i'll be home for christmas ...

if only in my dreams.

i admit it.  i miss my family.  i wish i was snuggled up with my nieces, drinking hot chocolate, listening to their stories about school and friends and what they want for christmas.  i wish my nephew was telling me, in his adorable breathless way, about his dirt bike and what he wants to do with it in the summer.  i wish my sisters were making chai tea and planning sledding dates with my mom and dad.  i wish we were putting up twinkly lights and complaining about the shopping traffic in bayers lake.  i wish we were listening to kenny and dolly and boney m and patrick complaining about it. 

i wish i was at home with my wonderful, beautiful family.

i miss you.

grand opening weekend and things i'm thankful for

we opened for business on thursday, and people were bursting down the doors.  it was like a tickle-me-elmo-christmas-crush ... for furniture.
for four days, the population of thunder bay streamed into our store in droves. 
it was insanity. 
we were working 15 hour days, with not even time for breaks.  customers were amazingly patient with us, because we're all in training - but even so, the stress was intense.  i've never managed before.  agh.
by saturday, the lack of sleep and immensity of the workload made my neck ache.  it was still hurting yesterday, and today at work, the girls were telling me i didn't look too great. 
so they told my boss i was going to the clinic, another manager drove me there, and i walked in.
within 5 minutes, i was standing at the pharmacy counter with my prescription in hand.
i've never had a shorter visit in a clinic.  i'm so glad to have such amazing coworkers who take care of me even when i'm too blind to take care of myself.
then patrick tucked me into bed and did the laundry while i slept ... and is making me supper while i type.
so blessed.

winnipeg: over

i'm home!  i'm home!  yesterday afternoon, caitlin met me at avis, and brought me back to my beautiful, amazing, dear husband.  i was so tired i could hardly think straight.  i slept for ten hours, and yet this morning i still have bags under AND over my eyes.  ick.

it is so nice to be back in my life again.  i love my place.  i love my sweet cozy bed.  i love my thoughtful husband.  who knew: i even love thunder bay. 
weirder still: i'm excited to eat vegetables. 
(eating out for a week was not as awesome as i thought it would be.  ugh.)

thanks for all the comments and love on my blog, friends.  i love you.

winnipeg: day six

last day of training!  brain is mush.  but i've learned a lot and hopefully will take most of it back to a gorgeous new store :D.

after work, we went shopping - to two malls and a maze of outlet stores.  2 kind of cool things happened ...

i was sitting outside starbucks, and could see a kid further up the mall who looked so much like ashlin.  and i was missing her so much, and all of a sudden she texted me!  it made my day. i love my nieces and nephew.  they're fun people.

another cool thing that happened was at the end of the night.  a girl walked up to me, and she was like 'you seem so familiar!  do i know you from somewhere?' and i was like 'i don't think so - i'm not from in town.  i'm janelle.' and she was like 'i'm janelle!"  and then she introduced her friend, and they said that they (young people from their church) walk through the mall on friday nights and pray for people who stand out to them ... and then she asked if they could pray for me, and about anything in particular.

and then, right there in the mall, she did.  and i thought it would've been awkward and weird, but it was really awesome and i am so glad she did.

it made God feel so close.  even in the food court of the mall.
so thanks, winnipeg.  it's been a weird and difficult and good week.

tomorrow: patrick. <3

winnipeg: day five

Today we worked from 1230 til 915. It was so nice to sleep in! Afterwards, we went out for supper and laughed our butts off.

Until I put my foot in my mouth ... . A girl we were with was swearing earlier in the evening, saying Jesus Christ! for emphasis. Later, when I made a joking reference to some popes' less-than-holy treatment of kids, she freaked out and almost cried.  oops.  but I don't understand a view of God that makes it okay to curse His name but worships his (so-called) representative. Anyway, that made for an awkward night, with me apologizing for hurting her feelings, and her telling me that I was being worse than anti-Semitic for suggesting that popes aren't perfect ... but i'm a “nice person” and she doesn't want to hate me, so she's trying to remember to “be happy.” ugh! Catholics freak me out. Especially the ones who think they're good Catholics.

Jesus is God and I worship Him. Anybody else who tries to be worshipped is stealing His glory.

I'll be in Patrick's arms in less than 48 hours ... Lord Jesus willing, regardless of what the pope thinks of it!

Hurray!

winnipeg: day four

i have the strongest urge to jump on my bed.  it's huge, and i have the biggest pillows to land on.  i know when i get home, i'm going to find our bed small and our pillows flat ... but the best part will be snuggling with patrick, no matter how small or crowded it might seem!

today, a guy walked into leon's wearing a stripey brown shirt and black-rimmed glasses.  for a second, my heart leaped into my throat.  i thought it was patrick, coming to visit ...

anyway.  tonight we went to mcdonalds for supper - got take out - and watched movies.  then i talked to patrick and cried for the first time this week.  it just hit me hard how much i missed him.

we're working a later shift tomorrow, so get to sleep in.  yay! 
goodnight, friends.

ps thanks for all the comments :D

winnipeg: day three

another day.  today i learned how to do some more reports, some scheduling, and some finalizing of orders.

i also learned how to take a little bit of a stand, and not let one of my girls - who is awesome, but strongly opinionated - push me around.  which is cool.  i wasn't mean or anything, but i didn't reward pushiness with compliance.

after work, we went out to sushi cushi, which was cute & fun, and then to the movies to see social network.  it was good to just totally relax and enjoy the movie without thinking about work or stress about inter-office-cliques or anything like that.  also, it was free popcorn & pop night ... sweet!

thanks for praying for us.  i need more wisdom and patience than i possess! 

sweet dreams, all!

winnipeg: day two

today we went to the winnipeg store.  they were amazing.  so nice, so helpful.  we learned a lot.

i am sooooo tired.

good night world.