And so, it continues.

I've started and restarted this post so many times I was pretty sure I would never get my feelings down. The holiday season is over and it was such an amazing and challenging time that I am somewhat at a loss for words. God is good...this I know. You may find it annoying that I constantly post this, but through EVERYTHING that I have experienced in my life, this has been one constant.
As a brief (yeah right) update on the happenings of December 09 through today I will post a few bullets of some of the most important things.

-Birthdays- Elise turned 5 and my dad and sister turned __ and __ in December. December is always a month FILLED with family time. I truly enjoyed it this year. Watching everyone (adults too) grow older brings a lot of joy into my life.
-Holidays- Christmas was with family and a great time. New Years was with some of my dearest friends and also..a great time. I love this time of year and was SO thankful for the large amount of snow that was provided right on Christmas. I am a true Minnesotan.
-Visits- Conni was in town and it was strangely odd for me to see one of my close friends...pregnant. I have adjusted pretty well to the changes that have taken place in all of our lives but I do believe this was one of the weirdest for me. I enjoyed SO much celebrating with her at her shower and also spending time watching her and Bryce as they prepare for this next change in their relationship. I am so excited to see what is in store. I got to have coffee with Steph and enjoyed catching up on her life. Seems like UMASS is treating her well and I can't wait to see what is in store. I may need to borrow some of her assertiveness soon as I plan on continuing my education. I am looking forward to a few dates I have set up in the next few weeks to catch up with old friends. I am SO a relationship person and LOVE catching up with people.
-Hardships- Christmas day was definitely a challenging one for me. This year was strange, with my nieces being with their other family, me deciding to work this year (in order to prevent getting drafted for next year), my brother having an incident with the snowblower, and a few other challenges that are a part of life as we know it. I am really striving for Joy in life right now. I know I wrote a bit about this on Thanksgiving but I just want to reiterate. There will always be challenges but through them, I do believe...there is a plan. My best friend lost her grandfather somewhat unexpectedly this year and although my heart breaks for her...I am SO thankful that she was able to spend time with him, somewhat near to his passing. I know in comparison to others, my life may seem like a piece of cake...and to be completely honest..I am SO thankful for what it has been. I do believe it is ok to tell God things are hard...but then it is important to move on to what is next in store while remembering what that trial has taught you. I also believe that in the midst of trials...He is still near and willing to hold you through the pain.
Blessings-My accountability partner got married on Janurary 2nd. It was one of the most amazing days of my life. To see Greta come from the past that she has, to see where God has brought her and to see the way He answered her prayers in a way that was above and beyond her dreams was SO amazing. I am so thankful for these moments. What a blessing to be a part of their story and to know that my own...whatever it may be, is in the works. God is working in me as well. I love the start of something new. Some people mock New Year's resolutions because they see them as rules that no one sticks too...SO WHAT! I find it important to set goals in life, and although I may fail...I will falter and I may not accomplish them, I see it as a source of hope. So, for me, this time of year is SO full of possibilities and hope. I may need to remind myself of that in May or September but I still think that is ok. The process is sometimes the most exciting part. So here's to a new year, here's to renewed hope, and here's most definitely to the increasing of my faith and desire to fulfill the most important purpose for my life...to go where HE wants me to go, love as He wants me to love and trust as He asks me to trust.

An e-mail to my co-workers...

Dear Friends-
I wanted to give everyone a special gift for Christmas. So, if you have hung your coat, used your locker, if you read the posted items on the bulletin board, if your name is Ally, if you take the cart anywhere, if you use your mailbox or any item in the break room in OP you may notice a new fragrance surrounding the area. This is my gift to you. Please enjoy!
This all came about unexpectedly. I was graciously trying to get one of my diet Dr Peppers off of the top of the lockers. The problem was (and I saw it coming), the one that remained in the box decided it wanted to be free and went flying down two stories of lockers and bounced across the floor. It was a Christmas miracle. So please, appreciate the 23 flavors of goodness that now surround the entire OP pharmacy and maybe the Twin Cities area for that matter. It is my gift to you!



My day started off by using an industrial sized broom to sweep about a foot of snow off my car. I then drove an obstacle course to work. Once I got there I was so tired that I knew I needed a soda...stat. The rest, is history! Merry Merry Christmas!

Merry Memories!!

As promised, the walk down a lane filled with candy coated memories will continue. For those that have asked:

A.) I am not trying to get a book published. My grammar is poor and my life is not THAT interesting.

B.) No, I did not eat paint chips as a kid

c.)Yes, I do find humor in the simple things...and the immature things, and the boring things, and the non-humorous things. Again, refer to point B!

Now, here we go:

14.) Going to my very first Hollidazzle at the young age of 26. It was here that my sister and I realized that we do indeed have the cheesiest parents ever. I will challenge ANYONE on this! Examples include but are not limited to: When the Joe Mauer float drove by carrying a bat in it's right hand and my dad yelled "Hey Joe! You're a lefty!" Also, when the Excel energy people were walking around passing out what normal people call "light bulbs", my dad, the electrician, is sure to yell out, "Sure, I'll take a LAMP!" My dad is always sure to remind the lowly novice light fixture owner that it is a lamp and not a bulb. My mom had some cheesy lines as well, I just can't remember them.

15.) The years we spent at The Marie Sandvick Center on Thanksgiving. I will never forget the joy on people's faces when they received a real turkey dinner to enjoy in a warm room and a bag of groceries to take home. Those years reminded me of what I had to be thankful for and how to enjoy the simple things in life.

16.) The year my sister and I received matching Mickey Mouse flannel pj's. I was thrilled to say the least. My sister, not so much. I can't think of what 16 year old wants to be just like her 11 year old sister!

17.) Watching my two nieces walk around the Macy's display this year, holding hands and sharing their excitement with one another. They grow up SO fast and it is so fun to watch them mature and enjoy each other's company.(see photo)

18.) Watching my nephew devour his gingerbread cookie the last two years!(see photo)

19.) The year I asked for a particular Leann Rimes CD for my birthday. My mom didn't know which one I wanted so she bought a few and asked me which one it was. It was of course "You light up my life" which I loved SO much. That year at Christmas, I had asked for the Anastasia CD. Yes, I have THE BEST taste in music. On Christmas morning, when I was handed a package that I loudly proclaimed to be my Anastasia CD, I was thoroughly disappointed to find it was actually the Leann Rimes Cd I had rejected. Once I discovered this, I of course started to bawl. Mostly out of embarrassment. There were a few Christmas' with tears on my part. I am ashamed to say that but again, I do believe I have come a LONG way.

20.) The year my brother bought me a Hansen t-shirt. I told him I wouldn't wear it and so he kept it. I believe he still has it to this day and may have even added another one to the collection.

21.) Eating Prime Rib every year for dinner. My mom buys real horseradish to put on the meat and it never fails that you can tell who may have eaten too big of a bite of the spicy stuff. Who needs Sudafed on Christmas? Not the Allens!

22.) My dad is the original Creator of the ugly Christmas sweater party. He wears the same reddish but mostly orange turtleneck sweater every year. My Grammy made it, but I believe the year was 1971. My dad doesn't understand that sweaters are not at all like a fine wine.

23.) My dad would always tell me, throughout the year, that if I did something nice...there would be "something a little extra in my stocking". One year, I called him on it. I said, "You always tell me that there will be something extra and...there never is!" That year, when I opened my stocking, there was a cute teddy bear notepad with a piece of paper taped on it that said, "Here's your something extra!"

24.)All the Christmas movies! Some of my favorites include: Rudolph, Love Actually, White Christmas, Little Women, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story, The Holiday and Prancer. I love sitting and watching any of these while knitting and drinking hot chocolate!

25.)Sharing the time with my family. Sitting around the tree or table and talking about all the memories and laughing until our sides split.

26.) Remembering the true reason for the season. As cliche as it sounds...it is SO true. As much fun as this time of year is, I like to sit and think about why I really celebrate. I like to celebrate all He has given me and all there is to be thankful for. I like to remember the fact that without the birth of that little baby, all those years ago...I would be hopeless.

You may not share all of my thoughts on this time of year but I would love to get some of yours. If you have a favorite memory, a laugh, a thought...a whatever to share about this time of year. Throw it in. For those of you reading this on my facebook page, all future wordy posts will only be posted on my blog. Feel free to read, comment and follow me at: absofsteel26.blogspot.com. Also, if you have a blog, please let me know what it is so I can follow you. I LOVE blogging!

A Christmas to remember!

Well, Happy Holidays to you and yours! I've been pondering this post for quite some time. You see, Christmas is my favorite time of year. Now, I know what you're thinking....get in line. I understand that a lot of people like this time of year and I am ok with sharing. There is so much to love about this time and I am glad others see that! Now...back to the pondering. I thought I would give you a glimpse of all the reasons why this time is my favorite. I am going to tell you about my favorite parts and my favorite memories. Feel free to read along as I am sure it will put you more in the spirit! I will try to narrow it down to 26 as that is my favorite number as we have previously established and I find that to fit somewhere between a blurb and too wordy. Here goes:

1.) This first one I experienced firsthand but do not remember it. The stories that have been told to me though make me glad I do not remember. The way it went was that I was about 2 and my mom left me in the living room with the freshly decorated tree. She and my brother were in the kitchen doing something, when next thing they hear was a loud crunching coming from the living room. My mom walked in to see what the commotion was all about and found that I had grabbed a red glass ornament off of the tree, and bit into it. She of course screamed and ran to get it away from me. She believes it was a miracle that I didn't have any cuts in my mouth. Apparently I thought it was an apple!

2.) All the years where I begged to "sleep" in my sister's room, only to wait until mom and dad had gone to bed, at which time we got up and went to look at all the presents. One time my mom must have heard us and got up to see what the commotion was. We ran to my brother's room and hid under the bed. My mom never guessed we were in there.

3.) The year my brother asked for a tee, meaning a football tee. He spelled it tea on his list and so, on Christmas morning....my parents gave him a box of tea. He used a spell checker every year after that.

4.) The year my brother taught me how to carefully unwrap and re wrap my presents to figure out what they were before the big day. I made the mistake of trying it on my own when he wasn't around to help. I did the best job I could and pushed the present to the back of the tree to try and cover it up. The minute my mom walked through the door I burst into tears and told her everything. The worst part was, on Christmas morning, she made me unwrap that present in front of everyone and relive the pain!

5.) Going to the 8th floor Dayton's/Marshall Field's/Macy's display almost every year for the last 20 or so. I love going back now and seeing the joy on my nieces' and nephew's faces!

6.) Driving around every Christmas Eve growing up, and looking at the lights on the houses together as a family.

7.) Going to the midnight service on Christmas Eve. This is still one of my faves. Especially if it is a candlelight service.

8.) The year my Great Grandma lived with us- I will never forget the joy on her face when she found her stocking full of pickles!

9.)Christmas morning quiche!!! My mom makes this every year for breakfast!

10.) My parents tended to hide the presents in 2 places. The trunk of mom's car or under their bed. One year when they were gone we scoped out hiding spot number two and found a hockey stick for my brother. On Christmas morning, after all the presents had been opened, the hockey stick was nowhere to be seen. I of course was the one to remind my parents by saying, "um, I think you forgot one." To which my dad said, " How do you know?" My brother tried to jab me but was not quick enough and I said, "There is a hockey stick under your bed!!"

11.) One year, as we were leaving Daytons, I saw the most beautiful little business suit my 9 year old eyes had ever seen. It was Burgundy with sheer sleeves. Yes, I know I am a dork but this was during my "I want to be a news anchor" phase. I showed it to my mom as a hint for Christmas. My brother (we were quite the team) in turn told me when mom had gone back to purchase it. I was so excited for it that Christmas morning I could barely contain myself. When I opened the box, inside was not the suit I was dreaming of, but instead a floral dress that had been hanging next to my suit at the store. I am ashamed to say this, but I cried. On Christmas morning, I cried because it was not the dress I wanted. I sometimes hate having the youngest child syndrome. I like to think I have come a long way from those days when I cried because things didn't go my way. My co-workers my disagree.

12.) Making Christmas candy with the fam. We Allen's...we go ALL out in that department. Fudge, Peanut Butter Cups, Toffee, Peanut Brittle, Puppy Chow, Nut Goodies...it is a dentist's and a dietitian's worst nightmare!

13.) Doing The Angel Tree ministry. Finding families with a parent that is in prison and getting gifts for them as a reminder of the parent who will be missing that year. It is such a joy to see their faces and to know that in some way there Christmas will be brighter that year.

I will leave it at that with the promise to give you the other half sometime in the next few days. Here's hoping that your days are merry and bright...and for sure that all your Christmases will be white!

A glimpse of my thoughts...

Happy Thanksgiving first of all! I need to make sure to say that one to you. Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances...I am sure there is something to be thankful for. For me there are more things then I can get down here. God has been SO good to me. There are the simple everyday joys he throws at me when I am observant enough to pay attention and there are the deep, meaningful, life changing things that I will only recognize when I take the time to look and realize. He has been good.
That being said, He hit me today with a realization. I think a little bit lately I have been being thankful "despite the circumstances" as opposed to "because of them". Now, don't get me wrong, I have a lot to be thankful for and to be honest...there are no really big trials that I personally, am facing right now. The problem is that things aren't exactly where I might have hoped they would be and even though I feel as if we are working towards a few goals...I am not at the finishing line right now. I have chosen to keep pushing and working towards them and have not allowed any obstacles to slow me down for too long. I have not, however, been thankful for where I am at. So today, I will make an effort. I will try to look at the circumstances... as they are...and be thankful. This time, this place, these feelings and experiences...they are ALL part of it. I pray for you today...my friends, family and maybe people I don't know...I pray that He will show you how to be truly thankful. Thankful not despite the hardships, but somehow thankful because of them. He is working. This is not something I say to make you or myself feel better....He is working. This I KNOW! May you feel his joy today!

I apologize!

Ok, so that last post was disorganized and completely lame. I don't promise this one will be better. Things are going pretty well. I am enjoying life right now and trying to adjust to the change in daylight. Jada has decided that to ensure she gets a walk she is going to wake me up at 5 AM EVERYDAY. I take her in the morning before work, drive in to work, leave work and get home when it is pitch black outside. This causes quite a problem. At this point I immediately feel as if I haven't slept in a week and must in turn go to bed at 8:30 p.m. I try to tell myself that this is due to the weather and has nothing to do with the fact that I am now an old lady.
Last week was a rough one at work. By Thursday, I HAD HAD IT!!! My pharmacist Brian was aware of the way I felt and I am sure I was a little bit more quarrelsome as the week had gone on. I got to work on Thursday to find a box of what appeared to be vials sitting at my station with my name (spelled wrong) written on it. Instantly I WAS LIVID. I said something like "Um...is this from you (to Brian)?" To which he replied, "YES!!!". I then said, "Well, you spelled my name wrong (in a tone I hadn't used since I was 13 and angry at my mom for some lame reason)! " Brian kept smiling and said "Look inside!!!" To which I responded, " I GET IT BRIAN, my vials need to be filled....as you may have noticed it has been a rather stressful week for me." As I was responding to this I opened the box. Sitting inside were not the 500- 16 dram vials I expected to see...no, sitting inside was a 11 pack of my favorite soda (Diet Dr. Pepper for those taking notes!) with a note telling me one was chilling in the freezer for me. Needless to say, my face which normally has no pigment, turned BRIGHT red. I felt horrible. Now Brian knew that he was a large portion of my stress, but still, I felt bad for reacting so rashly. Everyone who knows me though, knows I am not a fan of being micromanaged.
Thursday night I did something stupid. I went to the midnight showing of New Moon. It was not planned...it was spontaneous. I did this, knowing that the next morning I would have to get up and bake some of my famous cookies, as I had promised them to a co-worker for his b-day. So, I went to the movie with my best friend, her husband (the loudest cheerer in the theater), her brother and....HER PARENTS! It was stinking hilarious. We went to the block E theater and so by the time I got home is was 3:30 AM. I woke up at 6:30AM and made cookies while drinking a red bull! Jada made sure to get her walk and I was off to work on 3 hours of sleep. Needless to say, I really hope I didn't kill anyone that day. Good thing I am not the final check. My coworkers are considering a caffeine intervention for me. Whatever, I know I don't have a problem!
Final note, I went to see The Blind Side on Friday with my family. It was great. I totally recommend it, just not after you have had 3 hours of sleep the night before. Also, my Steelers will pull through in the end. I just know it! Finally, it really does taste more like regular Dr. Pepper!

A long time coming...

Hey, SO sorry about how long it has been since I updated. My computer has been broken since I got back from Boston. I must say, I don't know how I survived pre-1990(ish). The Internet is definitely something I can live without...but life isn't as fun. So now to update you on some of the things that happened since my last post.

1.) I went to Boston, had an AMAZING time, turned 26 and was reminded of how blessed I am. Highlights included: -Waking up from a nap, to find myself standing over Carrie's bed with my fist in the air in a stabbing motion. I have never woken up in the midst of sleep walking before. This was weird and hilarious(I think Carrie would agree).

- Being offered pot for the first time in my life. It only took 26 years! Don't worry mom....I said no.

- Walking down a street in the North End to find it lined with the trucks for the team filming Ben Affleck's new movie. After realizing this we found a coffee shop on the corner and sat in the window overlooking the street while watching them film a scene.

- Seeing Ben Affleck dressed as a nun as he drove a minivan down the street less than 10 feet away from me.

- Hanging out with AMAZING friends in Boston

- Climbing all 294 stairs to the top of the Bunker Hill monument.

- Being told by our concierge that I didn't have a MN accent only to have that corrected when I said the word "one".

- Mike's pastries! I have never had a cannoli nor did I ever think I would want one. I was SO wrong.

- Sitting in the middle of one of the prettiest parks I have ever seen. I would highly recommend the Boston Commons area.

- Fenway

- Dunkin Donuts coffee

-The Sam Adams Brewery where I discovered "Cherry Wheat".

-My Steelers beat the Vikings...on my b-day!

There were a lot of other experiences but these were some of the top. Now I have been home for a few weeks and things are going pretty well. I will update more later though as this post has gotten rather long (as they usually do). Hope all is well in your world and if you are looking for a great city to visit, Boston would definately fit into that catagory for me. It is extremely walkable and SO much fun. There was SO much history and character to it.