Time Flies Fast!

I find it kind of weird that suddenly I agree with so many of the older, and wiser, people in my life. They would say to me in passing, "time passes so quickly" and "...it seems like yesterday...". I've been thinking about that a lot lately and they are right. We are only here for a moment, in the grander scheme of things I want what I do to count. Have you ever felt like you were destined for more in life? God is helping me to daily discover more of Him and His will for my life and I'm looking and praying about what could be next.

On another note, I've been so busy lately I feel like I've had no time to spend with friends or to do the things which I enjoy most. I feel so selfish when I come home exhausted and tired and I just want to sleep. I feel like I am cheating myself out of great possibilites. I could read more, write more, exercise, or hang out with friends. I know I'm still working on finding a balance. I've done the opposite before where I was doing too much and that is just as bad. You can't be at your best when you're being stretched too much. Craziyness! So for now I'm pretty tired :)

I've been so busy that I've neglected writing in my blog, and I guess I didn't even notice!!! So here are more updates:

James and I finally have a livable apartment. We've moved, painted, and set up house (for the most part). There are still a few boxes while we look for bedroom furniture but ohhhh it is nice to have your own place!

My family came for Thanksgiving and it was wonderful! I miss them so much and it was great to hang out. My mom and I made a Thanksgiving meal together and it was great fun! I learned that I can cook!

We decorated a little bit for the holidays although no real tree this year. Just the fake-o, but I'm happy, I love Christmas and putting up decoations. James doesn't seem to mind yet!

James sold his Jeep and I think he misses it but it wasn't working and it was time for it to go. So he said a sad good-bye and gave "Cecillia" away.

We have some Christmas parties coming up and they should be fun and interesting! James and I went to a holiday party this week at our apartment complex (we wanted to win a door prize). Although we didn't hit the jackpot, I did win a Starbucks gift card!

We leave in a little over a week to head home to Michigan for a Christmas vacation! Whahoo!

We found out more friends of ours are getting married (I think the total number of weddings going on this summer is 5!) I'm very excited for them! And I LOVE weddings!

That's pretty much it so far...... I know the Christmas festivities will lend me some great blogs soon! Until then good night!

Rest In Peace

Today I got word that my Aunt died this morning. She was in her 50's and a beloved friend and teacher. She meant so very much to me. Late last year we found out that she had a brain tumor and they had to have it removed. They didn't expect her to live for more than a few weeks. Well, she managed to live a lot longer than that doctors thought she would (praise God!) and she was even able to make it to my wedding in April (which she thought she would never be able to do). I am so blessed because of her, and the way that she had impacted my life. I am sad and pained because of how much I love her and I will have no more memories than I already have with her in them. I am also happy because she was in a lot of pain and she has now gone to be with her beloved Jesus. He has taken her home.

This Week Thus Far :)

I started my new job this past week! It really isn't bad :) There are some quirky people there but I think that is fun and makes it really interesting. Everyone is a nice kid of quirky too! One lady has started calling me "bits" short for "little bits". My boss calls me "Daniella" even though all my letterhead says "Danielle Kanka" and everything that you put your name on is spelled "Danielle". I don't mind it but I do think it's funny and I don't have the heart to tell him any different. One funny aspect of work is how a few people handle stress. It's a busy time right now and so there is a lot to do. In my previous job there was always a ton to do and never enough time to complete everything and that is just how it was, no biggie. Well, some people at this job start to freak out a little bit and seem overwhelmed by the amount of work there is. I find this really funny, it's like "Oh no! We've got work to do!". It really cracks me up :)

I had my hair cut 2 weeks ago. I love having short hair for the sake of ease and it saves me a lot of time in the morning so I can sleep in a little. Here is a picture of my new do!

James has a new change too, his loving Jeep died and now he has a new used Toyota Celica. It's got a sun roof and flippy lights! He likes it a lot but I know he is sad to see his Jeep, "Cecilia", go.

Also this week I've been feeling really busy with trying to prepare for moving too. Buying furniture and paint and trying to account for all the things we already have. One thing we really need to get is a mattress! I can't believe we haven't bought one yet! Oh well I'm sure we will soon enough. We bought a dining room table and chairs for $150 on craigslist! I love using craigslist. It is so easy and a lot of times people are moving and sell their nice furniture for dirt cheap! I love our table and was so happy to get it. Two other tables that I tried to buy for us had been sold within the first hour they were posted. So when this one was posted I jumped on it and was the first one! :) We also bought an amoire for the TV and entertainment center area. My mother-in-law found/got us a slightly used sectional from Crate and Barrel and some upholstery material. Today I think we are going to go look at some paint. This is the first time I've been able to paint in an apartment I am really excited!

Lately I've been feeling heart sick for my girlfriends. I miss them and home so much right now. I know I've neglected calling and hanging out lately. I feel like I have so much on my plate, so many new things and crazy things coming up. But that shouldn't be an excuse and I'm making a point of it to get a hold of people soon.

Well I've definitely rambled on and I've got a ton to do today! God bless!

More news!

Well over the past month I decided to put forth all my efforts into finding a good job. I felt like all I was doing was going to interviews, responding to job ads, making and receiving phone calls, and running all over the place. On top of that I was apartment hunting as well. It was really chaotic and yet in some ways fun to put that much effort into something.

I had talked to so many people and gone on so many interviews that I began to feel very confident with my skills and it became easier to communicate all of this with future employers. My brother had also helped me redo my resume and it seemed like I was getting a lot of notice. It was wonderful, but then came the hard part about figuring out what kinds of companies I wanted to work for, where I felt comfortable, and what kind of salary our family needed.

Well this past week I finally found a great fit job! I am really excited :) It's with a company called the National Energy Management Institute. Honestly I was drawn to the non-profit organization, their benefits, and the 7 hr. work day but I am excited to work in the office as well. The people that I met were so welcoming and inviting it will be great! I start monday!

James also got a job and began working last week! He is a producer at the Washington Bureau. I think it is a marvelous stepping stone for him. Not to mention that he did some great production assistant work with the style network a couple of weeks ago! Things are really starting to take off for him and I love seeing him so excited about one of his life passions!

We signed on an apartment a couple of days ago as well. It is in a young professional community and has a lot of stuff to offer. It is really close to the metro system which James uses to get to work and it is about 7 minutes away from where I'm going to be working. The community is located in between Pentagon City, Crystal City, Alexandria, and Arlington! I feel like it's right smack dab in the middle.

It's a one bedroom and there isn't a ton of room for extra stuff but it's pretty and I am beyond excited to start decorating!!! I just finally feel like James and I can start our little nest and finally can live somewhere that is our own and have it reflect our own style. I am jumping out of my skin to start decorating it and making it into our home! I think it's going to be fun to paint the walls with my husband by my side and to use all of our wedding stuff too!

So, life has been really full lately. James and I are feeling so blessed by all these things that have come our way. We know that God definitely has his hand on us and our lives. Through Him all things are made and accomplished, apart from Him I am nothing. I was reminded about this all month and still am. I feel more at peace lately too. God is Good!

1-uppers

Have you ever had that feeling that someone 1-upped you on purpose?! Today I had that feeling. People who do this are always so sneaky! It's like they purposely say something to verify that they are not "quite" on your level (or whatever level they perceive you to be). It's so crazy, sometimes it feels like a drive-by. You know... your are talking and getting along great and then it slips out from the other persons lips and if you weren't really listening you would just have let it pass with no thought, but because you are listening you catch it. Then you start pondering , "did that person just say that?" and then feelings on inadequacy start to rise. I absolutely hat that! I hate comparison, and I hate it when I start to question if I am good enough or if someone else thinks lesser of me. Maybe I just live in my own little world where comments pointing out someone's short-comings is a bad mistake. I'm not saying that I think myself anywhere close to perfect but when someone takes pride in comparing themselves to you it definitely hurts even if they don't realize the full consequences of such talk.

Well, the past few days I've been energized at the prospects of looking for a job. I hate the interviewing process and despise the whole aspect of getting a job. But for some odd reason I actually got excited about it this week. I am at peace with not having a job right now and had started to not beat myself up about finding the perfect job. (I do that sometimes.) And then today I felt like suddenly someone's ill-though blurbs not only took the excitement away but made me beat myself up in other areas... some even old areas. For 10 minutes I started to scrutinize how I was measuring up. The 1-ups got me into comparison, and I passionately hate comparison because once you start comparing suddenly what was good and worked is now not quite enough. But, then after the 10 minutes of shocking and comparative thoughts, I realized that I had officially been 1-upped and that this person who 1-upped me must not be happy with themselves because why else would they desire to elevate themselves?

And then I began feeling good again because of the realization that I am perfectly adequate the way I am and whatever level that may be. God knows I am not perfect but He loves me just the same and I need not be in bond to comparison (not even for 10 minutes!) but rather in bond to love.

The Rest of the Updates :)

Here is some more fun stuff.... James finally got to walk for his graduation, my friends Lauren and Jon got married in OH, my parents came to visit, the Kankas had a second wedding reception for us in Virginia, our friends Lauren and John got married in PA, and then we went home for a family vacation in northern MI!!! Whew what a fun spring/summer!

Long Time No Hear?

Yes it has been a VERY long time since I've been using the blog but since it's way to long to write everything I'm going to put up a montage of pictures to fill you all in on some of the details......



We were married at the MSU Alumni Chapel on
April 22, 2006

It was a beautiful day and we had so many family and friends there to help us celebrate!

Our honeymoon was spent in Virginia Beach VA


More to follow......

New Profile Picture :)

Here is a picture of me from our honeymoon and I thought I needed a new picture for my profile :)

Mrs. Danielle Linn Kanka

I am officially a Kanka now! The whole month of April flew by and now May is almost over too! Where in the world does the time go? A lot of people may be wondering how the wedding went.... Well the wedding was perfect but there was definitely some craziness!

I went home in April about 3 weeks before the wedding just to get some things done and organized and I am so glad that I did. 1 week before the wedding James came to help out with wedding stuff too. Well... About 3 days before the wedding James comes out of the bathroom and says "My arm is really swollen!". I was like, "are you kidding me?!!!" So I drove James to the ready care who sent us to the E.R. at the hospital where we stayed from 7pm till 10am the next morning!!!! They ran lots of tests and even called in a specialist but they just couldn't figure it out. Finally the specialist had a name for it, he called it cellulitis. Which is what it's called when random parts of your body swell up at the blink of an eye. So they decided to start James on I.V. treatment right away and had him come into the hospital every 6 hours for I.V. treatments that took forever to give. Well the day before our wedding they decided to switch the antibiotics because James wasn't taking to one of the earlier ones and so James spent the whole day before the wedding in the E.R. and we didn't know if he was going to make it to the rehearsal or not :(

I was so worried for him and in the meantime trying to set up for the wedding that I was praying would still happen without any problems. We had the rehearsal dinner before the wedding rehearsal and there were so many out of town guests it was wonderful! But I had to go to it without James :( With about 40 minutes left at the dinner James made it!!!! He came straight from the hospital!!! He was so bummed, and felt like he had missed so much. I think we all did a good job of cheering him up though! :) So the rehearsal went great and I had to drive James back to the hospital afterwards for another treatment and his friends went with him and then took him out for some bachelor fun. So I stayed up fairly late getting last minute stuff done since we were so behind from all the hospital visits. My brother and sister-in-law were amazing!!! They got everything done for me and helped me with so much! I wouldn't have made it without them :) And my friend Devon came over the night before and helped us make some flower arrangements for the pews! The help was so much appreciated! :) I was all set and ready for bed by 12am.

The next morning I woke up at 5:30am and casually got ready, my friend Lauren joined me at 7:45 and my friend Devon at 8. I knew it was going to be a wonderful day!!! I did my own hair and makeup and loved it!!! We got to the church and everything was in bloom and the sun was shining! It was beautiful and then all my bridesmaids and friends that came to the church helped to set up the flowers and line the isle with flower petals! They were amazing and helped so much!!! The florists had also decorated the doors with wreaths and the alter with flowers. It really was breathtaking and looked exactly the way I'd always pictured it! I got news that my groom had made it to the chapel and I was thrilled, now there was no stopping this wonderful day!

The wedding was amazing and so beautiful and the reception was perfect too! We had a wonderful time and James and I felt so honored and blessed by all the support from our friends and family over the week. Although some minor setbacks (like James' arm being swollen, having to cancel our honeymoon trip to Mexico, and having to go to the hospital right after the reception for another treatment) we made it through!!!! And we had so much fun regardless of circumstances!

After the wedding we were able to take a trip to Virginia Beach at James' grandparents place and enjoy a little honeymoon there although it was no Cabo San Lucas, it was very romantic and wonderful! James' arm is fine now and he's feeling great. We were able to switch to oral antibiotics shortly after the wedding so we didn't have to go into the hospital every 6 hours. And now were are just having fun being newlyweds and living together. We are still planning to take our trip to Cabo at some point. We've been back in Virginia for a week now and we're going to a bed and breakfast this weekend to celebrate James' birthday and have some fun! God has blessed James and I so much and we praise Him for all the wonderful people and experiences He gives to us :) Thanks everyone that made our day so special and for those of you who couldn't make it we are having a reception in Virginia at a later date! :) I'll post pictures soon of all the festivities!!!

I'm getting married!

It hit me the other day that James and I only have a little over 40 days until we get married! How amazing is that?! :) We just did our last marriage mentoring meeting last night, and well... we passed! hah! The couple that have mentored for many weeks have been such a blessing to us not only as resources but friends as well. They are so inspirational and real. It bugs me when married people act as if they have no problems and that communication is not an issue with them. Of course its an issue for them...it's an issue for everyone! Okay I'll stop my rant, but I am so excited to be getting married soon! I feel like I've waited so long not only for marriage but for James as well. I know things are going to be hard, because marriage is hard, but oh will it be so good!

I've been doing so much lately I feel like a chicken with its head cut off. When I'm not working I'm planning a wedding, and getting more details tackled. I'm excited to get my extra-cirricular life back! People keep asking me and expecting me to be stressed out with wedding stuff... sometimes I feel like telling them that if I was stressed out they would definitely not need to ask me about it. :) So no right now stress is fine for me although I think other people are getting stressed out for me, so that's too bad that they are feeling that way. I'm excited for my showers coming up, it will be so amazing to see everyone and I think it will really hit me then, that I am actually getting married soon!!!! So fun!

Well if you all think of it pray for me and James. We are driving late on friday night of next week to Michigan and have a TON of stuff to do for the weekend, pray that we don't crash. Also please pray for James and I in the job situation and apartment situation. Both of which we don't have to count on right now.

Okay, time to get back to work!