Thanksgiving Festivities

I have recently returned from a wonderful fun-filled weekend with family! And now I shall share a few of my favorite memories with you.

Esme (my new car -- short for Esmerelda) and I set off on our adventure Wednesday afternoon once I finished work and obtained a check from the mailbox. The drive home was fairly uneventful, although I did pass several accidents and saw many highway patrol cars monitoring traffic. Fortunately following the speed limit posted seemed to avoid undue attention from these officers and no questions were asked about my 30 day tag that supposedly expired January 1st of 2010. At least I have all the papers to prove that the purchase transaction did not occur until a few short days ago. Try 2011...

As mentioned in earlier posts, I did not anticipate being able to make it home for Thanksgiving this year, so this was an extra special time to be with family. I was especially excited about the prospect of spending time with the Kliewer side of the family in Oklahoma celebrating traditions that I remember from my childhood. Specifically eating delicious food until unable to speak or move (I may be exaggerating a bit, but not by much) and going out to the pasture for a chili cookout and s'mores by the bonfire was anticipated. Being adult and responsible and all that entails, I haven't been able to participate in these activities for several years. Can I share a secret? Every other year we all make the trek down to OK for this gathering and usually most of us stay at the church for at least one night. We are always given instructions on where we are not allowed to be, and one of those places is 'the Parlour.' The parlour is a lovely little room used for weddings, showers and the like with plush carpet, fancy couches and chairs and a chandelier suspended from the ceiling.I am a rebel by nature and my first instinct when told something is off limits is to try to figure out how to get in. Now, amazingly enough, I never have tried to slip into the parlour before...but this time was different. My sister, second cousins and I are now responsible adult women who know better than to instigate pillow fights or spill dark red substances onto the immaculate carpet. So why couldn't we handle being in the parlour just this once? We reasoned that there were many more people staying at the church, and better us than unruly little girls or sweaty boys. In the end that reasoning won out and we finally realized a dream and *gasp* stayed in the parlour. Now I can cross that off my bucket list! One small flaw in our otherwise excellently carried out plan. The janitor just happened to be at the church the following morning and not only noticed our luggage, but actually caught us going in/coming out of the parlour. Uh oh...

We also played a game called Compatibility, which claimed to be "arguably the best game of the decade!" I disagree, but it was amusing for a short while. The basic concept of the game was similar to 'Apples to Apples' with a twist. Instead of using descriptive nouns we had expression cards -- cards with random pictures depicting nature scenes, dumpsters, a shirtless old man, abstract art, shapes, a parking garage, couples kissing, places of worship and a distraught little girl...to name a few. The matcher would pick a number to designate which word would be described and then all the players would pick the cards they felt best showed that word. Everyone was trying to predict the cards the matcher would pick and then we all ranked the cards from strongest to weakest, then flipped them over and obtained points based on how many cards were the same as the matcher's cards. Oddly enough, the shirtless old man made several appearances throughout the game. I know I did a poor job explaining, but hopefully the idea that this game was a little quirky has been conveyed to my readers. It might interest some of you to know that I chose a picture of a person in a creepy bunny suit for "things that make me feel insecure."

Probably my proudest accomplishment of the weekend is completing a 550 piece puzzle in less than two hours! We call it 'speed puzzling' and use very different techniques than the usual leisurely assembling of a puzzle. If you need us we are available for your next family gathering, and we only charge a small speed puzzling fee. Please book us ahead of time, as our schedule fills up quickly.

And now, after such thrilling escapades I am quite weary. So without further ado I shall retire to my cozy bed for some much needed beauty sleep. Until next time I bid you adieu!
~Liz

PS- This post was light and humorous. Next I shall write about the serious events that took place and reflect on the abundant gifts God has given to us.

News to share

Whew! Today was a busy day. First, I headed to the bank to sign loan papers and obtain a check. Then I had my roommate take me to the dealership, signed more papers there, and drove away with a car! I think I'm still in shock...maybe writing it down will help me to actually believe it is true. :)


Since then I have made a target run, squared everything away with my insurance agent and spent some time with great friends! Oh, and also squeezed in a little catnap and teatime. It is so nice to have wheels again. (and it isn't even the color of gangrene)


In conclusion, I HAVE A CAR I HAVE A CAR I HAVE A CAR I HAVE A CAR! (sheepish grin)

Life lessons

At the request of one honorary member of the Kliewer clan, I am making an effort to be more consistent in blogging. Yes Tiff, this is for you. ;) Thanks for the motivation.

Recently I have been forced to embark on yet another adventure. The adventure that is shopping for a "new-to-me" car...

It all started one blustery evening when I headed to the Lakeside Center to cast my vote in the general elections. Well, that's not exactly when it started, but that's when I knew I needed to step up the pace in finding a replacement. Flossy (my newly deceased grandma car) just didn't have that "get up and go" in her anymore. It was time to for her to retire. I've known this for awhile, and tried several times (unsuccessfully) to have her stolen. You know, subtle things like leaving the keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked, or storing my title and registration in the glovebox in case someone decides they want to take over ownership...unfortunately, she has a few anti-theft features. One of them being the fact that the drivers side door will not open from the outside. I think that has discouraged more than one potential thief in the past.

At any rate, after casting my vote like a responsible citizen, I returned to my car to head home. I opened the passenger side door, and slid across the seat as usual, but when I turned the key in the ignition, no welcome sounds of the engine starting greet my ear. Instead, Flo had a massive seizure -- shaking, sputtering and protesting life in general...and then she died. I've decided Flossy is of a different political party. (wry grin) I exchanged some words with her, and expressed my indignation, effectively ending what was once a good working relationship.

Now, I have no reason to complain these circumstances. It could have been so much worse. Earlier in the evening I despaired that my car wouldn't start and I was surprised when she did. This saved me frantically calling everyone in my contact list and pleading for a ride from DSM. She didn't die on the side of the interstate in the dead of winter, or in a sketchy part of town. So, even in the midst of such distress I was able to be thankful for God's wisdom and provision. I'm not saying I had a fabulous attitude about everything at the moment, but I learned to choose to see the bright side of things eventually. I was within walking distance of my apartment and had friends close by who were willing to swing by and take me back so I wouldn't have to walk in the cold and dark. They even brought me ice cream! These are the friends to keep close in times of trouble. ;)

In the past several months I have been researching pre-owned vehicles, comparing pricing, looking at safety ratings, reliability, learning what I need to look for, what questions to ask and occasionally going to take a test drive. I've been to three different dealers, learned some things the hard way and am thoroughly sick of the whole process. Yes, it has been a growing experience for me, and I have come so far from the naive little girl who knew next to nothing about shopping for a car. However, that does not mean I enjoy it. No offense to anyone who knows a used car salesperson personally, but they seem to be rather oily as a general rule. And I don't mean that in the sense that they just came from performing and oil change. Such slick persuasive fellows who think that not telling me they already sold the car I'm interested in is a good idea, or that I won't find a better deal anywhere else...in case you were wondering, I've proved both wrong. (2 points for Liz!)

Throughout this whole ordeal, God keeps impressing the need to trust implicitly that He will provide exactly what I need in His perfect timing. I'm not saying that has been easy for me to accept, or that I haven't done my share of complaining, but I'm so very grateful that He has everything under control even when it seems as if everything is spiraling in the other direction.

Another important lesson I've been learning is how to graciously accept the kindness offered by others. I'm an independent girl. Everyone who knows me well knows this fact. I hate being dependent on others, or putting people out of their way just to help poor little old me. I dislike being an inconvenience and will often just try to figure things out on my own. God knew I needed a heaping dose of humility though. So, for the last week and a half, I have been able to practice that on a personal level.

I think the hardest part of this ordeal is being so far away from home and the resources of my dad and brothers. It would be so nice to take one of them along on these escapades! And I'm homesick. I had pretty much given up hope of being able to go home for Thanksgiving. Every year I talk myself into being okay with not going home until Christmas and that it will be fine. But I miss my family so. I hoped I would have a vehicle by the end of October, but that was not to be. So, being faithless, I gave up and resigned myself to the fact that I cannot go home until December. God had other plans though. One night I was talking about how God was working in my life and how He was teaching me. I expressed that I was discouraged and frustrated, but also confident that God would give me exactly what I needed when I needed it. Seeing that I was struggling, a sister in Christ asked if there was something else on my mind. I shared that I was disappointed about not being able to go home and how much I longed to see my family. She graciously offered to let me drive her car home to KS if I don't have a method of transportation by Thanksgiving. I almost cried! Not only did she offer her vehicle, but she told me if she had an extra car, she would just give it to me. Such generousity, and I doubted my Father's ability to provide...that being said, I have an announcement to make.

I'M COMING HOME FOR THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D