What a Week

This week was probably one of the worst weeks I have ever had at work. Not only did our president sign a ridiculous stimulus package which did absolutely nothing for the stock market except make it go down even further, but we went through a MAJOR computer conversion at work. This lovely new system that I now have to work with is a piece of crap. So, I'm having to learn a completely new way of doing my job which is taking three times as long on the new system as it did on the old system. And to top it off clients are calling in nonstop worried about their portfolios and I'm trying to help them yet can't find what I'm looking for. As I'm trying to learn how to navigate this new system I'm having to help my boss who hates change even more than I do. And when he gets frustrated he swears constantly. He is so negative about the market right now and everything that is going on in the economy that it's really hard to stay positive at work. By Thursday I'd had it with him. Have you ever yelled at your boss????? Well, I did and I'm not sorry for doing it either. I went into his office first thing Thursday morning trying to help him with something all the while he is cussing and saying things about my Jesus that I just couldn't tolerate. I turned to him and said very loudly...."Stop it. Stop it right now. I cannot handle you talking like that anymore, and I can't handle your negativity. It's bringing me down and I'm taking all this negativity home with me, and I can't do it anymore." To which he responded by apologizing profusely. And I must say he has behaved much better since I yelled at him. I think he felt so guilty about how he was making me feel that he told me to go buy a new pair of running shoes and bring him the receipt. Not only did he buy me a new pair of running shoes but he gave me a gift card to the movies. Maybe I should yell at him more often. I can deal with people swearing. I don't like it but I can deal with it. What I cannot stand is when people use my Savior's name inappropriately. It makes my skin crawl.

During all this chaos at work, my sweet husband left town for two days. I wasn't able to run Thursday and Friday morning and release all this stress and tension that had been building. For me not running for two days in a row is like not being able to breathe. Katie missed Jeremy tremendously and went into a little bit of a depression for a couple of days. She's such a daddy's girl at times. He finally came back home on Friday, and life is normal again.

A little update on Katie......her show and tell assignment from school this week was to write and draw a picture of what she would do if she were president. When Jeremy asked her what she would did without even thinking about it she said....."I would work heartily for the Lord." Here's a picture of her homework assignment. She's drawn a picture of herself with her Bible telling people about Jesus. I pray she continues to grow closer to Him as each day passes.

Longest Run to Date

I started my Valentine's Day morning off with my longest run ever. 20 miles......in 30 degree weather.....am I insane or what? It was cold but I've run in colder conditions and I've run with wind gusts of 20-30 miles per hour so the 30 degree temperature didn't bother me to bad. It was a great run, truly exhilirating. Yes, I am a bit demented but I love to run. It's my time with God when no one is around to interrupt me. It's my time to think and clear my head. Jeremy does think I'm a little strange since I enjoy running so much, butut he is being so supportive of me as I'm training for my marathon. Yesterday, Jeremy and Katie met me about 2 hours and 15 minutes into my run to refill my water bottles and to bring me a snack so I could keep my energy level up. I passed off my empty water bottles to them and they filled them up and drove ahead of me to hand them off to me so I didn't have to stop running. After they had made sure I was watered up and powered up with my dried fruit I noticed that they were standing on the side of the road up ahead of me holding a sign that said, "Go Mommy Go" and cheering for me. For anyone who runs long distances you know that towards the end of the run having people cheer you on is so important. It helps you make it through those last few difficult miles. So, thanks to them I was able to make it through without stopping. 20 miles.....3 hours 18 minutes. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Let There Be Light

We finally got power back at our house after being without power for 7 days. I cannot tell you how excited I was to be able to sleep in my own bed last night. I literally crashed around 7:30 and slept like a baby. Even though Katie was a little upset that she wasn't going to have another slumber party with Rachel I think she was kind of glad to be back in her own bed as well. Katie and I pray together every morning on the way to school, and this morning she thanked God for our electricity and prayed that we would keep it.

What else can go wrong......

We still don't have power. We're going on 5 days with no power and I'm about to have a major meltdown. I just want to go home and sleep in my own bed. I want to be able to cook dinner in my own home and just be able to live my normal life. So, today after church I decided to go on a long run in order to let off a little steam. About 3 miles into my 15 mile run I was attacked by a very large dog. I saw this dog come charging at me out of the corner of my eye and he nearly knocked me over. He ended up scratching my legs a little bit and he bit my arm.....I started squealing like a girl. I didn't know what else to do. I thought what else can go wrong Lord????? How much more are you going to throw at me????? Thankfully the owners of the dog were outside cleaning up their yard and were able to get the dog off of me. A poor lady who was driving by stopped her car and rolled down her window to make sure I was okay. I can only imagine the story she had to tell when she got home. But I kept on running despite being attacked. I think that's what God wants us to do when we are facing tough times in life. Keep on going and trust in Him to help us make it through. I needed His help to complete my run because I felt like quitting after I got bit. But I didn't stop, and He helped me make it through.