2008 is almost over

2008 is the year of the rat. The year of the rat is believed to eat away all the bad in your life; debt, relationships, jobs, etc. It has been a difficult year but it held true. I got a new job in December 07, we gave our home up in March, Steve lost his job in June, and because of all this our relationship has become stronger. I started weight watchers in -4/2008 and have lost 40 pounds. We have done 2 major hikes this year and lots of small ones. We went to NY in September and have tons of day trips around the Pacific Northwest. Hopefully 2009 will be more mild then 2008. Only time will tell. I want to hike more and drink less or no diet soda. Happy New Year.

Overwhelmed

WARNING: This is a venting post. What a day. After working 10-12 hour days for the past week I am sooo tired. I am still trying to get my paperwork done for the lawyer. I went jogging on Sunday and really hurt my ankle. The ankle has not healed properly since my car accident in 04/2004. So more exercise this week which it would not matter since I am leaving 2 hours late every night. To top this off my nephew Caiden is in the hospital and they can not figure out why, my sister in law Barb had surgery today, my Grandma is going into surgery tomorrow to have her toe removed, and my Grandpa Ryan is very ill. I am worn out and stressed out at work and I need a break. The only thing that prevents me from taking one is because the same amount of work needs to get done so what is the point. Dear God help me get through today. The stress is overwhelming.

Rockwealth Ministries

Everyone who knows me knows I am a VERY "spiritual" person. I was raised Christian. I have studied all the religions in the world. In a desire to overcome the knowledge and questions I learned in Christianity I became Mormon for about three years. Luckily after many nights of crying my eyes out because my questions did not stop in my head to just have "faith." I felt like a failure and that I was damned to hell. Through meditation, prayer, and dream work I am now very comfortable in my beliefs and Christ. As I was flipping through the channels today I saw a minister named Dr. Coontz. I was shocked to hear his speech.

Basically he said that if you send a $100 to his organization that you will be out of debt.....REALLY! Check out this site http://www.rockwealth.org/. It is very disturbing because I know people who are poor and Christian will feel like if they do not donate they deserve to be poor because they did not have enough "faith" to donate the money they do not have. Although I do not believe in the literal interruptation of the bible. I am just curious why this Christian DOCTOR does not go by the word he claims to speak of. Let's go to the story of the widow who gave her last penny.

"41(BT) And he sat down opposite(BU) the treasury and watched the people(BV) putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42And a poor widow came and put in two(BW) small copper coins, which make a penny.[f] 43And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you,(BX) this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her(BY) poverty has put in everything she had, all(BZ) she had to live on."

Jesus was not impressed by the amount yet that she gave what she could. So why is this DOCTOR asking for a specific amount. I am concerned with this doctor preaching to the masses and making promises God is the only one powerful enough to promise me anything.

My parents fell in to a similar trap and I am still waiting for it to come true for them..... that was 15 years ago and they both are dead now. I guess they did not have enough faith. Please tell everyone you know God loves them and they can not buy his love.

Christmas Eve

Christmas is not about presents or food it is about connecting with friends and family. Steve and I both have to work on Christmas. We also live far away from our family and do not have any children. I miss Christmas as a kid. My dad use to take us Christmas Light driving on Christmas Eve and then we would order pizza. We would wait until our mom got home at 4:00 in the morning and then open gifts. Then on Christmas we would go to our big family dinner. Now we do nothing. I did not even put up a tree this year because there is no point. I wish I had more family near by or at least a kid. I miss Christmas.

9 Year Anniversary

It is hard to believe Steve and I have been together for nine years. I was barely 18 when we started dating. Wow our lives have changed. We have lived in Ohio, Arizona, and Washington. We have been to Europe, the Caribbean, and all over the United States. We have laughed a lot. We have grown up together. Ithas not been easy but nothing worth having is. Through good and bad we have loved each other. Hopefully the next 9 years will be as adventurous as the first.

Sucky Chrstmas

Sorry everyone I am not in the Christmas mood. Please do not check your mail for any Christmas cards from me or presents. I did not even put up a Christmas tree. I am tired of putting so much effort into the holidays so this year I didn't. We do not have children or family near by so it is almost just another day. Just because I did not send any material things please know I will be wishing you the best on the holiday and I love you all.

Crappy Weekend

After another 11 hour day at work I made my way home. I weighed in at weight watchers and I gained 1.4 pounds. I have been doing everything right. I can not break the 36 pound mark. It is irritating but I am going to stay on it. Steve and I went shopping on Saturday and because it was the weekend before Christmas and there was a winter storm coming the stores were horrible. Once we got home I feel asleep and did nothing the rest of the day. I was ready to go the last Seahawks game of the year this morning but Steve had to go to work. So we ended up not going and I could not give the tickets away. I tried to make it to subway before Steve left for work but it did not happen so Steve ended up taking the Malibu instead of the jeep and almost got in a couple of accidents on his way to work. He is now mad at me and I am tired of him always being mad at me. I know he loves me but I think I piss him off a lot. Hopefully the day will go better. I was suppose to take tomorrow off but I most likely will go in. Hope you all had a great day. I will be posting pictures soon of the snow.


Sam in the Snow

Laz wants to open Steve's Gift



One of the cutest Snowman I have seen.


Just Sam being cute


The view from my desk.

Wow what a couple of days

Yesterday I worked a 9.5 hour day and today I put in a 12 hour day. Oh my goodness I know I should not have taken Monday off. Yesterday I had to work late because my boss took the management out for a holiday party. We went to a reasturant called Stanley and Seaforts. It was a lot of fun.

Today I worked a 12 hour day because I had a conference call at 8:30 and then it was snowing in WA. They do not know how to handle snow and a lot of roads were shut down. We had people leave early so I had to take calls and I wanted to make sure everyone left ok so I did not leave until 8:45. I got home at 9:45 (average commute is only 20 minutes). I heard two of my coworkers got into small fender benders. I took some pictures but I will post them tomorrow when I have more time.

Vacations Don't exist

God knows I love my job and the people I work with but sometimes I get so tired. Since I am salaried even if I take a couple of days off I still need to do all the work from those days off. So I jammed 3 days of work into one. A nine hour day later, no breaks, 11 meetings, 1 emergency, and 146 e-mails read and responded too I am caught up. Damn I am good. Other then getting caught up on work there really is nothing new going on. I am tired and I am hoping to get up early tomorrow to go on an early morning jog.

This is the path I jog on.

Here is Lazarus

Just a day of Photography

Just spent the day taking pictures. I wanted to share a few of them.

A Birthday Weekend

What a great weekend! Besides using cold medicine all weekend the weekend could not have been better. On Friday I went to Ross to by new clothes since mine are to big. There was a really cute pair of jeans I wanted but they were not in my size. So I decided to try the smaller size and they fit. I am now 3 sizes smaller then when I first started. When I got home there was a present waiting for me from Steve it was the movie Wall-e. I have been wanting it for some time. We then went to The Melting Pot. It was the most expesnive meal I ate but it was worth the price. The Melting Pot is a fondue reasturant. We spent 3 hours consumming our dinner. The best part was the dessert. The chocolate fondue was the best with bits of brownies and fruit. Let's just say I did not count calories during the dinner.

The next day we had our Christmas party for my team at work. We held it at one of the employees house since the company does not pay anything to help us throw a party. I provided the Turkey and Ham and everyone else brought the sides. We did a white elephant exchange where I got playdoh. The team surprised me with a birthday/christmas gift from the team. I have 18 people on my team and they raised enough money to get me a really nice FujiFilm Finepix digital Camera. It has 12 optical zoom and 10 megapixals. I was so surprised I cried. I still can not believe they did this. Steve was a little upset since he got me a simialar camera for Christmas. I feel bad for Steve because he was trying to surprise me but my team beat him to the punch. I love that he tried so hard and I feel bad that his surprise was ruined. I returned what he got me today and I do not expect a gift from him this year since his was ruined. I know he put a lot of thought and effort into the gift he got me and I love him for that. So needless to say it was a GREAT 27th birthday.

So Sick

I have felt a cold coming on for sometime and it hit full blast today. Since I am such a work-a-holic I still went in today. I was so drugged up I was in meeting and I sortof fell asleep luckily it was not noticed. I made it through the day and now I am ready to go to sleep. Tomorrow is my birthday and I hope I feel better by then. I am taking a four day weekend. Thank goodness I have a job that gives me four weeks vacation. Again I am a work-a-holic and have 72 hours left to use. My day was really uninventful. Being sick really does slow your brain down. It took me five minutes to open a pack of pills. They really need to make it easier for people to get their meds. Saturday is my teams Christmas Party and I have to cook a ham and turkey; wish me luck.

Judged on 1%

I was in a coaching session with one of the members of my team and I had a thought, We are judged on 1%. What I mean by that is that this person is nice 99% of the time but one day he raised his voice hence we had to have a discussion. Luckily everything went well and he gained a lot through our conversation. I just feel it is unfair to be judged on 1%. It has happened to me and everyone I know at least. So the lesson is when you see they are in a conduct unbecoming of them please give them the benefit of the doubt and don't judge their 1%.

100 things (almost)

RULES: There are 100 statements and you bold the ones you have done. Grab it and play for yourself!! (This was taken from a friends blog) I just noticed it is missing a few statements. So lets say 96 statements about myself

1. Started your own blog (tonight)
2. Slept under the stars (we all do nightly)
3. Played in a band (trumpet and baritone)
4. Visited Hawaii (for my honeymoon)
5. Watched a meteor shower (did not see much)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity. (Gave my last $20 to a family a long time ago. Don't tell Steve oh no he will read this)
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain. (would love to do this weekly)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (woodburning)
15. Adopted a child (tried too) :( Cry
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (it is a lot smaller then what I thought)
20. Slept in an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (I will not answer questions about this one :))
27. Run a marathon (walked one I will run one one day)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (solar)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David (a picture)
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (on a video)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (for a second, long story)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (unsuccessful)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten cavier.
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (I will when I get my Doctorate)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life (my dad's three times and a lady drowning.)
90. Sat on a jury (I want to)
91. Met someone famous (Penn and Teller)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one (Grandma, Mom, dad, friend Rachel)
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
100. Read an entire book in one day
Feel free to take this and do it too. Maybe you will learn some things about yourself

Hello

Hi Everyone. My name is Beckie Baker. I was inspired to write this blog because of my sister. I enjoy her blog so much I thought it would only be fair to return the favor. My goal is to post a new blog every time she does. She is my older sister and although we have had some "fights" I still love and care for her.

So here is a little about me. I am 26 years old (knocking on 27), but hey I have two more days so I still claim 26 for now. I have been married to Steve for six and a half years. We have been together for 9 years; yes I started dating him when I was 18. We have had our ups and downs but I love him and I could not imagine my life without him being in it. We are unable to have children so to make up for that we have two dogs. One is a Basset Hound named Samson and a Cocker Spaniel named Lazarus. Samson is loud and full of life. He loves to howl and attack his toys. He will protect me to no end and will not Steve kiss me. Lazarus' soul is that of a cat I have to push him to go outside and he is very stubborn. They are my children.

This picture is me 40 pounds heavier. The jeans from this picture are too big and the sweater is very bag now.

I love football (specifically Ohio State and the Seahawks), photography, swimming, traveling, and hiking. Steve and I have lived in Ohio, Arizona, and Washington. I currently work as a manager in a call center for a National bank and manage a team of 18 bankers. I care for all of the members of the team and I think of them of an extended family.

In 26 years I have been through a lot. Susan and I grew up in a very poor, abusive, and sometimes unloving home. We survived a lot and we learned to forgive our parents and we are still trying to overcome the hurt we lived through. I have had many personal struggles from weight, being legally blind (still able to see and drive), trust issues, and emotional balance. I try to find greatness in everything and I truly believe everything happens for a reason. I try not to hold grudges and I always try to do what is right. I am at peace with who I am and all the negative that can surround me.

You will find out more as we go, but I think we are good for tonight. Have a great day and remember You only have two choices in your life to either be happy or not.