Thanksgiving

I can't wait to give Thanks!

This is the way the feast was described in a first-hand account presumably by a leader of the colony, Edward Winslow, as it appears in Mourt's Relation:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, Many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Internet quizes

How You Are In Love

You fall in love quickly and easily. And very often. In relationships, you tend to be a bit selfish. (not really) You need your space and privacy. You don't like to be smothered. (only to a degree) You love your partner unconditionally and don't try to make them change. You stay in love for a long time, even if you aren't loved back. When you fall, you fall hard. (Absolutely true of me!!!)

How Are You In Love?

Keys to your heart

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to good manners and elegance. In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was insecure and in constant need of reassurance. Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred. In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

i hate time zones

i know that it can't be 7 am in China right now because the sun is setting and they are gonna go to bed in a couple of hours... whereas i just woke up...

but the changes in time zones make it really difficult to talk to friends around the world. examples: my friend that lives in the United Arab Emirates is about 6 hours ahead of me, so i can't call her past 3-4 pm (which is when i am at work) and my cousin in California is 3 hours behind, so i have to call after 9 pm (so that she is off of work).....

it's very frustrating! with all of our modern technology, i am still stymied by the clock...

it's voting day

everybody needs to go vote today! if you aren't a registered voter, then get registered before the next election :)

for cuyahoga county, you can visit the board of elections at http://boe.cuyahogacounty.us/boe/default.htm

God Enjoyed

from a book of Puritan prayers:

Thou incomprehensible but prayer-hearing God,
Known, but beyond knowledge,
revealed, but unrevealed,
my wants and welfare draw me to thee,
for thou hast never said, 'Seek ye me in vain'.
To thee I come in my difficulties, necessities, distresses;
possess me with thyself,
with a spirit of grace and supplication,
with a prayerful attitude of mind,
with access into warmth of fellowship.
so that in the ordinary concerns of life
my thoughts and desires may rise to thee,
and in habitual devotion I may find a resource that will
soothe my sorrows, sanctify my successes,
and qualify me in all ways for dealings with my fellow man.

I bless thee that thou hast made me capable
of knowing thee, the author of all being,
of resembling thee, the perfection of all excellency,
of enjoying thee, the source of all happiness.
O God, attend me in every part of my arduous and trying pilgrimage;
I need the same counsel, defence, comfort I found at my beginning.
Let my religion be more obvious to my conscience,
more perceptible to those around.
While Jesus is representing me in heaven, may I reflect him on earth,
While he pleads my cause, may I show forth his praise.

isn't it ironic?!

you ask and ask and ask for something. then it finally comes and you either don't believe it, can't receive it, or you just plain don't want it anymore (the latter isn't true at all in this case).

i believe that God is answering a prayer of mine that i have prayed for such a long time... yet, i am afraid to receive the answer i have been looking for. what if i'm wrong? what if He really isn't giving me the answer that i want? what if He does? what if it isn't as great as i think it's going to be? what if it's even better and i can't hold onto it?

i'm a mess...

Out of the Zone

Well, we have left the Twilight Zone (at work)... We haven't had too many patients in the last couple of weeks and the reaction to that has been varied by each of the staff members. I am usually the CALM one. But, since I am responsible for the schedule and meeting production goals, I have been stressing out. The doctor is usually the one who is super stressed and contemplating a career change -- maybe I shouldn't be a dentist, maybe I'm just not any good at this, wah. wah, complain, complain, life is awful, etc. -- even though he's been in practice for over 20 years and he is a phenomenal dentist (spoken by a true dental-phobic who has let him do major procedures on herself). However, instead of being whacked out, he's been totally calm and planning major purchases/improvements to the office. Of course, since I also pay the bills, I have been "concerned" (read, "freaked") about our finances, as well. He just kept saying, "just give it time -- it takes time to see results -- I'm comfortable with the new way that we are doing things -- and other positive, upbeat remarks that are usually heard from me!!!"

Then, yesterday, I was doing October's month-end statistics and realized what I really knew all along -- we're doing just FINE!!!! We had a great production day, so that helped, too. I guess the hardest thing is that ever since we had a consultant come in in September, the focus has been on meeting our goal. That is, don't forget about the doctor's production goal. Oh, yeah, by the way, did you know that the doctor is supposed to meet his production goal. every. day. And did I mention that the doctor must meet his goal or the practice is clearly not going to make it??!!

There is a reason that I did not go into a commission-based career. I do not function well under that kind of pressure. There is no excitement in cold-calling. I don't thrill over a large payoff when there has been nothing but drought for many days/months. Anyway...

I think that I have learned a very valuable lesson -- at least I hope I learned it. Don't take responsibility for things that are outside of your control (I can't "make" people schedule -- even if they do have cavities and need to have something done). Do your job to the best of your ability. And let God bless the work of your hands. I prayed that He would and He did!!! We are getting a bonus for how well our team performed over the past couple of months! I feel very blessed and also vindicated. The consultant said that we were only collecting 80% of our production (which would be very, very bad, indeed). I have actually been collecting 100% all year and now our whole team is getting a bonus based on collections!!!! Yea!!!