What parallel universe am I in?

Okay so apparently Christmas and New Year's brings out the crazy in a lot of people. I'm currently feeling caught between Redneck-ville and The Jerry Springer Show. Fortunately for Husband and myself, we set biblical boundaries long ago and are not caught in the actual situation. For those in the situation, we are praying for you and hope this is resolved soon.

For everyone else, Happy New Year coming up!

A New Tradition Perhaps?

Tonight being Christmas Eve and considering all the craziness we'll experience tomorrow, Husband and I decided it was best to do our own Christmas tonight. We are sitting surrounded by our expressions of love to each other, reveling in the Christ- mas spirit. We have always thought that we'd be disappointed Christmas morning if we didn't have anything from each other to open, but we don't think that will be true. We're quite pleased with each other's thoughtfulness and I must say, we should really get some stock in Crate and Barrel. We'll have to consider that before next Christmas! In the meantime, maybe we will have our own Christmas on Christmas Eve from now on. We'll have to think on it...

"Walk The Line"

Husband and I went to see "Walk The Line" last night. I had heard it was an amazingly good movie and it was even better than I knew it would be. Everyone should go see that movie. It has two of my favorite actors in it and they are incredible.

We left the movie theater even more in love with each other than before because of watching the love story of Johnny and June Carter Cash. What a wonderful and true story! If you haven't seen this movie, you should go see it!

Yay for (some) Christmas parties!

While I am still traumatized by the postal lady's comments a week or so ago, life still continues and I move closer to the age she thought I was...

Last night I hosted my first Cookie Swap at our place. It was awesome! I thought it went very well and as Meredith put it, I'm still in my "sugar coma." I can't wait to do another one next year! Thanks go to Martha Stewart and her Holiday Cookie magazine-- very helpful to me this Christmas season.

9 days to Christmas!

Happy Birthday to a great guy!

Happy birthday to a great guy and a great friend! I hope your day is going well and we can't wait to spend some of it with you and your family later! Woohoo!

Exactly how old do I look?!

Husband and I were mailing boxes to Brother in Iraq tonight, and the Postal lady asked me if Husband was my son! (For those of you who don't know, my Husband is usually treated like a high school student because of his young looks. When he shaves, he sometimes looks like a 12-year-old. He's in his late twenties- older than me!)

Okay now that you have the history, let me remind you that I was asked if he was my SON! We ALWAYS get asked if we're brother and sister, but never before mom and son. That's just sick and depressing.

Regardless to say, the postal lady felt awful, but I am not over this yet. It was horrible! I just think you should all know about my traumatic tale.

Let the revelry begin!

Today begins the season of Christmas parties. I usually dread this season but not this year as much, which is good. We'll see how tonight goes but I do love this time of year.

To our friends, we miss you tons and can't wait for you to be home! We're praying for you all!

To everyone else, go see The Chronicles of Narnia next week!

Jesus is the reason for the season!

Well, Thanksgiving and its accompanying week are now over. It was great! We missed our friends, who were all out of town, but we did enjoy lots of family time.

I'm ready and gearing up for Christmas now, but I want to remind everyone to remember the true Reason for Christmas: Jesus. Don't forget what it's all about amidst all the crazy shopping and baking and parties.

Just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas...

I've been needing (and wanting) new bakeware for a while now, due to what I currently have now. Last week while in Williams-Sonoma, I bought a new jelly roll pan (or some people might call it a very small cookie sheet) that was on sale.

I am taking this opportunity with my little corner of webspace to proclaim to one and all that I am madly in love with the Goldtouch brand of bakeware at Williams-Sonoma. I made cookies last Sunday for my coworkers and it's the best pan I've ever used to bake with. I've since somehow figured out a way to use it, or at least look at it, once a day (heating up pizza, Eggos, etc.).

I then went online yesterday to see what other types of bakeware this Goldtouch brand puts out, so I can decide which piece I want to get next. On their website only, there is a set of bakeware that is $11 cheaper than buying the four pieces individually! I'm amazed and yes, I'm a nerd because I did the math!

I want you all to know I fully endorse Goldtouch bakeware from Williams-Sonoma. This is great because it's just in time for my Thanksgiving and Christmas baking! The even cooler thing is Williams-Sonoma has a lifetime guarantee on their bakeware, so if you're ever unhappy with any of it, just return it (keep your receipt!) or exchange it, no questions asked! Isn't that amazing?!

Happy Birthday!

You are awesome. You are funny. You are a great mother. You are disciplined. Your faith is amazing to watch. You're a great role model. You're a great cook and baker. You're a great Hand and Foot partner. You're an amazingly awesome friend. I hope today is all you would ever hope it to be. I pray that blessings are poured down over your spirit today in a way you haven't felt in weeks. I love you.

The Three Musketeers!

I keep thinking about the good ol' college days back in the good ol' days... okay so they ended roughly four years ago. A week after graduation, I got married and two of my friends pretty much fell off the planet.

One went to vet school and I wonder if she's about to graduate and practice somewhere. The other friend went to grad school in Georgia, I think it was. I wonder where she is too.

These two friends and I were relatively inseparable in college, they were in my wedding, and it makes me wonder why I don't know what happened to them now? So if you read this and you know who you are, comment or email or something. :-)

Quilt? What quilt?

Well, I know no one has heard me talk about quilting for awhile now and that's because my first and so far, only, teacher so thoroughly confused me that I had temporarily given up. Heck, I never even finished the quilt I was making for Hubby. (Sorry baby!)

However, I have realized the dream again, especially thanks to Mom and Dad for the cedar chest I now have in my possession. (I want to stock it full of homemade quilts for those cold, snuggly nights on the couch.) The problem is there weren't enough people to take the November class (different business, different teacher) so now I have to wait until January. Sadness. Therefore I've decided no one should be expecting quilts for Christmas.

Congrats Cat!

It's been a pretty good weekend. We've been looking through cookbooks and making recipes all weekend and it's been lots of fun! I can't wait to see how our bread turns out.

(Oh and congrats go to Cat, who is back from her honeymoon tomorrow! Woohoo!)

Okay so...

Okay so I realize that two weeks ago roughly I had these grand delusions of writing these funny, witty, engaging highlights from our vacation to the beach. I also realize that's now as likely to happen as me doing push-ups this very moment (I'm not).

So in the spirit of trying to make things right, I am at least updating the blog and moving on with life. Fall is here and I am stinkin' excited! Granted, the weather's been in like the 90s lately it seems, but supposedly it's soon to be cooler. So exciting! I have had hot chocolate twice in the last week and a caramel apple cider from Starbucks (highly recommended with extra whipped cream) two weeks ago, so it's feeling autumnal to me.

Now it's party-planning time which I am fully getting into. Pampered Chef anyone?

Where's the Dramamine?!

While at the beach, it rained just about all the time. We still had bunches of fun, but at one point Hubby and I had to take the ferry to one of the other islands nearby. Let's just say I got seasick and had to get back in the car. The water got very choppy and turbulent at one point on the way there. Fortunately, we had smooth sailing on the way back. Oh, and we did see two jellyfish underwater! Remember that episode from "Friends?" Haha! I miss that show.

A vacationing we did go, a vacationing we did go...

Well, we went on our first vacation together in two and a half years this past week. It was great! John and Meredith invited us to go to the beach with them and their family. We had lots of fun shopping, eating and doing nothing! This week, blog entries will consist of highlights and conversations from the vacation. :-)

When we returned from vacation, our town finally felt like Fall! WOOHOO! I'm pulling out long sleeved shirts and sweatshirts right and left! Yippee!

So addictive!

So my friend today introduced me to Wheel Of Fortune online. VERY addictive! We haven't yet played against each other, but we're sure racking up the fake money! Between this game and Solitaire, how does anyone get anything done? And where's my free car?!

Just Pizza?!?

We're having pizza today for lunch and I showed my excitement to a coworker this morning. She said, "It's just pizza."

Just pizza? That's like saying it's "just Christmas" or "just the first snowfall of the year" or "just a new baby!" Pizza is yummy and very versatile! So yay for pizza!

Let the warping begin

Well, I became an aunt for the first time yesterday. It's a weird feeling, knowing that I'm an aunt to somebody, you know, another person.

All my life, I have been taught that it's the aunt's responsibility to "warp" the niece or nephew. My cool aunt did a REALLY good job at it and I have been informed I must carry on the tradition.

When Caleb was three hours old, I had a little talk with him and explained how things should go, you know, according to God's will of course, so he's set for life. I occasionally remember things I forgot to mention to him, but he seems to be doing alright. I guess on Saturday I'll have to have a talk with Joshua too, just to get him started on the right track. If this is called warping, then this I can handle!

God is powerful; Satan is not.

I've been learning a bunch of things lately, but one I want to write about today I realized last night. I was in a meeting and we were broken up into groups to pray. One of the cool ladies I was praying with was praying and something she said made me realize that Satan isn't powerful.

Now I realize that is a big statement to make, but let me explain what I mean. God is powerful. We often feel that because we sin all the time, Satan is also powerful. He tempts us and puts thoughts in our minds and causes us to say and do wrong things. But he's not powerful like God is. In fact, Satan's only doing this stuff to keep us from being Christlike. If we're true believers, Satan's already lost. There's nothing he can do except make us trip. Not fall, trip. Here's the kicker-- He even knows that he's not so powerful! He's dangerous and mean and hateful, but he's NOT powerful.

I've been thinking on this for the last day or so since Paula prayed the thought that made me realize this, and it's fascinating to me how helpful this truth is. I mean, it's not new news, but isn't it funny how I'd forgotten how true it is? And how powerful even I am, with the Holy Spirit in me? Heck, with the Holy Spirit, I'M more powerful than Satan! What a statement! To put it pure and simple, Satan is a 'troublement,' that's all he is. Just a pure troublement. He can't win because he's already lost. What a wonderful realization!

I broke down...

I finally succumbed to society's pressure. I bought a pair of Crocs this morning. I didn't cave completely though; I got a neutral color instead of a crazy cool funky one. These shoes are so odd my husband is afraid to come home and be seen in the same house as them. He'll get over it! ;-) If anyone is curious about the reason I finally got them, it's because everyone I know who has them says they're not only incredibly comfortable, but they're also very good for your back and feet. I've been running around in them for the last couple of hours and I must say, everyone else is right. I wonder what my coworkers will say on Tuesday?!

Please pray

We had been worried about my brother who is in Iraq, because we hadn't heard from him in almost two weeks. We finally received an update this morning from him.

*Good news: As of right now, he's fine and his platoon is fine.
*Bad news: His platoon's reputation is now the platoon that gets hit by the enemy.

PLEASE continue to pray for him and his platoon. Pray for our family as well please. Thanks.

Speaking of conflict and confrontation...

Yesterday I had to sit down and talk with a couple of different people about various things that were frustrating to me. Not bad and not a big deal because they were part of the solution (Speak the truth in love to someone who is either a part of the problem or a part of the solution.) but it was a big deal to me to do it.

Well I did it and I feel much better about things. Yay!

Yesterday when I got home I picked up the house and lit all these candles. It was so warm and cozy and romantic looking that I hated to blow them out to go to bed. We did but I can't wait to do it again. Fall is coming! Woohoo!

As a dam bursts forth....

I haven't had anything to write about in two weeks and finally I think I can come up with something.

God's been teaching me a lot over the past two weeks; mostly that I'm a big chicken when it comes to confrontation (not new news by the way) and that He still provides and blesses even when I'm not content. I keep trying to work on contentment and surprise, surprise! There isn't an overnight fix for either of these things. Sadness. The great news is that Jesus is always working to improve me because He loves me so much. WOOHOO! That IS great news!

Finally...

Well, we're finally making progress on our house. We've only lived there since May, but we're finally getting stuff done. I finally am beginning to feel at home and as if I've accomplished something. Of course, not I, but we, really. Husband helped a ton yesterday and we really got some stuff moved around. It was nice to come out of the bedroom this morning and see the sunroom having taken shape. I feel somewhat empowered to continue on the second bedroom. We'll see if that feeling lasts!

Birthday Blessings

When Hubby asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted it to feel like my birthday the entire day, and maybe have a birthday season (You know what I mean, more than one day of celebration.).

Well I sure got what I wanted! For such a significant birthday age, it's been the best yet I think. The whole week has been good (except for my work computer not working, but it's better now), fantastic even! And it's not even over yet!

Thanks everyone who contributed special blessings and thoughts and time to make it the best yet!

And thanks to my sweet, wonderful Hubby, the best one ever, who gave me the sweetest and most thoughtful gift of all. I love you.

Congrats baby!

Husband started his new job yesterday! Woohoo! Very exciting! I can't wait to hear how his second day will go. His first day was good, especially after John and Mere brought him a happy first day present. VERY sweet and thoughtful (and yummy)! Thanks ya'll!

Be Real

I hate when people want you to perform. A lady I know apparently thinks I am always "perky and smiling." The second I'm not, she always asks me what's wrong. I usually just tell her it's because I'm tired or some other just as vague response. I never lie to her, but life's been too tough lately to really get into it when I see her.

It's nothing personal against her, because I think she's a really great lady, but why do people expect you to always be one certain way? And then to assume something's wrong just because you're not full of energy?

I was talking about this with Mere yesterday about people seeing the real you, feeling like people truly care about you and want to know you deep down in the core of you. It's what God has called us to in our relationships, yet people get scared when you put that much time and energy and effort into your relationship with them. It's sad really, that we don't always think we can be really real with other people, especially our "friends." When you ask one of your friends next time how they're doing, ask them how they're really doing... and listen.

Yes, he's excited

Husband begins his new job next Monday and boy, it seems like the entire world is excited! (Good thing, by the way) All day long today, the question on everyone's mind was "Is he ready to be done with his current job? Is he excited about this new job?" It's nice to know that once a prayer's been answered, people still care about the outcome. (also a good thing)

Tears

Lately it feels like all I do is cry. Not crying because I'm upset or sad, but just because I am so happy or moved. I used to pride myself over never crying unless I was really upset by something. Growing up and even in college, I had friends that cried over anything, like when the Beast transforms at the end of Beauty and the Beast. I still don't get that one.

I think this must've happened over the last year or so because God has blessed me so much. I have a job I love and friends that continue to amaze me with their thoughtfulness and love. What a unique way to realize how much I've been blessed.

Lalalalala...

Overall it's been a good week. Some of the highlights:

*Watched an entire episode of Smurf's last weekend for the first time in my life. Very cool! Who knew they had tails? (besides Meredith)

*Read Harry Potter book six

*Brett's birthday is tomorrow so I got to decorate his half of the office and we're going to eat at the best Japanese restaurant in town!

*Best of all I think, tonight is date night and tomorrow I get to hang out with friends!

Answered Prayer!

Hubby got a job! Hubby got a job! Hubby got a job! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

I am so proud of my husband! He got through his root canal like it was nothing and found out about his new job the same day! Friday was a great day for our family!

Thanks for all the prayers and congratulations! We're very excited about this next chapter in our life's book.

I have nothing to say but this...

Last week I played with my best friend so much I got very spoiled from all the time we spent together. I realize I talk about her a lot, but she's awesome and I love her.

I'm having horrible withdrawal this week and it doesn't help that I don't know when we can hang out again due to Hubby's root canal tomorrow.

All this to say, you are loved and I miss you.

Root Canal Schmoot Canal

Today has been a pretty good day. I've gotten lots done at work which is always good, and tomorrow is my "Friday" which is even better.

Husband has a root canal Friday. This is the first time either of us has had one done so he's very nervous, not knowing what to expect. Please be praying for him. Fortunately for us both, it's first thing in the morning, so he can get it over with and then relax and recover for the rest of the day.

What a way to start the weekend huh?

Quicksand

Life seems to be so difficult lately. Not just hard but difficult, like pulling yourself through quicksand trying to suck you under and you're already tired.

We're praying our way through life right now, but as a friend pointed out this weekend, we need to pray like this always not just in the difficult times. Thanks for the reminder.

Praying for you...

Thoughts on the War

So the other night my brother came over for dinner. This is unusual because he's a Marine commander and had leave. He's being deployed in two weeks to Iraq, so everyone's trying to spend time with him before he leaves.

While he was over, we watched President Bush's speech encouraging people to support the war. As most of you now know, I have some thoughts on this.

The people who say they don't support the war because they'd rather not be at war, to you I say, who on earth do you think WANTS to be at war?! Good grief, nobody WANTS to be over there fighting for YOUR right to talk trash about the military and the commander of our country. Also, get over it! We ARE at war and you need to get on board with supporting the men and women fighting that war! Stop arguing and complaining about how you don't think we should be there in the first place, at the least shut your mouth so those trying to help get things resolved could get home that much more quickly.

I like how President Bush's speech told of all the good things we've been helping with over in Iraq. The news media in general tells the bad news since it sells. Let me tell them something- good news is what I will buy. I know there's reality and bad stuff happens, blah blah blah, but there's a TON of great stuff going on in the world that nobody is covering! I'm sick of it and I'm tired of not having my say. I know not that many people read my blog and that's okay, but now I can breathe easier having been on my soapbox today.

Now to go buy a yellow ribbon...

Not much to say

I don't think I have much to say today, but I did want to update the blog. Life has been very busy lately, but that's not always bad.

Husband has an interview tomorrow for a possible new job that seems perfect for him. We're really excited but we'll have to wait and see. Work for me this week has been extremely busy but after such a slow week last week, that's not bad either.

I told you I didn't have much to say today...

Big sigh...

I'm here. Lately it's felt like barely here, but I'm still here. It's been a very stressful last couple of weeks, for lots of different reasons. Suffice it to say, things will get better and Jesus is always in control.

Good news during this time:
*Time with our best friends (It truly doesn't get any better than that! Thank you for being such wonderful friends to us both. We love you.)
*My car is fixed. WOOHOOO! And it didn't cost my first- born child (which for those of you wondering, is NOT on the way).
*I met Paula Deen! SO very exciting! She puts a smiley face at the end of her signature! A Southern lady through and through.

Happy 100th!

This is my 100th entry to Life at Pemberley. I'm excited that I've gotten this far with my bloggie. Husband has been extremely helpful in keeping it alive, what with moving and server changes, etc.

I heard recently that if you like to journal but have a difficult time keeping up with it, to try typing journal entries. Upon hearing this, I realized that that's what my blog is all about. How convenient that I've been doing just that all along?!

Thank you for riding this ride with me. I hope you enjoy Life at Pemberley. I know I do.

Ode to Meredith

I haven't seen Meredith in what seems to be forever, and today I finally get to see her. I am so excited!

It seems lately that we've had more time to hang out together and since I'm so addicted to that family, I've had some serious withdrawal going on in the past two weeks.

In conclusion, I am VERY happy you're home Meredith and I can't wait for us to hang out today! :-D

Oh...my...goodness!

So... we're finally moved in to our new home. We still have much left to unpack and we still have a lot of settling in to do, but overall things are slowly beginning to look up.

Thank you ten thousand infinity times to those of you who supported us with prayer, food, friendship, manual labor, etc. You are loved and highly thought of.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my wedding anniversary with Husband. WOOHOO! We have the most fun every day, just laughing away-- I think that is how it is when you're married to your best friend. I can't say any more right now, or what will I put in the card?

In other news, Meredith and little Bug, you are terribly terribly missed! Hi to Mere's mom!

Test 1, test 2, test 3...

Testing the new hosting site...

Life at Pemberley will return soon!

Makin' some plans!

So in case I haven't said yet, we finally know where we're going to live for the next year-- praise Jesus it's right in the middle of CP&L and John and Meredith! The perfect location!

We just got home from going over and figuring out where everything we own and can't part with will fit, er, I mean, go. I think we measured every single door frame and wall in that apartment, but dang it if everything doesn't fit when we move!

Woohoo! We're so excited! Oh and for those of you wondering, yes, my scrapbook table will fit in the sunroom! Heehee!

Captivating

I'm reading a book called Captivating by John and Staci Eldredge. John is the guy that wrote Wild at Heart and The Sacred Romance. Wild at Heart is the book he wrote for men, and Captivating is the book he and his wife wrote for women.

I would like to take this moment to plug this book. It is a wonderful book and there's so much in it! If you're looking for a devotional type book that's different from all those other women's books, read this one. It's very real and to the point. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm planning to read Chapter Four tonight, and I can't wait!

If you're a guy and you read my blog, read this book so you know what a girl is all about. It might clear up some things! :-)

Happy Monday to all!

Happy Times

Life is sooo good right now! Yes, I know how a lot has changed within the last week or two, but life is great!

Husband and I finally know where we're moving (like a mile down the road from where we are now), and we're both incredibly excited about it! It's a smaller apartment with no stairs which we can't wait to get into! Woohoo! We have two weeks until the move, so we're furiously trying to get everything done in that time frame.

On another just as cool note, we got to see our bestest friends a bunch over the weekend! We all haven't been able to be together in such a while, it was so great to reconnect! It always feels like no time has passed and we had tons of fun laughing, eating pizza, and playing Nintendo! Oh yes, and we beat the guys at Hand and Foot. I can have a winner's moment with Meredith b/c the guys always win at that game! :-D

So much fun! I can't wait until we do it again soon!

Speaking of change...

I know last week I talked about change and how frustrating it is to me. Ironic how the book I'm reading right now is about a woman who craves stability and hates change. Hmm, I'm sensing God trying to tell me something here! :-p

Speaking of change, we've lately received a lot of older pictures of Hubby growing up and when he was little (SO ADORABLE!). Then Meredith has a picture of herself when she was little on her website (ALSO SO ADORABLE!). It's interesting to me how different people look from when they were little, yet at the same time they look exactly the same.

Change

There's been a lot of changes happening lately. It's beginning to drive me bonkers. This month especially is very busy with all the different things going on, but a lot of it is good change which is a little easier to deal with.

I have been told before that the only constant in life is change. That was not very reassuring to me at the time, and it's still not, but at least I'm not the only person who dislikes a bunch of change at one time.

In other news, tomorrow I finally get to go to see the show I've been dying to see for years and years! Husband and I will get out on the town for some fun, and we're very excited about it! Yiippeeeee!

News! News! News!

More great news: Meredith and I get to go to a concert this weekend, making it a girls' night out! We're both really excited and I can't wait! This week is getting better and better! Husband has to work all weekend, so this is the perfect thing to look forward to. This way, I won't be at home calling him all the time to find out what time he'll get to come home. (Yes, I do that every so often.)

The sad news amidst all the great news of the week is that on Husband's birthday we realized our digital camera is MIA. If it's officially lost (which it seems to be), we must have left it somewhere by mistake. We've very very depressed about this. Because I must have pictures for scrapbooking purposes of every event that occurs, we did buy a disposable camera to document Husband's birthday. Please pray we find our camera.

The best news yet: Husband's last day of work at Job # 2 is tonight. Woohoo! We're somewhat sad over this, but mostly excited and happy. He can be home more and get rest and it's just great! He's already joined a Men's Bible Study at church and everything! Yippee!

Oh the sweet sweet wonder of it all...

Today has been the best day in a really long time! It all began with the beautiful knowledge that my favorite chicken fast food restaurant now accepts credit and debit cards. Husband and I are not cash carrying people, so we don't eat at this place very often simply because it's only always accepted cash. Now, we can eat there any time we want! Woohoo! Isn't that the greatest news?!

Worst week to date so far

Last week was the worst week ever. It was physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. I never want to repeat last week EVER, though I know it will happen again at some point in life. Suffice it to say, the week has passed and the weekend proved to be a great way to end such an awful week.

Husband's birthday was Saturday and though we cancelled his party, we still ended up grilling out with friends. That was a bunch of fun and now I'm looking forward to the next time we grill out with friends. Yesterday we saw movies and rested and relaxed.

Happy late birthday Baby, and I'm glad we got through last week together!

Bittersweet News

Well, Husband finally finally finally quit his second job at the church. He's worked there in some capacity for five years now, and it's time for him to not have two jobs anymore.

It's a sad thing for him to be leaving after such a long time putting so much heart and time into this ministry, but we are very happy and excited to be getting our life together back from the church (in this aspect, at least).

He'll finish out the month and then be done in time for our 3 year anniversary! Woohoo! Lookin' forward to that, lemme tell ya!

Do you know where your husband is?

Poor sleepy husband got home just before 2am last night. Yep, you heard right. He slaved away for over 13 hours thinking it was his last overtime, to come home and tell me in my sleep- induced haze of pillow face wrinkles, that he gets the joy and privilege of doing it again in three weeks! Even more exciting than that is it's the entire weekend then instead of just one day like yesterday was.

At least he's got three weeks in between! And I hope and pray he doesn't have to work on his birthday!

Meet me in St. Louis...

It's been a stressful time for our family recently. Grandpa is not doing well at all and it's hard on all of us. Conversations keep revolving around his health and planning one final future trip to where he lives with his wife.

Please keep our family in your prayers right now. There's more going on but I don't feel like getting into it now. Husband is at work now hopefully for the last overtime for a while, so I am hoping to get some things done around the house today.

By the way, Husband and I saw Fever Pitch yesterday with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon-- really good movie! It made Husband miss his Cardinals in St. Louis. I've never been but he says one day he'll take me and show me the sights. I hope that day is sooner rather than later! :-)

It's a beautiful morning!

Well, Easter is over and it went very well! Husband and I each took yesterday off to get those to- do things on our list done. Sadly, we didn't get everything done but we made huge progress. What's great is while we were out, we ran into my boss and his son-- because my boss had also decided to take the day off! Funny!

In other news, I bought the most adorable fabric to get started on a second quilt (and no, class was cancelled last Friday, so my first quilt is not yet done)! I hope to catch up with the second quilt to where I am with the first, so they can be finished about the same time. I also found out last week that the store where I've been taking these classes is closing this Thursday. You'd think they'd tell people wouldn't you?! Ugh, I'm moving to another store because their communication with their customers is ridiculous.

And finally, hello to Mere's mom who is in town. I hope ya'll are having a blast!

Let's all breathe a big sigh of relief...

Well, well, well... the busy craziness of our lives since Christmas may finally be at an end. Woohoo! Husband thinks he's finally done with his fourteen, fifteen- hour days 7 days a week, and all my busy stuff is over with the exception of our taxes and my quilting project.

Last week's quilting class did not go so well for me and I accidentally left the class with my teacher's seam guide. Oops! She can get it back from me this Friday (maybe! I like!). The class was very confusing but I've since gotten a little extra help in the way of further instructions and last night was on a roll!

This is gonna be the best manly quilt I've ever done! Okay, okay, so it's the only quilt I've ever done. Anyway...

Happy Good Friday and Easter! I must say that I love what these holidays mean for us Christians, but having never worked in a church during Easter, oh my goodness! I almost can't wait for it to be over! Isn't that sad? It's not been bad at all, it's just been insanely busy with all the services we have going on for Good Friday and Easter. My job is to keep all the million little details straight (if I can remember them long enough) and then on top of all of that, to inform everyone who needs to know, what those details are! I tell ya, I'm glad I'm taking Monday off! (wink wink)

So to end, anyone we haven't seen since Christmas or anything we need to get done is now on one "gigantor" to- do list. :-) Anyone who knows me knows I love my lists, especially a to- do list, but this one is challengingly long, even for me. I can't wait to get started! After Easter, of course!

Weekend Update

Now that I'm not in as much pain, I feel up to updating you.

My dry sockets feel much better and hopefully today when I see the doctor, he'll agree and say I can finally eat. I have been on a liquid diet for four straight days but technically with everything going on, it's been about two weeks. I weighed myself last night just for kicks and discovered that I've lost about eleven pounds! Yes, I know! The new goal however is to lose weight with the treadmill while still eating solid food.

The quilting class is somehow on again for this Friday, so we'll see if that sticks.

Husband and I spent a lot of the weekend attempting to recover from our horrific week. My favorite relaxing part was probably going to the park yesterday with our best friends and their little Bug of a son to fly kites and swing. We had bunches of fun and even though there was absolutely no wind whatsoever, it was a lot of fun to watch Husband running around trying to get his kite off the ground! So adorable!

Let's all pray that everything can begin to return to normal now.

Something had to give

Lately with the whole "mouth situation," I keep feeling like all I do is complain. I know it's not true but that's how I feel. To that end, I want you to know that though the pain is still there, I feel reassured and much better about the healing process that I am currently dealing with.

Yes, I will admit that I have harassed my oral surgeon a lot with phone calls (no restraining order yet!), but when he kept telling me conflicting information, I felt I had no choice. The point is, the gauze comes out tomorrow and hopefully after that I'll really start feeling myself again. And in case anyone is keeping score, I am still dying for some Mexican food!

In other semi- related news, I had finally come to the conclusion that I was too busy and doing too much and something had to give. I was sadly realizing that the only thing that really could be flexible enough to be moved around was the quilting class. Fortunately for me, not enough people signed up so now it's being postponed until probably April! Now, I am very sad that I have to put off my learning to quilt, but that is for the best as now I have a little downtime and I have time to read my quilting textbook before the class. Yay!

Oh, and yesterday I stood up for Hubby and me and got $50 knocked off our rent for April! Yay! And for those of you wondering, yes, I did get it in writing. Woohoo! God totally made a pain- filled day end up very great! AND... Husband didn't have to work once he got home late! Yippee!

The light at the end of the tunnel...

Yeah, so I ended up having "dry sockets." Tons of fun, lemme tell ya. At least the pain is gone and I am on my way to being back to work tomorrow. (Yep, I didn't get to work today. Sadness.)

Next time I decide to do all this craziness in a short amount of time, somebody should remind me how insane I've been to do so much.

The fun news is the quilting class begins Friday and I can't wait! Hubby and I went to the store Saturday to get all my supplies (Expensive!). Since this first quilt is for Husband, all the fabric chosen is very manly! I can't wait to put this thing together and see Hubby curl up underneath it!

Not so wise anymore, am I?

My last two wisdom teeth were removed yesterday. It went surprisingly well and yesterday I had no pain or anything. I was praising Jesus about that, let me tell you!

I keep being told though that it's one of those "better before the worst comes" type of thing and the pain should hit me today or tomorrow. Now I did just wake up and haven't had any drugs yet, but the only thing hurting me right now is my jaw where they must've had it so wide open to get to the back of my mouth. Good thing I've got my "Susie ain't going anywhere on this strong medicine" drug! Funny how I want to take the painkiller for my jaw and not the holes in my mouth.

Anyway, thanks to everyone that prayed for me and please keep it up because I want to be myself again in time for work on Monday. By the way, the real issue here is that I'm starving! ;-) Anyone up for a little Mexican food in my honor? That's what I want to eat but the tortilla chips are probably not a good idea quite yet. What do you think?

Happy Birthday Diana Renee Bouvier!

Happy Birthday Diana! I know your week has been rough and definitely not what you wanted, but we are thinking of you and we love you very much!

(To those of you wondering, yes, this name is a fake name, but yes, she knows it's for her, and yes "Bouvier" is a breed of dog.) :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WE LOVE YOU!

Did someone say "free?"

I love free food. Anybody that knows me even the tiniest bit knows I enjoy food and like to eat. Especially if it's free. Any college student anywhere on the planet will agree with me, I guarantee it.

I am getting free dinner tonight for work and I am very excited! The lady who always coordinates the food got some good stuff tonight and I can't wait to dig in. Because I help set up the food for our meeting, the chips and cookies are already sitting on my desk. Let me tell you, it's been hard not to just rip into a bag of chips! But of course I haven't (yet!).

Mystery Quilting Theatre

I got a call last night from the lady who teaches the quilting class I'll begin taking next week. Now, she is kind of aggravating in her manner, but she is a really good teacher (She taught my sewing class last month.).

She called last night to tell me that I should have received my supply list for the class, and if I hadn't to call the store and they'll mail it to me. I'm excited by this because I want to go shopping of course and pick out fabric and things like that, but when I went to check the mail there was of course no supply list. Why would she call from her vacation in Kentucky (huh?) to tell me to call and get a supply list mailed to me if she'd supposedly already taken care of it? Aha! I think she forgot to send them out before she left on vacation! Mystery solved.

Sorry for this dramatic episode from my life, but today is the first of March and I am mightily disappointed that we never got a huge snowfall this winter. Sigh....

Yay! Yahoo! Yippee!

We FINALLY got to spend time with our best friends ever! We talk to them every week but we finally got to be with them, hanging out and playing games and having fun! It was great!

Things have been crazy for all of us since Christmas, so we haven't been able to see each other in months! I'm feeling great now that we got to see them all and I for one, must say that it can't be that long again! I was going through withdrawal!

Feeling productive

Fortunately for Husband and me, everything that was supposed to get done this week did get done. Woohoo for that! There's a lot we've got going on lately so it's great to know that everything is going smoothly for now.

Plans change

Our weekend turned out to be not at all what we had planned it to be. I did take a sewing class with one of my friends and we had fun, but it was more intense than I originally thought it would be. I am excited though because my quilting class is coming up and I'm extremely excited about that!

Ode to Jen

I have this great friend that I've spent a lot of time with in the last week, especially. We first met sitting next to each other in Biology class sophomore year in college, only to discover we both laughed at our insane professor and we were both pursuing the Resident Advisor job in the same building.

Well of course since we're so wonderful, we achieved that "career goal" of RAing together for two years. She's been in my wedding, she's spent the night in our house when in town, and then she moved here to the area a year ago.

Basically, she's like a sister to both Hubby and myself, which is always a good thing. She has a very big day coming up today and if you think about her then you could pray that things go well today.

Stayin alive!

Why is it that you're told to get all these check ups and at certain ages, tests done to you to be sure you're healthy and staying that way, but in the meantime you get exhausted trying to schedule them all and have the money to pay for it all? How annoying.

I guess the reward of all that is that you know you're healthy or you know if something's not right. I suppose... yeah, okay I'll take that. :-p

I got a comment!

I got a comment! Someone finally commented on a blog entry! Okay, yes, it was CC, but hey, a comment! Yay! So yes, I'm incredibly excited that someone reads this, even if it is my hubby. Yay for comments!

Bazillion

Husband's been working crazy hours for the past ten or so days and has at least another month of overtime to go. We decided Saturday night it was time for a quick break, so we went to a movie and then dinner. The movie was awful (made awful, acted awfully, etc.) but dinner was great!

We went to the same shopping area that we came from the night the deer hit us- remember that? Well, suffice it to say, we were somewhat nervous about this date night, but all went well and we made it home in time for Husband to work some more. Yay!

It amazes me how you can go somewhere or do something a bazillion times, but the one time something goes wrong, you can't remember very well the bazillion times everything was fine.

You know?

You know how sometimes you have so much on your mind that you can't think of anything to say? That's how I feel right now. That isn't a bad thing by the way.

I would hate for you to get the impression I've got a one-track mind right now because I don't, but I really hope it snows tomorrow! I also hope Husband and I don't spend more than our normal amount of time getting home from work (regards to the Traffic Fiasco of '05).

Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow!

Daggone if our weather forecasters are losing their minds! They say no snow and we get enough snow and ice to keep us in The Traffic Fiasco of '05 for nine and a half hours! They say we'll definitely get snow, don't go on the roads, and nothing! This is getting extremely annoying so it better snow and soon because Hubby finally (FINALLY!) got a laptop at work so he can work from home and we've got food and blankets and stuff so it's okay to get stuck at home for a few days. Let it snow!

In other news, Fiddler on the Roof was very good! That of course is an understatement as it was fantabulous and our seats were pretty good considering we've never sat so close before! I'm very excited about our seats because in May when we see Disney's Beauty and the Beast (I absolutely cannot wait to see that!) we're in almost the exact same seats! Literally, we're like two seats down. I definitely am glad we decided to get some culture in us; it's been a lot of fun!

Whew!

Ahhh... My work week is over and I am ready for some relaxin'. Unfortunately, there's the house to clean, laundry to do, and the weekend plans to get ready for.

I can't wait though because Hubby and I are going to see Fiddler On The Roof this weekend! I've never seen it before so I'm excited!

Sew: A Needle Pulling Thread

So, sew, so...

I'm officially registered for a sewing class to get me ready for my quilting classes I'll begin taking in March. I'm taking this class with a friend of mine, so I'm even more excited now!

Just think, in no time at all Husband will have his quilted throw that we haven't been able to find anywhere, and we'll have plenty of homemade blankets and quilts to keep us snuggled up warm as two bugs in a rug!

I can't wait!

The Busy Little Quilting Bee...

For quite a while now I've wanted to learn how to quilt. It seems so complex and intricate and I have no clue how to do it. We have one quilted throw downstairs that I hog all the time when we're watching TV. Husband has wanted one for a while now and we can't find any anywhere. He's very sad.

Well, I was telling Husband about my desire to quilt after reading an article in the latest Martha Stewart Living. Do you know what his response was? "Why don't you take a class then?" I started thinking about it and I got so excited! How cool of my Husband to offer to spend hard-earned money so I can learn to be more crafty? Yay! So I looked for classes all night last night and found a couple of options I'm going to pursue.

I'm very excited because maybe my first project can be a quilted throw for Hubby. Thank you Husband, you're the best husband ever! I love you!

Oh boy, did it snow!

Well, we got our inch or so of snow and we got to be bundled up at home yesterday, waiting for the ice to melt.

I loved that it snowed, but in all the years I can remember, I can't remember a time when the snow froze immediately during the daytime. It's always frozen overnight, giving people time to get home from work. Yeah, not this time!

The church I work for is ten minutes away (exactly five miles from my parking spot at home) normally, fifteen minutes away in normal traffic.

The roads were such a mess it took me nine and a half hours! to get home Wednesday night! Yes, no lies, no exaggerations, nothing but the truth.

Husband came from work thirty five minutes away from home. He left after I left and beat me home with an eight and a half hour drive home!

Ugh! What's even more amazing is that we were only forecasted to maybe get a couple of snow flurries that night. Last night we were forecasted to get up to two inches of snow, which would of course overnight, become ice. Yeah, here at least we only got a light dusting on our cars.

Frustrating to say the least! Hopefully the wintry weather we're supposed to get this weekend will come and we can be snuggled up warm in our homes this time instead of in our cars.

Let it snow!

It's finally cold here. Last week and the week before it was in the 70s and today it's about 32 degrees outside (it's not yet, that's the high for today). My feet are always frozen throughout all of winter and my frozen fingers often feel like they'll pop off my hands at any given moment-- isn't that the best feeling?!

We're due to get some snow here this weekend and I can't wait! I mean, I can because I have to go grocery shopping first and buy candles just in case the power goes out, like all the other people in the state, but it's exciting and I love the anticipation that arrives before the snow does.

Our senior pastor yesterday was saying it may be enough to shut us down, which our teaching pastor immediately quipped, "Yeah a quarter inch!" If you're from up north, you may not get that, but it's hilarious here. People here are not used to driving in snowy weather and so they go crazy. The biggest misunderstanding is that it's not usually snow down here, it's solid ice, which is more dangerous.

We all laughed at Mike's joke, but I hope we get bundled up and stuck in our homes on Monday. Husband sees this and wonders when I went crazy, because if he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid. But one day wouldn't be so bad would it CC? Maybe our horrible mess of an office would get cleaned? Or maybe we'd just sit on the couch and if the power is still on, watch DVDs of Friends like we have been doing! Either way it'd be snowy white outside and warm and cozy on the inside!

Pants, pants, and more pants!

Husband and I didn't do too much this weekend. We had a couple of friends over for dinner and as always, that was loads of fun!

I did manage to get all my errands and some shopping in so I've been looking way cute all weekend, as my Hubby has so generously been telling me.

It's amazing to me that you can find a tailor's shop that for nine bucks will hem your pants (yes, the very pants you're standing in) while you wait in the little dressing room. Yes, that's the first time I've done that (the actual waiting to get my pants back) but it worked out really well! Now I love these new pants even more than I already did! I'm afraid one pair of these pants is not going to be enough.

I'm waiting...

Today has been a relatively nice, relaxing day. I have today off so this morning I went to a couple appointments and then shopped and got a milkshake.

The only hitch in my day so far is all of the waiting I've had to do. Specifically, who knew it took fifteen minutes to mix strawberries and pineapples with ice cream and make a daggone milkshake? I mean, it's the milkshake store for Pete's sake. AND... get this, it is a drive through! It's not like it's a sit- down fancy schmancy kind of restaurant.

Oh well, I'm home now so I think I'll just relax and wait for the laundry to finish drying...

Back to normal...

I've decided life is finally back to normal. We're not sick anymore, which in and of itself is amazing. We're back to work, also good. Our Christmas tree and decorations are finally down, if not completely put away.

Life is good.

Are they here yet?

I am part of a monthly book club that sends me four christian romance books every month. I love this book club; it's the only one I've found that I enjoy each month without fail. My only major issue with them is they only send four books a month. You ask what the problem is? The problem is that I can read more than four books in a week, which obviously is a huge problem is it's a monthly book club.

Husband says I get obsessed the week I expect the books to come because every day I stalk the mailman (who yes, knows me by name and face when I come hunting him down for the books) and get horribly disappointed when they don't come that day. So to those aspiring christian romance writers out there (yes I'm talking to myself too.) get busy writing! With this in mind, I would like to make you all aware that my books came last Friday just in the nick of time and I can't wait to get home to finish the first book (I didn't read over the weekend as you know!).

I would also like to take this little bit of internet space to tell you all that today has been a slightly frustrating day in terms of my workload. Now don't misunderstand me, I love, Love, LOVE, where I work and the work I do. I just want you to pray for patience and grace today, because I have already used up all I have, I think. At least I'm still having fun right?

Praise Jesus I have my book to go home to when I'm done! (wink wink, and my Husband too!)

Surprise!

As you well know, I have the sweetest, most romantical Husband in the world.

Now that you've been reminded, let me tell you what he did for me this weekend. Please realize you must have a strong constitution level for mushiness.

Husband and I have been sick and somewhat out of sorts for the past month, roughly. The out of sorts part is due to the fact that we were in dire need of a rest. As most of you know, Husband is a contract worker which means he doesn't get paid if he doesn't work- This means no vacation. Yes, ever. Therefore we desperately needed some variation on a vacation.

Sweet wonderful man that he is, surprised (Yes, I -- me, the planner--had absolutely no idea where we were going!) me with a weekend getaway to the beach! Awww... I know, and since it is the off season, he got a tremendous deal on an oceanfront room! Woohoo! We took some beautiful pictures of the ocean and I can't wait to look at them again!

Day One we went to the Wright Brothers Museum since Husband had never been to see it and we both enjoy history. If you ever go there, be sure you are in the best shape of your life or you just might want to die walking up to the monument on the hill.

Day Two we drove and ferried up and down the Outer Banks to see the lighthouses, which neither of us had ever done before. It was fun and I couldn't remember ever being on a ferry before! If you ever do the lighthouse driving thing on the Outer Banks, Ocracoke Island lighthouse-- not so impressive by the time you find it. We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed it at Cape Hatteras. Very romantical, I know.

All in all, we had a fun relaxing time just being together, and after all, isn't that the point of a vacation anyway? Thank you Husband for a great weekend!

News news and more news...

Good news: Husband is finally beginning to feel better.

Not so good news: It's still Christmas in our house.

Turned around for the better news: We are keeping Christmas in our hearts year-round. :-P

A little reminder in case you forgot...

I just wanted to remind you in case you forgot that I love my husband. He's funny and handsome and smart and... well, I love him. Okay bye for now.

Who wants it now?

While I've been getting better this weekend, Husband has been very sick like I was very sick earlier this week. I am telling you, this stinks!

Please pray that he is well on the way to recovery and thanks to those offers for help that came in over the weekend! I am planning to try to work tomorrow (Monday) so please be in prayer for that too.

It's wonderful to know what a great support system God has blessed us with. Thank you.