Goodbye Hello!

There is no way to describe the excitement that I am feeling right now. I no longer need the Hello! software to upload pics to my blog. You can't imagine the pain that I suffered everytime I saw my husband's blog and all the pics he so easily loaded into each of his posts. I no longer have to suffer the cruel bitter pains of envy. And so in honor of this truly magnificent moment, I post my puppy. Hannah, with her tongue hanging out, is saying, "You go girl...you go..." It's beautiful.

You Can't Handle The Truth

There is something beautiful about the truth. Raw, gritty, real truth. It has always captured me. I find the truth in unexpected places. Not just in perfection. (Jesus is the ultimate truth.) But I find truth in many fallen places. Places of pain. Places of loneliness. Places of passion and love. Places that many people I know would find scandalous. Because the truth isn't always clean. It is often dirty, and messy. But beautiful all the same.

All That And A Bag Of Chips

Well I think I've finally settled--for now--on my blog template. I am pleased with this result and pleased that I will no longer be coding any pages. Actually I've grown a little addicted to it. I'll probably still be messing around with it somehow. Now I get to go back to focusing on how to invest my money for retirement. As if my brain isn't already fried enough. I'm a stay at home mom, so I'm always looking for challenging--but fun--projects to work on. My husband bought me a sewing machine and I taught myself how to quilt. I've read all of the Harry Potter books... twice. I even took notes and analyzed the use of colors and searched for clues. I'm pretty much insane. Reading is actually huge for me. I need something to keep my brain moving at all times. Plus, I've found that day to day living can be very slow and tedious. Books bring a little bit of excitement to my day. Some of the best books I've ever read are: Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings, The Circle Books (Black, Red, White) by Ted Dekker (He's amazing!), and Pride and Prejudice. At least these are the few I can think of when I am only half awake.
We have been working towards becoming foster parents and last Saturday we got a little closer. Our license came in the mail. Now it's just a matter of waiting. A thing I have not yet perfected. There is so much uncertainty in foster care. It can be a little unnerving at times. When you get pregnant you have a certain time period (approx.) to wait. You know about when to expect a new addition and you can make plans. With foster care I could get a call tomorrow and have a baby by five o'clock. Or three months from now I could still be waiting. Also when you give birth to a baby you can expect that it will be a newborn and therefore require infant things. With foster care I could have a six month old, eighteen month old, or three year old. What an adventure! It's all amazing.
Well that's "All that". So, what about the bag of chips? Black Pepper Jack Doritos. I am so loving these chips. If you haven't already, check 'em out.

Blog Awareness

Since starting this blog, it seems, I've spent most of my time trying to find and fix a template that I actually like. I thought this would be somewhat easy. I was wrong. Many free templates on the web are geared toward a younger generation. And, while I LOVE Harry Potter, I don't love the books enough to create my blog around them. :) What generally happens is, I tinker. I load up a template and then try to manipulate the code to change colors, etc... I usually do this for about an hour, get frustrated with trying to color coordinate (it looks almond on this page and peach when I post it on mine), and give up entirely. Not only that but if I choose a new template I usually have to reload my links. This is not too difficult, just a matter of copy and paste, but it is an inconvenience none the less. But I am learning. And I thrive on learning. So, as frustrating as this can be, it is also exciting. To create. To grow. To try something new and put ideas out there. Please bear with me, in the beginning.

Me and my family geocaching 

In The Beginning

In the beginning there was a title. A much worked over and often changed title, that led to Wherever you go... It comes from a great and wonderful saying: Wherever you go, there you are. I have found this small yet profound statement to be true repeatedly in my life, especially lately. No matter where you go or how your circumstances change you are still you. I am currently living in Alaska. A crazy and somewhat daunting place to be. The temperatures in the winter fall down to negative fifty. And in the summer it can get up into the nineties. Quite an extreme. But, alas, even in Alaska I am still Jaime. I still carry my talents, dreams, faults, and hardships. But I am growing, learning, and trying new things. Thus, this blog. I read somewhere that you should have an idea of what you want to accomplish with your blog, before you start one. Well in this, I'm afraid, I am already at a disadvantage. I'm not sure exactly what I want to say or where I want to go with this. I am just going to see where all of this takes me.