am officially sick of teaching swim lessons and its the first week in June...man this is going to be a long summer! At least I don't have any classes to worry about:) I think I just get burnt out and being in the water from 10 am till 5 pm everyday can do that to you...I think.
On a happy note, I ordered a new swimsuit from Vicki's (Victoria's Secret...for those who are confused) its a string bikini and has turquise and lime flowers on it! AND, it was only $19...woohoo! yes I am excited! not much else to write about..my life has been pretty boring lately. I am teaching a little boy named Drake, and I am positive he is going to be a hottie when he grows up! Blond hair, blue eyes, cute little smile:) Well thats about it kids, I am going to go to sleep so I can get up and work out in the mornin'- oh and I am going to go to Jazz in June tomrrow night so if anyone wants to go, give me a call! I am going to leave you with my strengths from the strengthsfinder quiz I took, everyone so far has said they are pretty true so let me know what you think!

Input

You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information-words, facts, books, and quotations-or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity. If you read a great deal, it is not necessarily to refine your theories but, rather, to add more information to your archives. If you like to travel, it is because each new location offers novel artifacts and facts. These can be acquired and then stored away. Why are they worth storing? At the time of storing it is often hard to say exactly when or why you might need them, but who knows when they might become useful? With all those possible uses in mind, you really don't feel comfortable throwing anything away. So you keep acquiring and compiling and filing stuff away. It's interesting. It keeps your mind fresh. And perhaps one day some of it will prove valuable.

Empathy

You can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person's perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person's predicament-this would be sympathy, not Empathy. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings-to themselves as well as to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons other people are drawn to you.

Woo

Woo stands for winning others over. You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you. On the contrary, strangers can be energizing. You are drawn to them. You want to learn their names, ask them questions, and find some area of common interest so that you can strike up a conversation and build rapport. Some people shy away from starting up conversations because they worry about running out of things to say. You don't. Not only are you rarely at a loss for words; you actually enjoy initiating with strangers because you derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection. Once that connection is made, you are quite happy to wrap it up and move on. There are new people to meet, new rooms to work, new crowds to mingle in. In your world there are no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet-lots of them.

Developer

You see the potential in others. Very often, in fact, potential is all you see. In your view no individual is fully formed. On the contrary, each individual is a work in progress, alive with possibilities. And you are drawn toward people for this very reason. When you interact with others, your goal is to help them experience success. You look for ways to challenge them. You devise interesting experiences that can stretch them and help them grow. And all the while you are on the lookout for the signs of growth-a new behavior learned or modified, a slight improvement in a skill, a glimpse of excellence or of "flow" where previously there were only halting steps. For you these small increments-invisible to some-are clear signs of potential being realized. These signs of growth in others are your fuel. They bring you strength and satisfaction. Over time many will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.

Belief

If you possess a strong Belief theme, you have certain core values that are enduring. These values vary from one person to another, but ordinarily your Belief theme causes you to be family-oriented, altruistic, even spiritual, and to value responsibility and high ethics-both in yourself and others. These core values affect your behavior in many ways. They give your life meaning and satisfaction; in your view, success is more than money and prestige. They provide you with direction, guiding you through the temptations and distractions of life toward a consistent set of priorities. This consistency is the foundation for all your relationships. Your friends call you dependable. "I know where you stand," they say. Your Belief makes you easy to trust. It also demands that you find work that meshes with your values. Your work must be meaningful; it must matter to you. And guided by your Belief theme it will matter only if it gives you a chance to live out your values.

Sparkly shoes and rain

So I guess it has been awhile since I wrote something, although I am not sure anyone reads this...maybe it is more of just a stress reliever for myself. So over the weekend I bought some new shoes, and I wanted to wear them to work today to show them to Emily. Well, over lunch it monsooned...just about the same time I needed to plug my meter, not good...I need to pick better days to wear sparkly shoes. We had a successful weekend with events for the YWCA. We handed out probably at least 200 coloring books to kids wearing life jackets at various lakes for the Safe Kids Coalition, now I want to know how many of those were in the lake by the end of the day. On Sunday, Uncle Ron, who owns Coyote Willy's held a huge pool party/ fundraiser for the YWCA. He collected so many pool toys, swimsuits, lifejackets, and towels...its incredible:) Ron, you rock!
I found out this weekend my parents might possibly be moving to Arizona...I'm feeling older and more on my own by the day. It will be weird not to have them close by....well I need to finish moving files around on my computer, Simon says it needs to be reformated.

Trying something out

So I am trying this whole blog thing out...I am not sure if I will write in it very much but I figured I will still try it out.
Swimming lessons were a blast tonight, I love being able to work with friends. Amelia made my day today by turning in her application to work at the YW. So now Megan and Amelia will work with me, I am excited!
Maddie, one of the little girls I teach was just adorable tonight. The lesson started by her telling me that she was five-years-old and a perfect swimmer. However when it came time to do front floats she screaming,"I CAN'T, I CAN'T!" at the top of her lungs. I told her it was ok and nothing bad was going to happen to her. She looked at me and whimpered, "You are not going to let go of me? " I said, "Of course not." After this she would periodically give her Mom the thumbs up sign and proclaim to her that she was doing good.
I became to think about this later and how this is a lot like my life, I really want people to hold on to me and not let go. I want to be able to have people that I can give the thumbs up sign and tell them that I know I am doing good. I wonder if I can get to that place when life isn't quite so scary, when I don't have an arranged schedule to get up to, when I know what I can offer to others.