Bake me a cake as fast as you can!

Well, Husband's birthday has come and gone now. It was fantastic and seemed to be one of the best yet (at least lately, anyway). I was able to surprise him many times over; and even though he did correctly guess one of his presents, he didn't say it out loud, so it kept the surprise magic alive for me (I was happy about that!).

Better yet, for his birthday I got a present-- my first official Barefoot Contessa cookbook! Yes I know, it's weird for me to get a present, but we were in a celebratory mood, and her cookbook was right there (across town, where we drove to buy it, but still...).

Many of the recipes I make are Ina Garten's (She's fabulous and everyone should love and adore her!), including this cupcake. I'm super stoked to be going through her cookbook now and there's already tons I want to get crackin' on. Keep an eye out for updates to the Manna site! (I know I keep saying this, but I really do mean it!)

Surprise surprise!

I have never been able to keep a surprise until it's time for Hubby to know. He always guesses what it is first. Either he knows me super well, I'm a horrible liar, or c) both a and b. (Even a stranger could guess it's c.)

Well, with his birthday right around the corner, I have several surprises up my sleeve. He got the first one last night and promises me he hadn't figured it out first. Then he tried to guess the others, and he thinks he's guessed one of them. I'm not saying either way, but I think I might actually have a chance to get over at least one surprise on him this year! Here's hoping anyway! :-D

The Best Weekend

Hubby and I just had the best weekend! Some highlights include:

• Christy and Dr. Neil MacNeill


• Yellow tulips like the ones from our wedding day


• New restaurants to try


• Shopping for new clothes and other fun things


• Our romantic moonlight stroll around the mall at 10:00pm


• Solving problems during the church services yesterday


• Finally getting the laundry completely done


• Fried zucchini!


• Planning his birthday extravaganza

Confusion and frustration

So today's the big day, except the whole thing has turned into this giant fiasco. It's ridiculous really, how a problem-solving solution can become this complicated, confusing, frustrating, and stressful situation that drives everyone crazy. I think we're halfway there, which is a good thing. God is still in control.

Procedure Schmocedure

Now that the big allergy season for mold is over, my horrible cough has all but dropped off the face of the Earth. The on-going problem now is my larynx is swollen (long story). I went in for a follow-up this afternoon, only to find I'm being referred back to the same awful doctor for another endoscopy.

I'm trying to get a different doctor, and there is a consult first before the procedure, but how frustrating! I'm still trying to forget the first time, and now to have to go through it again; well this must be a test of my faith. We'll just have to see what happens, I think. At least this time Hubby will be able to take me (no offense to Toby).

In other news, the Good Friday service was rockin' AWESOME and the Easter service was great as well! The guys as always did a terrific job, and it was fun to help get things ready last week in preparation for it all.

Four days to go...

7 days to go

We're counting down to the big day-- T minus 7 days to go! We're kind of on hold as far as our decisions go until we find out exactly what we're working with. We're super excited and can't wait! We're trying hard not to really think about it until next Friday, and just pray for wisdom in the meantime.

Why I don't want a dog

Max died yesterday. Max is one of my aunt's dogs, and she's really bummed. I'm bummed for her and because every time one of her animals dies, I think about when Miss Fred died.

Miss Fred (yes she had a boy's name) was my all-time favorite dog ever. She was the best; because she was smart and obedient, but would only ask for love and attention when she knew she didn't have you share you with the other pets. (See the smartness?) She had a beautiful black coat and big brown expressive eyes that seemed to always ask how you were doing.

There is another dog I know with a similar beautiful black coat and brown expressive eyes. Sometimes I have to look twice just to see... but then of course I remember, there's no other dog like Fred.

Decisions, decisions

Now that we have choices, we have decisions to make. It's tough trying to listen and be wise sometimes. The right answer is not always the easiest answer; nor is the right answer always the answer you want it to be.

A girl (not) named Sue

Disclaimer: If your name is Sue, this is not personal. This viewpoint only pertains to me. If you share it, I feel your pain. If you disagree with me, then feel free to comment with your side.

My entire life, I have hated the name 'Sue.' I can't explain why I have such deep disdain for this name, to the point I literally cringe when I hear it, but I do. Also my entire life, people (who clearly don't realize or don't know me well) have tried to shorten my name to this one. While I love nicknames and don't mind a shorter version of my name, 'Sue' is not the one I go for.

Lately, I've been called this awful name a lot more frequently than normal, which is frustrating to me. The problem now is that my aunt! called me 'Sue' twice this weekend! My own aunt who knows better! Clearly her brain cells are rotting away and those are the first to go. I called her on it both times (since she is smart and knows better), but I'm getting very concerned for her well-being. ;-)