Weekend Update (w/ Photos)

Despite having a killer headache all weekend, it was a GOOD weekend. The weekend started off with us discovering that J had received a whole dollar raise, which is hopefully a sign that the plumbing business is picking back up again (no one received raises for almost a year when the economy was tanking). Then, later Friday night I headed off to a bachelorette party for my sister-in-law Karla, who will be getting married August 1st of this year. Thankfully, it wasn't your typical bachelorette party, but was a progressive dinner instead, which rocked the house.

Saturday evening we headed up to Portland to meet up with Sara, Byron, and Carolina. It was totally worth the drive to see them all. Caro wasn't too sure what she thought about us at first...

Her mamma calls her Ms. Drama Pants...I think we looked at her wrong to produce this tear fest.But eventually Caro and I came to an understanding. Here's Sara, making a totally Sara face.

When we got back home, we stopped to get the mail and were excited to see that J had received his letter of acceptance to the list for the plumbing apprenticeship program. Have I explained what a mess that whole situation is? Well, it's a huge mess...basically the plumbers are ranked onto a list. Any time a plumbing company needs an apprentice, they have to pick from the top 3 on the list. If they don't like the Top 3, they have to wait until the list changes. So, it's possible that J could end up working for a totally different company than he's been working for over the past 3 years. We hope not...we like the company that he works for. Anyway, we were expecting him to score pretty low on the list since he didn't take welding or anything like that in school, but he actually is number 7! Go J!

On another note, after seeing the above pictures, I'm becoming more and more convinced that a) I need a tan, and b) it's time to go in and see what they can do to my dang hair...it is just scraggly and gross right now! Next weekend will be a BUSY weekend (J's younger sister graduates from high school this week), so I'm not sure when and if I'll be able to fit that in, but I NEED to!

Blessings

Although I haven't intended it to be this way, I feel like a lot of my posts have come across with a fairly negative tone lately. It's almost as if I use my blog just to vent--which is helpful to me sometimes because it keeps me from saying things that would get me in trouble in real life, but still, that's not really the vibe that I wish to project with this blog. So today is all about blessings in the small stuff....

1. My Sweet Hubby, who wakes me up every morning to tell me goodbye and to have a good day.
2. Jeans Friday!
3. Payday Friday!
4. That I'll be bumping up in hours beginning June 1st, which will allow us more income.
5. Philippians 4:6
6. Sunshine at the lake
7. Getting to see my friend Sara, her hubby Byron, and their baby Carolina this weekend (I haven't seen Sara and Byron since J and I got married, and I've never even met Caro!).

Where to Start?

Okay, so a couple weeks ago, I discovered a new medical issue that I'm dealing with. It's not anything terrible or terminal, but it DOES leave me pretty darn sick and exhausted right now as we're trying to work through things. I haven't really told many people about it yet, and probably won't until I get more information from the doctor the next time I see her.

In the meantime, it's been a little difficult. The girls at work keep cornering me and telling me that I look terrible (WHY do people do this by the way? I've never understood that.), asking me if everything is okay at home, have I been getting enough sleep and enough B6, etc? Right now, I've just been telling them that my allergies are bad, and that I haven't been getting a lot of sleep, but they just keep pushing and saying that they're concerned about me.

Hello, if I wanted to clue you in on what's going on, I would have. I know you're only asking because you care, but in the meantime, take a hint!

Where to Get Glasses--CHEAP

I read an article in a magazine not too long ago that referenced Zenni Optical as a good place to get inexpensive prescription glasses. Most of their glasses are either $8.95 or $12.95 for the frames. There's no additional charge for the lenses, unless you want anti-reflective coating or tinted lenses (I think both are $4). This site was perfect for me because my prescription has expired, but I also know that it hasn't changed enough to make me want to shell out to visit the eye doctor when it isn't covered by my insurance. I ordered these glasses in white with full-tinted lenses to use as prescription sunglasses this summer. Who can beat the price?



The only major downside is that it literally took about 3 weeks for my glasses to arrive, and there's no option to select expedited shipping. I also thought it was odd that they don't give you any tracking number or time estimate when you place your order--I didn't receive a tracking number emailed to me until AFTER I had actually received the glasses!

It was also a little bit hard not being able to try on the glasses before purchasing them. The sunglasses aren't quite the shape I thought they'd be, and aren't the most flattering shape for my face, but honestly...I don't care. It's really nice to be able to see while I drive, and that's the most important!

Really, the place that I think this website is exceptionally helpful is with kids' glasses--they have a great selection of frames, and although most of the kids' frames are in the $20 range, that still sure beats the $100's I know would be spent buying through the eye doctor.

Thought of the Day

4 out of 7 days, I really don't mind going to work. Occasionally, I even look forward to it. However, the one time that the loving work drops to 0 out of 7 days is during the summer. For me, there is nothing more painful than working away all summer and missing out on lazy summer days my the lake/pool/whatever. I need to get better about taking LONG vacations over the summer--I usually only take 1-2 vacation days at a time to add to a weekend, but now I'm thinking that it would be GLORIOUS to take a whopping 5 or 6 days at a time! For me, summer is just the best, most enjoyable time ever, and there's nothing more relaxing to me that camping out at the lake with not a care in the world.

The real point of this thought of the day though, was why in the WORLD didn't I think to become a teacher or to do something else within a school?!

Sweet Hubby

I had a terrible day today. In the last 20 minutes alone, my car battery died, and I found that my cat puked all over the carpet. And the rest of my day has pretty much followed suit. I came home and immediately laid down in bed--I needed a few minutes to compose myself before I had a complete mental breakdown.

J came into the room a few minutes ago, and told me that he had made me something yummy. I headed out to the kitchen, and was excited to see a smoothie waiting for me. However, upon tasting it, I noticed a rather...well....odd combination of flavors. After prying Justin a little bit about what was in this smoothie, I finally got the list out of him, and it's just too funny not to share.

The Sweet Justin Smoothie contained:
-Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
-Raspberry Jam
-Fresh Strawberries
-Fresh Green Grapes
-Rainbow Sherbet
-Hot Chocolate Mix
-Mixed Berry Yogurt
-And lastly, per Justin, "Love".

Who even thinks to combine all those things into a smoothie?! And even more...he thinks it's absolutely delicious! Good try babe...I do appreciate the effort!

Texts From Last Night

Have y'all seen the Texts From Last Night website? I stumbled across it via Beth's Blog, and I have to say, while a lot of them can be pretty vulgar (and probably not work safe!), but it cracks me up! Here's a few that I found humorous:

- I think my vagina is haunted

-Just took a sink shower in Arbys bathroom

-What the hell am I supposed to do with 50 gallons of mayo?

-My boobs are a 3G dead zone. As soon as i take my phone out of my bra, it has a signal again.

-Note to self. Never fart in a tanning bed

-Only in Alabama do they play hymns in a bar!!!

-I woke up this morning and I couldn't find my coffee table.

-Apparently they started giving me water shots and I couldn't tell the difference

-In the car with my brother. His CD went from 2pac to Taylor Swift. I'm concerned. It wasn't a mistake, he knows all the words.

-(361): What are these yellow papers in the kitchen?
(1-361): These are the tickets we got last night.
(361): Did i sign this one as Grizzly Bear?
(1-361): Yes...yes you did.

-I just realized that the word 'turd" is present in Saturday

-(404): FYI..good luck when you get back from work.. mom and dad know about the boy you brought home last night
(1-404): haha good one..how did you even know?
(404): we all know. he obviously didn't leave when you might have told him to.. he came down when we were eating because he coud smell mom's cooking. the dude ate with us and offered to say grace. so yeah, good luck.

Snippets

-I totally gave up on Persuasion. As much as I would love to love Jane Austen, I just don't. I'm now reading one of my used book store finds, which is good so far. I've also been casually reading Anna Karenina, which is more tolerable this time around, but I keep leaving the book places, and I'm not sure where it is right now.

-It's awfully ironic that after raving about my sunscreen for the first time ever, I actually got a little sunburnt for the first time. But only on my boobs, which are now bright red.

-Poor Justin has been trying all weekend to till our yard so that we can seed with grass. He borrowed two different tillers from two different people, and neither one seems to be working. He broke the pull-start cords on BOTH tillers. I wish we were rich enough to have just gone with sod! I don't even want to THINK about the disaster that is our back yard.

-I am exhausted. Even though it was a fairly restful weekend full of lots of little naps, I could still hit the sack by 8pm tonight!

-The little things are not going my way today--I had to wait in the Redbox line for HALF AN HOUR to return Justin's Underworld movie. I filled the lasagna pan too full and now it's bubbling over and smelling burnt, AND I forgot the french bread to go with the lasagna. I could run to the store and get some, but I am just TOO TIRED.

Anxiety

Does anyone else struggle with anxiety? I've always been a "worrier", but never so badly that I requested medication for my anxiety. Lately though, it's really been out of control. I worry constantly, about everything. I think its because there are a few areas of my life right now that are slightly up in the air and out of my control. I am a planner, and I like to be in control, so that stresses me out. Not to mention, I've been having these crazy nightmares lately about death of loved ones that just feel so real.

Yesterday, I wrote out Philippians 4:6 from The Message on a notecard and I've been carrying it around with me. The verse says, "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

The verse is a good reminder, and I HAVE been trying to pray whenever a worry pops into my head rather than to dwell on the worry. It reminds me a little bit of something that I learned one summer while I visited my aunt at a Buddhist temple that she was staying out. The monks were talking about how to meditate, and they talked about how they handle a thought that comes into their mind while they're meditating. They encouraged beginners to say to themselves something like, "I have a thought, but I choose not to acknowledge it now."

So how about you blog readers? Do you feel like you worry excessively or have anxiety? What do you do about it?

Sunscreen Rave

Those of you that know me well know that to say I have sensitive skin is an understatement. Things that most people don't even have to worry about (like the buttons on their jeans) are a daily issue for me. Facials are out of the picture, as are using any sort of product without testing it on a discreet part of my skin first. I'll never forget the time in high school that I tried using a self-tanner and proceeded to break out in a rash over my entire body.

Anyway, sunscreen has also been an issue for me for a long time. I've tried hundreds of sunscreens (YES, I've tried the Neutrogena brand...which I know most people love, but it doesn't work for me), and the problem was that they'd give me a chemical burn, which was worse than the burn that I'd receive from the sun if I didn't wear sunscreen at all. On the other hand, I don't want to expose my skin to the damage that un-blocked sun can do. So last year, I finally went to the dermatologist. She told me that some people are highly sensitive to the preservatives in sunscreen, and suggested the La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX sunscreen. I believe it's actually a daily moisturizer that includes an SPF, so you could use it as sunscreen. It's pretty spendy (20-30 for about 3oz), but let me tell you...since having it the past year, I have not been burnt once. And I only have to apply once a day, about 30 minutes before I'm outside. It's incredible, and I HIGHLY recommend it if you tend to burn easily!

The nose knows.

My nose whistles (loudly) every time I inhale. It's audible from across the room. I love allergy shots, but not the day after getting them. That's all.

I Miss You!

Although I don't really like to admit to it, I like TV--a lot. In fact, I love to have something slated to watch almost every night that we're home (which for the record is only occasionally Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), which often means catching up on some of my favorite shows which are on different nights. Honestly, thinking about coming home to watch the show is genuinely something that gets me through the day sometime. Although it might not always be healthy, I've learned that TV can be a great coping mechanism for my job, and it also gives J and I something to talk about since we can't talk about my job, at all.

But now it's almost summer and most of my favorites are on hiatus. I'll miss you Fox Dramas:

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Seriously, all the good TV is on Fox this year! It's also normally around this time that we pick up some DVD of some random show from the $20 rack at Target and get attached to it. What can I say, we both love vegging in front of the TV.

Hopefully though, we'll be getting our front yard tilled and seeded this weekend. I'm also looking forward to having somewhere to sit and sip a glass of lemonade once I'm home from work. I REALLY can't wait until the backyard is also seeded and sprouting!

I'm a Martha.

No, I'm not a cooking, or decorating, or DIY wizard, although the Martha that I'm thinking of did share some of those ambitions. For some reason, I've been thinking about the book of Luke a lot lately, and especially about the story of Mary and Martha. For anyone who might not be familiar, here's the story:

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 NLT.

In reading this story, I always really relate to Martha--I often go through life worrying about everything and trying to make everything perfect. I get upset if I can't fulfil the role that I've defined for myself in which I'm the perfect wife who goes to work, keeps the house clean, and serves at least one hot meal a day, all the while making sure that we've worked out the logistics of life, in terms of making sure that we see our families and friends at proper intervals, while occasionally still balancing with time just for ourselves. My days feel absolutely packed to the brim with trivial tasks and things that I feel like I need to do, but on a day to day basis, my life has very little focus on God. Sure, I listen to KLOVE on the drive to work, but do I really study the Word? Do I really turn to God when I'm having a difficult time? I'm ashamed that I don't, at least not as often as I'd like.

Upon reading this again, I'm struck by the fact that not only is Jesus telling Martha that it's important to make God a part of her life, but He's even telling her that there is no need to worry about anything else besides being close to and listening to God. As the self-proclaimed Queen of Worrying, that's a hard message for me, but I'm praying this week that I'll be able to recognize when something is causing me worry and anxiety, and that rather than keep it to myself, I'll turn to God with it, and trust that everything will work out for the best, even if it isn't the same way that I thought it would work out.

Dang Pizza Braid

Tonight for the band dinner, I tried making a Pizza Braid. I filled one with pepperoni, tomato sauce, and mozarella cheese. I filled the other with ground beef, tomato sauce, bacon, onion, and mozarella cheese. It would have been really good, but the bottoms of both of the pizza braids were pretty much burnt, but the tops were still almost gooey pizza dough. I have no idea what happened or what to do differently. At first, I thought it was the pan, but I used two different pans and they were both burnt. I think I'm gonna blame it on the old church oven.

Trash The Dress Photo Session

Today, I shot some belated (almost 6 years belated) wedding pictures/ trash the dress pictures with Ryan and Renee. I had a blast. It's always hard to shoot at the park...I'm beginning to think that like 8am or 8pm is the best time to get pictures that aren't totally washed out or really sunny. Still, we got a few fun ones. I LOVED using Pioneer Woman's Colorize action on some of these. Also, I'm thrilled that Renee decided to get the dress wet--the last few in the reservoir are by FAR my favorites!

Hope you guys enjoy Ryan and Renee!

I'm back!

Well, I made it back okay. It was a long trip, and not terrible, but not my idea of fun either. The house was semi-clean when I came back thanks to my sweet husband, who was not too happy about the last post directed at him, even though it was in jest.

Today, we may head out to the lake to BBQ and what not. It is going to be a HOT day!

Happy weekend to you all--what are your plans?

Dear Justin

Dear Sweet Husband,

Please clean the entire house from top to bottom while I am gone. Thank you much. I know I'm setting you up for failure, but you're just gonna have to deal, because I'm grumpy that I have to drive three hours with people who are nice, but not really my friends, and that I'm not getting paid for it. I'm especially grumpy that I am the one that's driving up to the conference. In fact, I feel like this:

And even though it's an unfair expectation on my part, and I'm sorry to take my grumpiness out on you, I want to give you fair warning that I will be TICKED if I come home to this: And a disaster of a house. If the house is clean, you may read my girlie magazines all you want. Your only other alternative to a happy, non grumpy wife at this point would be:

In which case, I would likely forgive both a messy house AND girlie magazine reading (or excessive movie watching). Just remember toots, there was a semi-recent holiday in which you didn't get me anything (not even a card!), and I hold a grudge. Just kidding (mostly).

Follow Me

*Singing* Follow me, everything is alright. I'll be the one to tuck you in at night *End Singing*.

I finally caved, and added the "follow" feature to the blog. So if you want, Follow Me! It'll give me a self-esteem boost, and I promise I'll follow you in return ;)

Silly Girl.

Do you even get into one of those weird irrational places in your head? I have to go out of town overnight on Thursday for work--returning late Friday evening, and I just really don't want to go, and consequently have myself convinced that something terrible is going to happen on the trip. This tends to be par for the course for me anytime one of us is working out of town--I get myself convinced that one of us is going to get seriously hurt or injured, and the other one isn't going to make it to the hospital in time because we're so far away. Granted, this time I'll be less than 3 hours away, but I'll also have 2 other people with me that I would have to abandon.

Seriously, I KNOW it's irrational. I KNOW it doesn't make sense. But it IS how my mind works sometimes.

Plus, I'm kinda pissed that I'll miss the season finale of Bones, and that I won't get paid for our drive time on Friday night!

For reference, the "stupid people" tag associated to this post is totally referencing me!

Pray For Me?

Wonderful blog readers, will you please pray for me today? Don't worry, there's nothing wrong--I'm just a little stressed out about some decisions that I need to make regarding work and life in general, and could use some support right now!

Easy Chicken Curry

Tonight, I did an easy Crock Pot recipe for the band dinner. I was a little nervous because a) I've never cooked chicken curry before, let alone in the crock pot and b) I know that the band as a whole doesn't love chicken and aren't particularly adventurous eaters. However, I knew that this particular curry recipe wasn't quite as hot as some recipes, and it seemed SO easy, so I gave it a try. I think that I came across it on the Kraft Foods website, but I'm not sure.

Crock Pot Chicken Curry
About 2 lbs of chicken breast, cubed
One can of chunky salsa (I used Taco Bell Thick and Chunky)
One medium onion, diced
One cup fat free sour cream
2 tbsp (or more) curry powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock

Add the chicken to the crock pot, and pour the salsa and chicken stock over the chicken. Toss the onion in there as well. Take the curry powder, and heat it up in the microwave for about 30 seconds (heat only what you plan to use). Heating spices refreshes their flavor, especially if they're older spices. Add the curry powder as well. Cook in the crock pot for 8-10 hours on low, or 5 hours on high. Just before serving, stir in the cup of sour cream until it's well blended.

I served the curry chicken over brown rice, and really enjoyed the flavor. It had a nice curry taste and a bit of kick, but wasn't too hot. If you LIKE hot, you should try the Madras Curry powder with chillis!

Good Eats

This is one of my favorite lunches during the summer--a wheat tortilla with roasted red pepper hummus, tomato, and string cheese (mozzarella). Sometimes I top with some baby spinach. It's so refreshing--and fairly healthy for you too!

My garden doesn't grow.

Folks,I'm pretty darn close to giving up on gardening. Since it doesn't look like we'll have our land tilled soon enough to plant a garden, I went ahead and transferred the plants from the packages they came in into bigger pots. I followed all the transplanting instructions, and today, the damn plants are looking terrible! They're all droopy, even though they're staked. How is that even possible? I'm wondering if I didn't water the plants enough after transplanting. I suppose that because they're in significantly bigger pots, there's significantly more dirt, which necessitates significantly more water. I thought I gave them plenty, but I went out today, and the dirt was already hard as a rock.

Hopefully I didn't already kill the little darlings and they'll be looking good as new in the morning! Really though, this is so frustrating!

Sunday Song

Time for some Reggaeton! This song is one of my absolute favorites to work out to. It's "Ahora Es" by Wisin y Yandel. Bear with things... the actual song doesn't start until about a minute in, and breaks again for more of the "movie" in the middle.

Confession and Snippets

As much as I love my momma, and I know I'll enjoy going to see her today, all I REALLY want to do today is lay around, read trashy magazines, and watch movies. I am tired today. Oh well, I guess that's what Monday is for!

While I had deemed Saturday "Go NO Where" day, it actually turned into one of our busiest days this week. I'm actually glad that we didn't just stay at home. We met Pete and Casey at the Slick Kart track, had lunch, and then headed back to their place for a few. After that, we went over to Ryan and Renee's and visited with them for a little bit. As busy as it was, the day still felt relaxing, which is awesome!

Weird.

So, there's a volunteer here at work whose husband recently died. When she began volunteering, her husband was in hospice, and she absolutely didn't want to talk about him. She was completely disconnected. I should also mention that she's been in the office maybe twice for a total of maybe two hours. She's one of over 100 volunteers.

We recently heard through the grapevine that he passed away, with his memorial service being today. She sent us the information about when the memorial service would be held and said that anyone in the office was welcome to attend. One of the staff members took a boquet and a card to her house yesterday, and told her that we're sorry for her loss, that none of the staff would be able to attend the service, but that we're thinking of her and her family and wanted to send our condolences.

She was apparently IRATE that no one is planning to come to the service...and I just find this so weird. To me, funerals or memorial services are for close family and friends--why would you want someone who you barely know, and who your husband didn't know AT ALL to be at the funeral? When the co-worker explained that many of us have meetings and such during the afternoon, the lady demanded to know why we wouldn't be able to come to her house afterwards for the food. So now, our boss thinks that someone should go. I'd probably be one of the two that would go, since I did work with her on one of the hour occassions, but I'm already off this afternoon. And for me, it's just odd. It just feels like she wants to make sure there are lots of people there. Honestly, I asked about her husband on more than one occasion, and she literally wouldn't talk about him. I don't even know his first name! Besides, I really don't do memorial services well, and typically don't attend unless it's a very close friend or family member. Maybe that's selfish, but that's just how I am. I really don't think I'll attend--it's just weird.

Things.

I was really grumpy last night for no particular reason. I just was. I was fluctuating between being ticked off at the world to being an emotional mess. Justin was too nice about it--he just laughed, asked how he could help, and joked that he wondered if I was pregnant because the emotional stuff isn't typical for me. At that moment though, I kinda wanted to punch him in the face. How has he not learned that you don't "jokingly" insinuate that a girl is pregnant? Particularly if she's your wife, and PARTICULARLY if you know she's not.

I didn't take a shower this morning. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I took a shower yesterday morning either. That's pretty gross, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it considering the fact that I'm only working 9am-noon today, and then I'm just gonna work out (maybe) and come home and clean. And finally get my plants into actual pots.

Here's my overly ambitious list of what I need/want to accomplish around the house this afternoon:

-Sweep the living room and clean the floor
-Vacuum the living room rug
-Sweep and mop the kitchen floor
-Deep clean the hall bathroom
-Vacuum the master bedroom
-Deep clean the master bath
-Dishes, clean counters
-Laundry
-Get all the veggies planted in their own containers
-Spray the rest of the lawn with roundup

J should be off work around 3pm today, so he doesn't know it yet, but he gets to help too!

NO Naked Rule

I am enacting the "No Naked Rule", effective immediately. That is, I will not speak to naked people in the locker room at the gym, particularly if I don't even know them. I don't understand why strangers would even think another stranger would want to shoot the breeze while they are naked! It's weird!

Seriously?

Seriously girls (and guy). The nurse lady came today to do the life insurance check up, and of course...part of it included getting on the scale. And let me tell you...I am right back up to the weight that I was when I was at that awful doctor's appointment. I'm not giving out exact weight, but I will tell you that my BMI is 28.7, which is in the high range of "Overweight". It's depressing. Especially since I've been eating well and exercising almost every damn day.

How is it that I'm eating better and working out more than I ever have before, and I'm actually GAINING weight rather than losing it? I don't mean to wine, but this is just not fair. For God sakes, I'm RUNNING, and not seeing a change. I keep telling myself not to focus too much on the scale, but it's HARD to not see results. At all. It's depressing.

PS- I asked to leave work at noon tomorrow. I'm excited for a "mini vacation". Since I have Monday off too, it will be wonderful. I'll hit up the gym and then head home and CLEAN, so that this weekend I can just relax.

Bloodwork

A lady is coming today to do bloodwork and all that jazz for our life insurance since we're switching to a new policy. I absolutely HATE getting blood drawn, and I had nightmare after nightmare last night that she's going to discover that I have some terrible illness. This is also bad because I get myself so worked up about it all that my pulse and blood pressure are high too!

I'm ready for a vacation.

Seriously folks, I need a mini vacation. Three days--one day of lounging around, one day of cleaning the house top-to-bottom, and one more day of lounging around. I have almost 100 hours of paid time off saved up...I should just do it, but I just don't know. Even though this is FAR down the line, a part of me wants to save up the maximum since my office doesn't offer paid maternity leave...we're expected to use PTO for that. Besides, I'll be getting a bit of a vacation in August (5 days off)...can I hold off til then? Will my sanity stay in check?

Starting in June, I'm bumping up hours, now working 8:30-3:30 every day, instead of my usual longer Tuesday-Friday days. Part of me is seriously going to miss having a 3 day weekend every week. I'm trying to remind myself that this is a BLESSING because I'll be bringing in some more much needed money, AND I'll be home early enough to cook dinner every night. But, I can't help but feel like other things (i.e. keeping our house clean) are going to fall to pieces. I can hardly maintain it right now, even with sweet Justin's help. Yeah, we have NO clean glasses or forks right now. Why? Because I haven't done the dishes all week. We haven't been home.

If nothing else, I think I want to declare this Saturday "Go NO WHERE" day. Except for maybe Dairy Queen.

Faith and Hope

Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see. -Hebrews 11:1.

כי האמונה היא חסן הבטחון במקוה והוכחת דברים לא נראים׃ (The same, in Hebrew)

Ahora bien, la fe es la certeza de lo que se espera, la convicción de lo que no se ve (Spanish).

Or la foi est l'assurance des choses qu'on espère, et la conviction de celles qu'on ne voit pas (French).

Es ist aber der Glaube eine gewisse Zuversicht des, das man hoffet, und nicht zweifeln an dem, das man nicht siehet (German).

论信心 (Chinese).

Oh, the irony....

As you all know, today is Cinco De Mayo, so one would THINK that we'd be celebrating will all sorts of good Mexican food since Mexican is the only ethnic cuisine Justin likes. Nope. Today, on Cinco De Mayo, we'll be rocking the Indian Food at our Bible Study tonight.

Reminiscing

I can't believe that Justin and I have almost been married two years. On the other hand, I can't believe it's only been two years, because it feels like he's been such an integral part of my life for so long. Anyway, I don't know that I've shared many pictures from our wedding day on this blog, so I thought that I'd post a few. While I like having a few formal wedding pictures, my absolute favorite ones are the more candid ones like below. Didn't Kaitlin's parents do a wonderful job with the photography?

Money Matters

Today, I did something unusual. I opened a new credit card. I know, I know. Bear with me...there is a method to my madness. My current credit card was opened right after college, and thus has a high interest rate, no perks like cash back, and a fairly low balance. The low balance is good, because it has kept me with less than $1500 in debt, which I think is pretty darn good for someone my age, but I'd really like to have no debt whatsoever (aside from the house and my student loans) pretty soon here.

I usually trash credit card offers as soon as they come. However, today I got one from Citi that caught my eye--zero APR on balance transfers through May of 2010, and cash back eligible on all purchases, and a lower interest rate, with no annual fee. What? You mean I could pay down my debt without paying interest? And I could save up for big purchases, put them on the card, receive the cash back, and pay them off at the end of the month? Sign me up!

Also, the balance is much, much higher than my last card. As I said, I don't plan to actually USE the balance, but having my debt comprise a smaller percentage of the amount on my card will also improve my credit score.

So how do you handle credit cards? Do you have them at all? Do you put all your expenses on them to receive cash back and pay them off every month? Are you still struggling to pay down some excessive spending a few years back? Do you use your credit card more than you should? Clue me in!

Monday Update

-I did the 30 Day Shred yesterday, and it totally kicked my butt.

-I'm headed to the doctor's today. I've had a bruise for the last 2-3 months that won't go away. Wish me luck!

-Happy birthday to my grandma, who is 86 today!

-After some of your suggestions, I tried putting pepper on my plants to keep the cat out. Bad idea--my cat apparently LOVES pepper. She's so weird!

Crazy Eights

Eight of My Favorite Foods:
1. Chicken Picatta
2. Medium Rare Tri-Tip
3. Waffles with Peanut Butter and Syrup
4. Raspberries
5. Meringue
6. Vodka Pasta
7. Sourdough Bread with Butter
8. Cheddar Cheese

Eight TV Shows I Watch (at least intermittently):
1. Bones
2. Lie To Me
3. Biggest Loser
4. Dollhouse
5. The Hills
6. What Not To Wear
7. Weeds
8. Top Chef

Eight Things I Say Almost Every Day:
1. I love you.
2. It's all good.
3. That's kosher.
4. Wanna watch a movie?
5. What should I make for dinner?
6. Turn off your stupid alarm clock!
7. Amen
8. Do we have any ice cream?

Eight of My Favorite Movies:
1. Moulin Rogue
2. Hope Floats
3. Ghost Town
4. Dan In Real Life
5. Saved
6. Gone in 60 Seconds
7. Big Fish
8. The Negotiator

Eight of My Favorite Books:
1. To Kill A Mockingbird- Harper Lee
2. Traveling Light- Max Lucado
3. My Sister's Keeper- Jodi Picoult
4. A Handmaid's Tale- Margaret Atwood
5. A Blessed Event- Jean Reynolds
6. Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
7. The Giver- Lois Lowry
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky

Eight Things I Did This Weekend:
1. Visited with my Aunt, Uncle, Grandma, Parents, Other Aunt, and Siblings
2. Started reading Anna Karenina
3. Played lots of games of Smart Ass
4. Tried eating an omelet
5. Saw the Wolverine movie
6. Visited with Casey
7. Went to the used bookstore
8. Watched Yes Man.

Eight Things I'm Afraid Of:
1. Eyeballs
2. Heights
3. Having kids
4. Not being able to have kids
5. Justin dying
6. Discovering I have cancer
7. Surgery
8. Flying

Eight Things That Would Make For An Amazing Day:
1. Waking up late next to my hubby
2. Getting up to a clean house for a breakfast of fresh berries and yogurt
3. Laying around reading a book next to Justin
4. Getting up, and going to a darkroom to develop some prints
5. Then going to get a quick lunch before heading to the lake for a couple hours to wakeboard
6. Heading home to have a BBQ with Ryan, Renee, Kait, and Jesse
7. Drinking a Mike's Hard Berry with the girls
8. Changing into sweats and falling asleep while watching a movie, and not having to go to work in the morning.

C25K Update

Um yeah, my knee feels like it's on fire. Even now that I've been done for almost 2 hours. The kneecap and back of the knee hurt like heck. I've heard those are signs of runner's knee, but I'm not sure that I'm running enough to qualify for runner's knee quite yet!

Maybe I just need new shoes? I'm not sure that they've been replaced since freshman year in college. What say you running gurus?

PS-- There's a chance that I may be able to acquire a treadmil. I'm not sure if I'd actually use it at home though, nor am I sure that we have ROOM for it at home. Hey Renee, wanna store it for us for awhile? You can use it all you want in the meantime!

Also, I haven't been able to eat anything other than an orange today. Now, it feels like it's too late, or I won't be hungry for dinner...boo.

A Night in the ER

No, I didn't let my Swine Flu fears get the best of me. While we were at J's band practice last night, I got a call that my grandma was taken to the hospital, and that she was PISSED about it. They said that we probably didn't need to come, but after a quick pow-wow, J and I decided to head over. She's turning 86 on Monday, and while she's in pretty good health, we would hate to dismiss it as nothing, and have it turn out to be something serious and not get to see her again.

She was apparently having chest pains, and FINALLY called my dad. He called an ambulance, and even though she was PISSED about it, it was the right thing to do, because she was admitted for observation. In the ER, she finally fessed up that she had been having chest pain, arm pain, and back pain for about a week, and that it had been hard to breathe for about a week. Her trying to clean the house (my sister had JUST been up there to clean the house for her the day before) had apparently made it worse.

I love my grandma, but she's an ex nurse (she was the youngest nurse in WW2, and eventually became the head of surgery here at the local hospital), and she can be DIFFICULT when it comes to medical issues because she (a) has a tendency to self-diagnose, and (b) has a tendency to not follow doctors' orders if the orders aren't what she thinks she needs. She was NOT happy with my parents that they had taken her into the hospital, so she was being especially difficult.

She was nice to J and I--I think she was happy that we had come (which makes the late night totally worth it). We only got to see her for a few minutes around 11pm, but I'll probably hear how she's doing later on today, and we'll either head over today or tomorrow. The consensus at this point is that she'll probably be fine, which is a blessing. My amazing boss said it's okay for me to come in late today in light of the situation, so I'll probably head in around noon and wrap some things up.