Ready to be Surprised.

There were many other blogs before TMIWU came into existence--and honestly, I've never posted a single entry on religion. In fact, I don't think there are even any entries with the slightest hint of a religious tone to it. I consider myself a rather devout Catholic. I just never wanted to blog about it--until today.

This week, I was asked to make a decision. It wasn't career-oriented or life threatening or anything like that. To me, however, it was an important decision. I searched high and low for signs from above. I was hoping for an obvious "yes" or "no" to fall from the sky. Unfortunately, no signs fell from the sky. I still had to make my decision, with or without signs. Eventually, it was one that I said yes to.

Then something amazing happened. Right after I said yes, a verse from Philippians 4:13 IMMEDIATELY came to mind. You must know that Bible verses do NOT come naturally to me. Ever. At that time, I wasn't even 100% sure it was a Bible verse. Either way, it fit.

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Why You Say It by Webb Garrison.

I love words. When I came across an opportunity to get myself a copy of Why You Say It, I immediately took advantage of it. It helped that I was extremely attracted to the cover art.

The basic premise of this book is that behind every word or phrase, there is a story. This book shares origins of various words and phrases, dividing them into sections such as “Names and Games” and “Money, Business and Commerce.”

Now, the question is—did I like this book? To a certain extent, I did. There were facts I found so interesting that I found myself sharing some with family members over dinner.

My gripe about this book is that many words and phrases are not used in everyday conversations like the title denotes. In fact, there were quite a number of entries that I have never and probably will never encounter in my life.

Why You Say It is not a book that you should read from cover to cover. It is interesting and informative, but is more ideal as reference material or for quick reads.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of BookSneeze, a book review bloggers program. Find out more at BookSneeze.com! :)

Abridged.

I missed blogging for the month of June by a day--by two days if we're going to be technical. Trust me, this makes me unbelievably frustrated. Moving on.

For the past 40 days, I have traveled to three different countries with my parents. It was 40 days of family and food. It was 37 nights of sleeping on either a sofa or an air bed (we stayed at a hotel for three nights). It was a vacation that strengthened ties that needed strengthening, and made room for new ones. It was a vacation full of laughs, reminiscing, and walking until our most comfortable shoes were no longer comfortable.

There are many stories to be told, and maybe one day, I'll tell you about them. Maybe I won't.

I am forever going to be grateful to my parents for funding this trip. I have been given a rare opportunity to visit my loved ones abroad, and I know that I won't be able to afford it myself for quite some time. Although I appreciate the new sights that I saw along the way--I am most thankful for the simple fact that I was able to travel with my parents. I can honestly say that I've gotten to know them (and myself, actually) a lot more over the past few weeks. I love them even more now, if that's even possible.

Of course, I am extremely happy to be home, safe and sound. At the end of the day, there's nowhere else I'd rather be. :)

Lapse.

It's been more than a month since my last post. Considering I'm pretty talkative, I actually feel like I have nothing to say.

Maybe it's because I talk too much and have nothing left to write down? Maybe it's because the things I do want to talk about, I'd rather not put out in cyberspace? Maybe it's because I've just been too lazy to post? Yeah, that's probably it.

I find it so sad to see how boring my blog has become. My previous blogs were full of the most random posts! I would constantly obsess over whoever was eliminated in Amazing Race or share my findings on whether couples formed on reality shows were still together after the season ended. I would jot down my to-do list for school. I would copy/paste lyrics of my current favorite song. I would even post the lamest attempts at *eep* poetry.

Up to this day, I enjoy going back to my old blogs to see what I used to write about. I especially like to see what I was doing many years ago at the same time of the year. What I find usually amuses me and makes me cringe at the same time. But hey, it's nice to see I've matured. I've also learned to proofread what I write before publishing it. Thank goodness.

However, I've got to give myself credit--I used to post a lot.

It actually drives me nuts when I see that in this blog, I average only one post a month. I admit that sometimes, it gets to the point that I force myself to post something. Anything. I need to have at least one entry for the month. Anything less than that will make me feel like my blog is terribly outdated... which will make me even lazier to update it.

So, here is yet another post on absolutely nothing. This post isn't about anything intellectual. It isn't informative. It isn't even entertaining. It is a desperate attempt at making my blog more active. It is simply a post to give me peace of mind for the month of May.

Thankful.

Now, I know that we're celebrating Easter today and not Thanksgiving. However, I couldn't let my day end without writing about how mighty thankful I'm feeling.

I have been amazed (and slightly amused) at how constantly I am given opportunities--no matter how small these opportunities may be. Lately, instead of feeling fearful about the future, I find myself feeling hopeful and excited about whatever may be in store for me.

For some reason, my heart is full. Full to the brim. Overflowing, even. I know that great things are coming my way. In the larger scheme of things, I know I have not been forgotten.