About Me

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In my 28 years of existence there is one thing that always holds true. God is God. Plain and simple; God is God. His word contains immeasureable truths that have always been and always will be. And while I may not know where I'm going in life and what I will be doing; God knows. And ultimately, that's all I need to know. That is all I need to trust.

Daily Bible Verse

Friday, February 20, 2009

Please Pray

Well as some of you may already know, my mom is in the hospital yet again. She had an infection that started on her face and kept getting worse even though she was on an antibiotic. So she went to the doctor's after going to the emergency room twice in 3 days and they sent her over to a different hospital to admit her. Once she was there they took cultures of the infection site and it tested positive for staff...And the infectious disease doctor is really concerned with the fact that it keeps spreading, the fact that it is a staff infection and the fact that it's so close to the brain. So...they've put her in her own private room (which is a bonus) because she can't have contact with any other patients because of the staff infection...

So yeah, if you could just keep her in your prayers that would be awesome!!!

Thanks

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Unexpected Disaster

I awoke at about 2:00 this morning to the sound of glass breaking outside and Tucker whinning to go out. I got up out of bed and as soon as I did I saw the lights shinning in the house and realized something wasn't right. I could hear people shouting at each other and quickly went to the bathroom window. When I looked outside I saw about 8 firetrucks surrounding Alteri's Restaurant. There was smoke pouring out of the roof and they were breaking the windows so that a backdraft didn't happen. As the night progressed, the noise got louder, the ladders on top of the trucks went up to get the flames pouring out of the top of the building and they needed to use loudspeakers to make sure the firefighters could clearly hear directions. They were also sawing the roof in places and knocking holes in the walls to be able to reach the flames better!!! Eventually though, the flames just overtook everything and you could see them pouring out of the restaurant. At one point I opened the bathroom window and could actually feel the heat from the fire across the street. They ended up closing down 9w and reopened it around 8:00 this morning. Unfortunately we've lost a locally well known business...

Here's to you Alteri's...Sorry to see you go!















Unexpected Delivery

Yesterday proved to be quite the stressful day at work! Nearing the end of the day we had an incident in which a consumers fingers got shut in a van door and at the very end of the day she needed to be taken to the emergency room for x-rays. In the midst of my stress and me calling family, service coordinators, day hab coordinators, etc. my desk phone beeps in and tried to get my attention. Unfortunately I was on my work cell with someone regarding the incident so I told the receptionist that I would just come out to reception. Still on the cell phone I make my way out to reception to see what Mary needs only to open the door to the lobby and see my sweetheart standing there holding a dozen roses and a very sweet card! I can't tell you how much better I instantly felt. Even though I still had to deal with the phone calls and emergency procedures the burden and weight of the stress lifted. Instead I felt incredibly adored and significant!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

My Cubicle

Here's a little view of my cubicle...I know it's not exciting (at least not to me) but it's where I spend a good portion of my life! I do like to try and personalize it as much as possible by brining in pictures of friends and family. Oh, and at the moment...it's a little cluttered...You'll see...

We should totally play a game of I Spy with my desk!

Yeah...I told you it was a bit cluttered!!! I need to file some stuff...my goodness...



Guess what I was doing while I was at work... hehehe





The heart that is on my phone says Jessica and it was from the pins that we made as nametags for the first women's retreat that we had at Camp Pinnacle. Remember making them Suzanne??? And the piece of paper is the memory verse for bible study this week...Acts 8:15-17.

And woohoo...it's me in my cubicle...lovely florescent light blaring over my head! Well I suppose I had better get back to work here in my cubicle...



Saturday, February 7, 2009

Coffee Craziness!

Last night some people from the church went to the Annual 2009 Gospel Gala in honor of Black History Month and for some reason I was not thinking and I parked my car at the church and rode up to the Palace Theater with Pastor Mike and his wife as well as one other. At the end of the show one other person had jumped on board for riding home with the Frati's. Now I probably wouldn't have minded but that would have been three people in the backseat...and none of us were tiny! So to fix the situation in my head and have a little more room, I asked Mrs. Smith if I could ride home in her car since she only had an Natalie and Shyvonne. Well, she said yes and that's where our adventure begins...

Once we were in the car and on our way she mentions coffee...Well anyone who knows me at all knows that I LOVE COFFEE!!! But at this point it was about 10:00pm and were weren't sure that anything right near the Palace would be open besides somewhere like Dunkin Donuts. Well none of us really wanted that anyway...Mrs. Smith wanted real "coffee house" coffee. So we decided that I would show her the way to The Muddy Cup...good coffee.

We arrive at The Muddy Cup where the adventures officially begin...It took us somewhere around 10-15 minutes to order 4 drinks...mine being ordered first. Thankfully I know what I like and stuck with something I knew I would enjoy. So we get the coffees, find a couch and plop down for some conversation!!! Then...the coffee kicks in...and the conversation turned into about an hour of hysterical fits of laughter!!! So much so that Mrs. Smith has to use the ladies room. Well...unfortunately the one at The Muddy Cup isn't in the greatest condition, as far as cleanliness is concerned. So she decides we'll just leave and she'll hit up the restroom at the Price Chopper next door on Madison Ave.

Somehow, on the 50 foot trip in the car ride from The Muddy Cup to Price Chopper, Shyvonne brings up chinese fire drills. So when Mrs. Smith pulls into the parking lot at Price Chopper, she stops right in the middle of the "road part" of the parking lot in front of the store and gets out. She proceeds to tell us to pull a chinese fire drill and she walks into the store leaving us parked in the "road part" and people staring at us yet again, laughing hysterically.

She comes back out a few minutes later unsuccessful in her search for a bathroom and comes around to the passenger side of the car where I was sitting and insists that I get out and drive for her! At this point I do and she decides to go back to The Muddy Cup. So we loop back around and she jumps out for round two of The Muddy Cup's bathroom. It's too horrible...unbearable even...she can't do it. Mind you we are all sitting in the car still and we see her walk out of The Muddy Cup with a look on her face and saunter over to the Madison Theater next door. A few minutes later she comes out looking happy and having successfully been able to use a clean restroom.

Finally, we get on our way back to Ravena and I'm still driving. Appearantly people in the Smith family get very easily lost because we went about 4 miles down the road and they see another Price Chopper and all of a sudden I hear Mrs. Smith say, "Hey, how'd we get back to this Price Chopper??? This is the same Price Chopper isn't it???" To which I am unable to respond at all because of the fact that I'm laughing so hard and can't spit out a comprehensible word!!! Shyvonne seems to second the idea of the same Price Chopper in the back seat. All of a sudden Mrs. Smith realizes that The Muddy Cup is missing from the picture which only makes me laugh even harder!

Several minutes of driving and hysterical conversation pass on the way back toward Ravena. We got as far as Glenmont when Mrs. Smith decided that she needed to stop at the Price Chopper in Glenmont to pick up a few things since it's 24 hours. I drop her off at the door and us girls stay in the toasty warm car to chat it up. Tick...tock...tick...tock... The minutes are passing by and Mrs. Smith has been in the store for a while! I decided to pull up into the fire lane and wait for her there because at this point the three of us ladies are thinking that she's got to be coming out any minute now...since she'd been in there for forever. Tick...tock...tick...tock... Still no sign of Mrs. Smith so I decided to turn the car off so we didn't waste gas. Tick...tock...tick...tock... Still no sign of Mrs. Smith and now it's getting pretty cold in the car so we decide to forget about saving gas and start it up again...

Or so we though...but the car wouldn't start. We tried 4 more times and prayed but were still unable to start the car. Now we all begin talking at the same time. "Oh no, what do we do?" "We need to go find your mom." "I didn't leave any lights on did I?" "There's nothing on, what happened? How come it won't start???" Well, Shyvonne decided she would go in and get her mom. The two come back out and now we get to try and figure out what we're going to do at 1:00am in Glenmont! Finally it's decided that we will go in and warm up and I will call Bubba. So I call his trusty cell phone figuring he had fallen asleep since he hadn't answered my last text.

Ring...ring...ring...ring...voicemail. Okay, well he's got to be sleeping. I'll call back and wake him up.

Ring...ring...ring...ring...voicemail. Wow, he must really be out...

Ring...ring...ring...ring...voicmeail. "Natalie, he won't answer his cell phone! Should I call the house number??? Are you sure??? I don't want to wake up grandma... Okay, I'll just try the house phone."

Ring...ri-"Hello???"

He was awake downstairs and had left the cell upstairs. So I quickly explained that the car was dead at Glenmont Price Chopper and we needed him to come and jump the car so that we could get back down to Ravena since I still needed to get my car from the church parking lot so that I could go back home to Glenmont. He told me he was on his way and would be there soon. In the meantime we decided to waste a bit of time in the store.

10 minutes or so later I get a text message..."I'm here." So I tell everyone he's here and we head outside. Wait...where is he...I don't see his truck anywhere... I texted him back..."Where?" And the response I got was..."You're at the Glenmont Wal Mart right?" Wow...he finally made it to the Price Chopper and got the car jump started for us. We made it down to Ravena A-Okay. I got my car and made it home around 2:00am... Unfortunately the coffee craziness had worn off by then and I simply passed out upon arriving home.

And that my friends is the latest adventure!

Friday, February 6, 2009

47 Questions...

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Not that I know of...although if I were a boy I was supposed to be Justin Scott Slater...Don't know why I know that!

2.WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Wednesday night at Bible Study. The worship music struck me in just the right way.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
It depends on whether I'm having a good handwriting day or a bad handwriting day. See my handwriting is kind of like my hair for me... Sometimes you have good hair days and sometimes you have bad hair days...

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT?
Either maple honey ham or mesquite smoked turkey.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Not yet unfortunately...but I'm working on that...so hopefully in the next couple of years...God willing... :) But in the meantime, does my amazingly beautiful and silly God-daughter count???

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I don't like to brag...but I'd like to think that I definitely would!!! :)

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Way too much unfortunately...it's a habit I need to curb!

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Nope, had them taken out to stop my chronic ear infections...worked though!

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Absolutely!!!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Honey Bunches of Oat's Cinnamon Clusters...mmmmm.....yummy

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Nope, I sure don't.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICECREAM?
Easy...Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

13. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their eyes & smile.

14. RED OR PINK?
Gonna have to go with Pink on this one.

15. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My midsection! lol

16. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Definitely my dad.

17. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
Nope...doesn't matter to me...just thought it would be fun to post something different, but I don't really care if anyone else fills this out. :)

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Dark wash jeans and white sneakers.

19. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The white noise of the air vents in my office...yeah...sounds fun, huh?

20. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
I always liked Blue-Green, Forest Green and Magenta...so probably one of those.

21. FAVORITE SMELLS?
The smell of rain as it's just coming down on the pavement on a warm day...The smell of wet leaves in the forest...Canali men's cologne...Moon Sparkle perfume for women...and my laundry after it's been washed with Febreeze detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets...lol

22. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Bubba... :)

23. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU AND HOW DO YOU KNOW THEM?
I do like the person who sent me this and I used to go to high school with her. She was a year ahead of me.

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Football, baseball...and now that we have the digital converter box, some of the more random and obscure sports like bobsledding, luge, snowboarding...etc.

25. HAIR COLOR?
Variety of brown shades going on in my hair. :)

26. EYE COLOR?
Blue with flecks of grey or green depending on my mood and the color of clothes I'm wearing.

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
I have and did until recently...

28. FAVORITE FOOD?
Indian!!!

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings...sigh... :)

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Taken with Bubba, Karmen and Shyvonne. Very good movie by the way!

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
It's white with pink, silver, black and green funky design on it.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Early summer/late spring, or any part of Autumn, but NO winter for me!

33. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs!

34. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Ice Cream

35. IF YOU COULD MAKE A WISH?
No more outstanding bills!

36. WHAT BOTHERS YOU THE MOST?
People who don't use their blinkers when driving...grrrr....

37. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
When Boy Meets Girl by Joshua Harris

38. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSEPAD?
Cats & Dogs...Got it because my dog passed the training class at PetSmart...although I still havne't figured out why...

39. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NITE?
Nothing. I was too busy talking on the phone.

40. FAVORITE SOUNDS?
The rustle of leaves in the trees, babbling brooks, the ocean waves, and suprisingly, the sounds of the city...NYC.

41. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Definitely the Beatles!

42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Uganda, Africa...halfway around the world...

43. DO YOU HAVE SPECIAL TALENTS?
Umm....I can wiggle my ears??? Haha, don't know!

44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
St. Peter's Hospital in Albany, NY.

45. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Anyone who wants to do this and post it I guess. :)

46. WHERE DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE, SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
Well he's not a spouse, but I met him at his parents house... I think...

47. DOES IT BOTHER YOU THAT THIS LIST DOESN'T END ON AN EVEN NUMBER OF QUESTIONS?
It actually does! For anyone who knows all of my little OCD quirks...they know I can't leave the volume on the TV set unless it is divisible by 5...20,25,30,35, etc... So it's not even that it doesn't end in an even number, but it doesn't end is something divisible by 5!!! LOL I'm so crazy it's ridiculous!!!