How I Paid $120 for my Free iPhone

Alternatively "How I May a Have Talked to my Guardian Angel on the Phone But Defintely Hugged a Stranger That Day."

I generally think of myself as a person who has her business together but I feel like I've now had enough occasions in my life that I can no longer make that claim. (Wallet left all week in my unlocked car in Belfield during Challenge '08?) Last Sunday, I lost my phone at a Washington, DC Metro Station and, by the literal grace of God, I got it back!

We were all on our way back to the hotel after seeing the Newseum and the Holocaust Museum as well as eating lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. After a day out and about, we were heading back to the hotel to get ready to kick off our Close Up week. I had one girl who was having issues with her Metro card so I stayed behind before moving to our train to make sure she was able to put more fare on her card. We never were able to get her card straightened out so we were headig to talk to the station official when I see Dave* digging through his pockets for his phone. I reach in my bag to call him when I realize that I can't find my phone either. I dug through my pockets, pretty much emptied my backpack, and finally just admitted defeat.

My phone was gone and I had no idea how I had lost it. 

(As much as they can drive us completely insane at times, the group of boys who stayed back to help Dave and I saved the day. They had downloaded an app for tracking lost phones and both Dave and I had our phones locked and reported as missing within about five minutes of realizing they were gone.) 

Blake* was kind enough to allow me to use his phone number as the contact point should somebody have found my phone. Maybe five minutes later, Blake gets a call on his phone from some guy who has my phone and would like to arrange a meeting the next day to return it to me. Normally that would have been just fine, but with neither Dave nor I having our phones and us being halfway across the country with a group of school students, I needed my phone ASAP. The guy** on the other line told me he was on his way to church otherwise he'd turn back and meet me. We chatted back and forth for while and he have me an address. After seeing this church was going to be twelve miles from the hotel and deciding I was frazzled enough already, I decided that instead of trying to dominate the Metro after it was clearly trying to dominate both Dave and I, I would just take a cab to retrieve my phone. Meanwhile, Dave is having no luck getting his phone back at all. (Perhaps his guardian angel has had less practice than mine?)

All in the span of about 45 minutes, we get back to the hotel, I ask the front deal to call me a cab, and I wait. In the meantime, I googled the address and realized that I am indeed on my way to a Baptist church. 

We (the cab driver and I) made our twelve mile trek with one stop for gas and one wrong turn. I went to a modular classroom at the back of the parking lot as the man on the phone told me to. I opened the door and nobody turned a head in my direction at all. I had seen a deaf church advertised on the website and turns out that's where I had ended up. I finally caught somebody's attention and she put me in touch with a hearing gal who handed me my phone and offered to have me stay. I politely declined, gave her $60 to pass along to my phone rescuer, and turned to leave but before I made it out, I at least mustered up a signed "thank you" to everybody there. (For somebody who is decently communicative in ASL, I sure biffed it a good one whilst at the deaf church.)

As I was getting into the cab, a deaf lady ran out of the modular door and ran toward the car. She handed me three tracts and as I reached out to accept them, she caught me in a big embrace.  I'm usually so good about avoiding "spontaneous stranger hug" situations and I can often spot the move a mile away, but she got me this time. I'm pretty sure she prayed for me as she hugged me because as she stepped away, she signed "amen." The can driver brought me back to the heotel and I paid my $60 bill (fare + tip). 

And thus concludes the story of the time I paid $120 for my free iPhone and hugged a stranger all in the same day. 

If this story doesn't scream that God has His hand in the little things, than I'm not sure what will. 

Dave got his phone back Monday morning after it went on an exhaustive tour of Maryland and ended up in a really rough neighborhood. Many of the locals told Dave to just cut his losses and get a new phone. For whatever reason, somebody else was willing to inconvenience himself two hours to bring Dave's phone back to the hotel for a $50 reward. Again, God is in the little things. 

*Names have been changed to protect the partially innocent

**I never did get his name. 

Downer, DC, Debt-Free, To-Do, and Devotions (Plus a Bonus!)

As has become my usual, I am linking up with the ladies of The Good Life, A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, and Hello Happiness for "5 on Friday." Please join us!

One. This is one week I am not sorry to see pass. So many things at school this week were very hard and they made the days just drag by. I couldn't shake the negativity when I left and ended up taking it all home with me which, in turn, kinda just ruined my whole week. I hate when I let things get to me like that, much less for so many days in a row.

Two. We are on Spring Break this weekend which could not be more perfect timing. (See #1?) Today I am leaving with for a week in Washington, D.C. and a couple of days in New York City (hello "30 Before 30" list!) with our school's Close Up group. But before I leave, I have been rushing to finish up third quarter grades. Grading is my Achilles' heel. I need to find a better system for maintaining my grade book.

Three. I paid my April bills on Wedneday since I will be gone for the rest of the month (see #2!) and I was able to payoff another loan! I'm still about $37k in debt which I sometimes find so discouraging, but it's so much better than my initial $52k. I'm still plugging away and I keep reminding myself that it's the tortoise who wins the race, not the hare!

Four. The to-do list in my agenda has been a mile long this past week and I am finally gaining some traction on it and finally knocking things completely off the list! I really don't know what I would do without my planner most days... Franklin is currently the main man in my life!

Five. I have really been stressed out this week and I feel super convicted by it. My mind has been resting on things of the world and not on things above. I started being intentional in spending time in prayer and Bible study before I get out of bed in the morning. I understand that life is not always going to be easy and some weeks are just going to be hard, but I'm doing my best to make this into a learning experience and prevent this situation from happening again... for the same reasons, at the very least. 

Bonus. I am looking forward to this next week being one of refreshment and remembering that school is not an entirely bad place. And, if nothing else, we'll be down to eight weeks (and only seven Mondays!) of school once I return and I know I can handle that!

Why I Can Truly Live (aka Wordless Wednesday)

via

A Little Monday Pick-Me-Up

I really believe these cookies could change the world.  They are, to the naked eye, everything that a cookie is and should be, but I think they eat more like a brownie, a box brownie at that... And I love me a box brownie in any way, shape, or form. 

I mixed up a batch of these cookies this weekend to put in my girls' basketball goodie bags this morning. We tip off at the Region 8 tournament today (wish us luck!), so I used the girls as an excuse to make these little bits of deliciousness. The key is to not overbake the cookies.  I baked mine on the shy side of 10 minutes and they were perfect.  Enjoy!

Nestle Toll House Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(aka Brownie Cookies)

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Nestle Toll House Baking Cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cup (11.5-oz. pkg) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.  Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chunks.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until cookies are puffed and centers are set but still soft.  Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Yields 40.

Assistant Coach of the Year points, no?

In-Betweens, Runs, Minds, Days, and Dresses

One. This week has felt odd. It has been some sort of in-between of basketball tournaments, weather seasons, and buckling down for the last 11 weeks of the school year. I feel like I may have hit some rhythm at this point, but I’m still not all too sure.

Two. Due to so much of the in-betweenness, especially with post-season basketball tournaments, my workouts have all too much ceased to exist. I am panicking about how I am going to build up mileage for my half marathon in May, but I officially started over on Wednesday night with my back end back in the gym and I am just going to have to do as well as possible until May actually comes.

Three. I was going to stop observing winter on March 1, but the -42 degree wind chills prevented that. Same with March 2. But since March third and its balmy 11 degree highs, I have been showing as much ankle in as many bright colors as I have wanted to. We still have some snow on the ground, yes, and the eastern part of the state had blizzard warnings Wednesday night and delayed starts or no school yesterday, but it’s mind over matter folks. MIND OVER MATTER!

Four. I teach only twelve days in March between spring break, a personal day, and the Close Up trip. For that matter, I teach only one full week (this week) but this first stretch of nine days sure does seem like a killer!

Five. And just because we need something good and shallow to end this post with, since there already hasn’t been a single thing of substance yet, I’m really wanting this dress. I don’t own much green, but I really do like wearing green and blues. I like the detailing around the waste and I see this dress being a good three, if not four, season dress.

Enjoy the weekend!

Little Did I Know...

I am eyeball-deep in disorganization, waist-deep in graduate school, knee-deep in documentation, and completely over my head in correcting and all I can manage to do is sit back and laugh at myself. My life is so ironic-- I don't know what to do with myself most days.

When I was little, I remember wishing I was smart enough to do something "important." I wanted to have the job that pushed me and pulled me in a million directions at once. I wanted the job that was fast paced and kept me busy. I wondered what it would be like to work 80 hours a week.

Oh don't worry... I don't wonder any longer.

Now I know.

I always imagined engineers or lawyers or bankers or doctors in such positions. Don't worry. I'm a teacher doing the very same thing right now. 

I should have seen it coming-- my dad worked the exact same hours when he was in education. And now I'm doing it myself. Even without coaching, I could easily work fifteen hours each day. I know that I am not the strongest teacher out there and I wish I had more constructive accountability. I don't like the number of days I feel like I just barely make it through because I ran out of time to do things well. But I also have to remember that this is only my third year so I can't expect to be perfect at this point in time. I have been trying to do a few things exceptionally well each day so that I don't have to go back and re-do them next year. But even that is a struggle all too often. I'm also building off some of what I did last year so that I'll be even stronger for next year.

In short, I feel wicked overwhelmed right now and I'm looking forward to the day I feel like I have a better grasp on things. However, today is definitely not that day.

And I doubt tomorrow will be either.

For What It's Worth.

Do not settle.

I have come to realize that I am allowing myself to become content to settle. I'm talking about settling for some predetermined  something or the other, simply because that's what you thought life should be. Relationships, jobs, body image, whatever. I have allowed mysef to become complacent with settling.

I cannot conform myself to somebody else's ideals or thoughts because that is what I have come to expect. Be ready for change. Embrace a change of perspective. Bloom where you are planted but be ready to do and say and go. 

I graduated high school with a very specific of what life was going to look like for myself. I started college with that a mindset to fulfill those expectations and I "did" college with those goals in mind. But when the goal changed, I still tried to shove my preconceived notions into the new mold. I was willing to settle because I wanted to be safe. 

I now spend my days working to live up to my potential because I want as much as I can get out of life. I am finally not letting myself settle and it has made life all that much sweeter. I am breaking my own expectations.

So much life. So many days. None are guaranteed.

I cannot be willing to settle.