Pictures

I forgot to post pictures from Christmas.

Christmas

Our Christmas was fun...busy, as usual, but still fun. Nick and I were able to go to the Christmas Eve service at church this year, and we did Christmas with my parents after that. We mostly just got money, which is what we asked for. I gave Mikaela money also, and took her shopping Saturday. She loves Limited Too, so she had fun. She also got some cheap stuff from Steve & Barry's, since they're closing. We got a baby hat there for $0.62. I would like to get some (cheap!) clothes from there too, but it's hard to pick out clothes now. Hopefully after next Monday, we'll know if it's a boy or girl! On Christmas Day, we actually managed to have the whole morning to ourselves. We opened presents (which was mainly me opening things I had picked out for myself, Nick getting some money, and the dogs getting a LOT of toys), fixed a big breakfast, and just hung out. It was the first year we've spent Christmas morning at home by ourselves, but we're going to want to next year for sure. We left around lunchtime to visit Nick's parents, and later, his grandparents.

The day after Christmas we went shopping! I'm sure Nick was thrilled about it. We didn't really do a lot of shopping...we went to Nashville to pick out our bedding for the crib. I really like it. I also found a glider that I like for the nursery. We're going to try to order the furniture next week, since it takes a long time to come in. After we got the bedding, we picked out our paint colors. I also found some things to put on the walls in the nursery (on sale at Kohl's!), so we're finally getting stuff done. I think we're going to try to paint this week, since we have a couple of days off of work. Nick borrowed the saw he needs to put up the chair rail, so hopefully that will be done soon also. Anyway, in Nashville we also bought some clearance Christmas decorations for next year. I think I want to put a tree up in the nursery (we bought a tiny 4 1/2 foot tree), so I got some really cute ornaments that should look good with our colors.

We actually did a lot of shopping after Christmas. We took Mikaela to the mall Saturday, and she tried on lots of things. She bought quite a bit; she is outgrowing everything, even my old stuff. She did buy herself a Nick Jonas t-shirt, which she was very excited about. I can't believe she's 13. On Sunday, we went to Kohl's to get the aforementioned items for the nursery, as well as some shirts for Nick. He has to dress up a little more for this new job (which means jean and a polo or button down shirt, instead of a t-shirt...not exactly dressy). But he hates buying clothes for himself, so it hardly ever happens.

It's going to be hard to go back to work this week, especially since I'm also working on Friday. But at least we still get 2 days off. Next week will be the hard week...5 whole days! But next week will be a good one...our ultrasound on Monday and Tuesday, my framed painting of the dogs will be finished. That was Nick's actual Christmas present to me. The painting is awesome, so I can't wait to hang it up.

Christmas is my excuse to buy things (for myself)

I've only asked for money this Christmas, because there were some things I wanted to buy. Unfortunately I've already bought the things before I have the money. Friday night, Nick managed to find a Wii Fit at Walmart. We had been looking for awhile with no luck. But someone he knew got one and called him, so he bought it for me. It's very cool, by the way. But it's not my Christmas present. We already got that. It's awesome. I had a picture of the dogs painted on canvas, and we're having it framed. So anyway, today we went to Bedford for Christmas with my dad's family. We stopped at the Summit to shop, and I found a new purse and wallet, and also a new North Face and gloves. So, my Christmas money is not even mine yet and it's already spent. Kind of depressing. Neither Nick or I will have anything to open under the tree. Just the dogs. We're getting really bad at shopping for people. Pretty much all our family is getting gift cards.

I am looking forward to 5 days off over the next 2 weeks. Nick is off all this week, which is totally not fair. But it does mean we'll get to go shopping on Friday. At least for clearance Christmas stuff for next year. I'm going to try to set a goal of having my Christmas shopping for next year done super early. Before May, hopefully.

I realize I haven't been updating much lately. But there's not much to tell. I'm in week 18 now, so I'm not feeling sick anymore. I'm also not too tired, although it's getting harder to sleep. I'm not supposed to sleep on my back or stomach, but sleeping on my sides is uncomfortable. Also, I get really itchy and congested at night. I've got breathe right strips, a vaporizer, my 2 allergy medications and saline nasal spray, so I'm not sure what else I can do about it. Actually, the strips really help. We find out 2 weeks from today whether it's a boy or a girl. For a while, I had a feeling that it was one rather than the other. Now I have no idea. But either way we will be happy. Anyway, hope everyone has a great Christmas.

Christmas is the only good thing about winter

I'm not all about the cold weather. I used to love snow, but that was back when I got out of school for it. And that was a rare occasion. Also, that was before I had to worry about driving in it. Last year, we had that one day when it was icy. I tried to drive to work and slid off the road into a ditch, almost hitting a speed limit sign. Nick left work to come get me and he almost got hit too. Now that he's working in Franklin, he won't be able to come back and get me anymore. That also makes me nervous...not about me so much. I can call in or come in late if I have to. But he has to drive 30 minutes there and back, and he just started so he can't really call in and tell them he's not coming. I just don't like the snow and ice. The dogs are supposed to be getting their pictures taken with Santa tomorrow night at the mall, but they'll probably cancel that. And this is the last night. I suppose I shouldn't have waited until the last night, but Izzy is getting groomed today so she'll be pretty.

Nick and I went to Nashville Saturday to get some things for the dogs. My parents' poor dog is pitiful (she has allergies and gets itchy, but they keep using regular people shampoo on her and don't seem to care), so I bought her some good shampoo and conditioner and some anti-itch spray. Our dogs were also out of shampoo, and they needed new sweaters. Sydney has completed outgrown everything. She had been sick for the past couple of weeks, so we got her new food and she's back to normal. I love my dogs. They're so fun.

Back to Work

Nick went back to work today. I know he's happy about it, but I'm going to miss him being at home. The poor dogs have to be alone all day again, so they don't understand what is happening. But I'm glad Nick is happy to be back to work, and I'm hoping he will enjoy his new job. I think the drive to Franklin and back every day might be hard for him though. I need to make him a cd or buy him something he can listen to.

This weekend was fun but busy...as usual. On Friday we went to eat with one of Nick's friends from college and his wife. We sat in the smoking section (they got there first and didn't know I was pregnant yet), and so I was sick the rest of the night. And I haven't been able to breathe since...not that I could breathe too well before that. From now on, I guess I'll have to be rude and ask to move. Or get to places first. Saturday was very busy, as was Sunday. At least this week shouldn't be too bad. I'm ready for Christmas and a few days off, even though those days off aren't usually very restful. Also, I'm ready for January 5th, so we can know if our baby is a he or a she!

Christmas!

I love Christmas, and it's kind of exciting that this will be our last Christmas with no kids. But it's very annoying to hear Christmas music all the time now. It ruins my holiday spirit. I want to hear regular music. One other reason I love this time of year...sports. Basketball is on all the time, which is so awesome. What's not awesome is that Nick made me watch UNC-Michigan State last night instead of Dirty Sexy Money. By 9:00pm, it wasn't even a game anymore. By 9:30pm, we turned it off, but I couldn't start watching the show in the middle of it. So now that's one more thing on my DVR. My poor DVR hasn't gotten much attention lately. I've liked having Nick home. Unfortunately, tomorrow is his last day off. He, I know, will be very happy to start his new job (he's a weird dude). But that means I'll have to clean the house and cook dinner and find time to run all the errands. He apparently got very bored being at home. He went hunting (I don't understand that concept...I'm bored, ooh let's go kill something), fixed our deck, put my laptop on eBay, cleaned the house about 8 times, did laundry, painted a chair, and took everything off of the Christmas tree to "fix it." Apparently it wasn't fluffy enough. He even went to the grocery by himself. The dogs have loved him being there with them, so they're not going to react well when he goes back to work. Speaking of dogs, Sydney has been sick lately. She's thrown up a few times, which is unusual for her. We've been giving her this vitamin / pill for the past couple of weeks, so no more of that. It was supposed to help her joints. We have the most pitiful dogs. Special foods, special medicines, puke...they're a mess. The 2nd of this month (Tuesday) was our (me and Nick, not the dogs) 1 1/2 year anniversary. We went to a basketball game. In one month from Friday, we will find out the gender of our baby! Awesome. Not so awesome is all the water I'm supposed to drink before the ultrasound. Anyway, I'm posting some pictures...our tree and other decorations, Sydney in the stroller (Izzy got scared and jumped out before I could take her's), and whatever else I decide to post.

Baby Stuff

Nick and I went to Nashville Saturday to look for baby stuff. I found bedding that I liked and could actually look at before I ordered. So we went ahead and ordered that.It's cool, because we were able to customize it however we wanted. It looks pretty much like these pictures, with just a few changes. We also bought a stroller at Babies 'R Us.
http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber=1749444&CategoryID=12

Nursery Items

I have been thinking a lot lately about how I want to do our nursery, because I want it done yesterday. We were thinking red and white, because I always wanted a Western room. But I have all kinds of WKU things that I want in my Western room, and that just wouldn't work for a nursery. My other idea was a beach theme. And then I got all excited about adding some Hawaiian-inspired items. So here are some pictures of things I really like.

I want some turkey already

Three names you go by:
1. Christina
2. Baby (sure it sounds sweet and endearing, but it's usually in the form of Nick yelling, "Hey Baby, where's the ______?" "Hey baby, where did you put the _______?")
3. Mommy (with the dogs)

Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Black pants
2. Tealish cashmere sweater
3. blank tank top

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. Thanksgiving and a 4 day weekend
2. to go back to Hawaii (not happening)

Three people who will probably fill this out:
1. Andrea already did it, so nobody
2.
3.

Two things you did last night:
1. Had social with our Crown class
2. Watched WKU game and finished decorating the Christmas tree

Two things you ate today:
1. salad from Outback
2. leftover French Toast from Cracker Barrel

Two people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Parents
2. Nick

Two things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Go to work
2. Finish addressing Christmas cards

Two longest rides you have taken:
1. From Bowling Green, KY to California
2. From Bowling Green, KY to St. Pete / Tampa, Orlando / DC (not sure which one was longer)

Two favorite beverages:
1. lemonade
2. sweet tea

Change

So, this week has been an interesting week. Nick is changing jobs, which is for the best. But still hard, especially as Nick has a hard time with decisions and change of any kind. So it's probably a good thing he didn't really have to make the decision himself. But anyway, things are a little weird at our house right now.

It's really cold outside, which I don't like. It snowed tonight, but not much. Which is good, because I can't drive in snow. It's even cold at work, only really just in my area. So I have to bundle up every day.

I got my flu shot, and now my arm hurts. I'm going to be really angry if I get the flu now. I've never had it before. We also had our 2nd doctor's appt, and we did get to hear the heartbeat. That was pretty cool. The doctor said it was ok that I haven't gained any weight yet. Why some of my pants are tight and yet I am the same weight is beyond me.

I'm hoping to get most of our Christmas shopping done Saturday. I don't want to wait until after Thanksgiving, because then everyone is crazy and the stores are packed. The dogs' presents are supposed to arrive Saturday also, so we'll get to try wrapped presents under the tree. That will be fun...I'm sure the dogs won't eat them. I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week...I'm so ready to eat lots of food.

Christmas Time

We got our tree up tonight. It's a new one that we bought on clearance after last Christmas, and it's bigger than our last tree. It takes up a lot of our living room, and we don't quite have enough ornaments yet. But still, I'm excited. This is the earliest I've ever had my tree up and decorated. We don't have a mantle, so I picked out a shelf at Lowe's to hang our stockings on. I started my shopping this past weekend too. I'm not sure why I'm wanting to do everything so early this year, but I do. My Christmas cards are just about ready to go out.

I go back to the doctor Thursday. I hope we get to hear a heartbeat. Also I hope she tells me it's normal that I haven't gained any weight yet. I know it is if you've been sick a lot, but I haven't. Well, at least not to the point where I can't eat. I eat a lot. Also (sorry, this is kind of gross), I've been gagging a lot. If I look at the computer screen or even the TV for too long, it makes me gag. I thought this was the time that stuff was supposed to go away.

Long Weekend

I took of this Monday, and was off today for Veteran's Day. I love being at home. The dogs behave so much better when they're not alone all day and I got tons of stuff done around the house (and I actually don't mind doing it when I'm not tired). So I'll only have a 3 day week at work, which will be nice. Nick and I go to the doctor again next week, and I'm hoping we'll able to hear the heartbeat. I bought my first pair of maternity pants today; they're black for work and comfy! Yesterday my mom took me shopping and bought me some bigger clothes that hopefully I'll be able to wear all winter. And I got black and brown shoes with hardly any heel, so maybe my back won't hurt as much. I feel like I need to do a lot of things at home...I'm ready to start painting what will be the nursery, and buying furniture. I think I'm a little early.

8 Things

8 Favorite TV shows:
1: Grey's Anatomy
2: Desperate Housewives
3: Brothers & Sisters
4: Jon & Kate Plus 8
5: Gossip Girl
6: One Tree Hill
7: Dirty Sexy Money
8: How weird is it that I can't list 8 tv shows I like?

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1: Olive Garden
2: Mariah's
3: Mancino's
4: The Cheesecake Factory
5: Cracker Barrel
6: Chik Fil A
7: Red Lobster (but only the shrimp cocktail)
8: Outback (only the salad w/ tangy tomato dressing)

8 things that happened yesterday:
1: Got up late
2: Went shopping
3: Ate Chick Fil A
4: Watched last week's Gossip Girl since apparently I forgot about it in all the election excitement last week - Me too!
5: Did some laundry...and the dishes
6: Cooked dinner
7: Went to a new doctor
8: Looked at some cool baby furniture in a Penney's catalog

8 things to look forward to:
1: a 3 day work week
2: The weekend
3: Christmas
4: Thanksgiving
5: Christmas shopping
6: Mailing & receiving Christmas cards
7: buying clothes that are stretchy and comfortable
8: getting paid on Friday

8 things I love about fall:
1: hot chocolate
2: being cold and snuggling in my really warm bed
3: putting up Christmas lights
4: Christmas shopping
5: buying new sweaters
6: good food
7: no more bugs!
8: picking out what I want for Christmas

8 things on my wish list:
1: Wii Fit
2: cashmere cardigan from J. Crew
3: new toys for the dogs
4: vaporizer
5: for my cough to go away
6: the deck to be fixed
7: lots of cool baby stuff
8: food

Finally, a good election outcome

http://kerussocharis.blogspot.com/2008/11/dad-is-world-coming-to-end.html
I like this post. I think many Christians have been extremely ridiculous about this election. Honestly, I think our entire state is somewhat stupid. Which makes me feel smart:-) But seriously, how cool is it to (soon) have an African-American president? And really, just that there was diversity in this election (Palin and Hillary)...although it's also sad that that can be considered diversity, since in reality our country is much more diverse than just women and black people. But still, it's definitely a change from the typical white, male, old president. And I won't have to ever explain to my kids why only white people can be president. And I'm not just happy because he's black; mostly because I totally agree with most of his ideas (which they are, and hopefully now he can implement them)...especially compared to McCain's. So it's cool to wake up on the day after the election for the first time in 12 years and be proud of my country. Also I hope that Obama will involve Bill Clinton, because I think the man might know something about the economy (and also foreign policy and maybe a few other things).

I've been looking forward to, at some point, getting a prenatal massage. I looked at Bella's webiste, and apparently I have to wait until after the 1st trimester, and I also have to have a doctor's note. To get a massage? Seriously? So my husband's attempts (while falling asleep halfway through) will have to do for now at least.

Election Day

Finally it's Election Day! I'm going to vote this afternoon, and I'm hoping that there isn't a long line. My polling place is usually kind of dead. But I've also never voted there in a presidential election. Hopefully the results will be in by tonight (and without me having to stay up all night). Also, this is just all around a fun time of the year. Nick and I did our pictures for Christmas cards last night. That's always an adventure, but the dogs were exhausted, so they behaved pretty well. I ordered the cards already, so I will hopefully have plenty of time to address and send them. Now I just need to start Christmas shopping.

Can't wait until this election is over!

Will I be sick the whole time?

Yes, I'm sick again. I finally broke down and went to the doctor, even though I knew I'd just get a z-pack. Which I did. My hope was to limit the amount of medication I was taking, but that doesn't seem to work. My doctor wanted to switch my nasal spray, but then some stupid insurance thing delayed the new prescription, so I was told to stop the old one. Obviously, that didn't work so well. Anyway, I'm not sure what else I can do to not get sick. I wash my hands constantly now, but mostly I get sinus infections, which are from my stupid allergies. This time she said I had an upper respiratory infection. I wish we didn't have so much planned for Friday, but we do.

Oh yeah, and it's almost Halloween. It seems weird that we're not going to be home for it. Our dogs got costumes for no reason. Well, we did try them on and take pictures. But no one will see them.

10 Weeks

This week is week 10. Depending on which book I'm reading, either week 9 or 10 is the end of the embryonic period, so our baby is now a fetus (or will be at the end of the week). Also, there's a much smaller chance for anything to do wrong after this week. And...in just a couple more weeks, I should be feeling better. Not that I've felt bad, but I'll be glad when I can look at my computer screen without wanting to throw up. Also, I've been sort of sick for about 2 weeks now. It's not bad, so I'm not actually sick. It's allergies I guess, only worse than normal. I had heard that I might get more congested, but I also have a sore throat and a cough. It keeps me up at night, which keeps Nick up at night, which keeps Sydney up. And if Sydney's up, everybody's up. Of course, Sydney can sleep all day, so what does she care. Anyway, I'm hoping that will go away soon. I need some sleep.

The Titans are playing the Colts on Monday Night Football tonight...hopefully they'll be 7-0. I really hate the NFL other than the Titans. Kind of how I hate the NBA, but I suspect I will watch Orlando when they are on.

Finally

We went to the doctor for the first time Thursday. So far, everything is good. We got an ultrasound just to figure out the due date...which is May 29, 2009. So that makes me 9 weeks, 10 on Monday. That's also Mikaela's birthday. I've finally told pretty much everyone. I wanted to tell work after we saw the doctor, just in case. The ultrasound was really cool. The technician was nice and explained everything she did and what we were looking at. She could add color and show us the blood flow, and the cord, and where the brain is developing. Anyway, we're very excited and I'm glad I can talk about it now!

Politics and stuff

My dad was asking me if I was going to hear Bill Clinton speak Friday. Unfortunately I took off Thursday, and unlike my dad, I can't just leave whenever I like. I would like to see him though. I saw Al Gore at the airport in '92, but have no memory of it. I think I was too short to actually see him. And I'm probably still that same height, so I'd have that problem again, I'm sure. Also, I would like to hear what he has to say about Bruce Lunsford, because that race in particular has gotten on my nerves. All the negative campaigning has made me not want to vote for either one, but then I would feel guilty, because it seems like it is actually going to be a close race. And I do not like Mitch McConnell. I'm pretty shocked that anyone has been able to come close to him, but we'll see how that turns out. So no Bill Clinton for me. I read Andrea's post and I do think that people don't hate him here like they have in the past. He must have known something or another about the economy (unless you still want to say that the economy is better now than it was when he left office...but that's stupid). Also, I don't think so many other countries hated us like they do now. And also for the most part, we felt safer. You can say that's because we hadn't had 9/11 yet (kind of the point), but I personally feel a lot less safe now than I did then. And I think we'll continue to go in that direction with Bush / McCain (same thing). I'd like to think that Colin Powell knows a little something about foreign affairs and defending our nation. I'm pretty excited for this election to be over. I'm tired of all the ads, and also, it's pretty cool to be part of history. But I have enjoyed SNL recently. Tina Fey is pretty funny (especially with the moving to Mars if McCain/Palin are elected). Also, I had been very proud of my church (for the most part) for not being so preachy about who we should vote for this year. Seriously, it's been bad in the past (one year, Ron Lewis actually attended our church to campaign). I did miss church last Sunday though. Our pastor has a blog though, and today's entry is about the election. I understand and respect (and also expected) his position. However, I don't understand the term pro-abortion (I do understand it, I just disagree with it). McCain ran with it during one of the debates. I believe the correct term is pro-choice. Unless Obama is running around forcing women to abort their babies, which seems very not like something he would, considering his background. If the pro-life position is wanting there to be laws banning abortion, pro-abortion would therefore mean wanting laws forcing every woman who became pregnant to have an abortion, right? And there'd be activists outside of hospitals yelling and carrying signs ridiculing women for having children. And that whole scenario seems stupid. Which is what the term pro-abortion is. Sometimes I wish I was one of those people who didn't really have strong opinions on politics and issues such as abortion. But that's just not me, and also sounds boring.

Another weekend over

Weekends should definitely be longer. This one especially. My back hurt all weekend, so Sunday we ended up in Urgentcare. I got a steroid shot and some drugs, and I feel a little better. The doctor said I might have pulled a muscle, or it could be costochondritis or pleurisy. It also hurts in my chest. It's lovely. I've been kind of sickly lately. And I'm getting a flu shot this week so I'll probably get sick from that too. Also, the drugs she gave me don't seem to do much. The shot did. But I have a muscle relaxant and Tylenol w/ Codeine. Apparently they're supposed to make me drowsy (not so much), and help with the pain. Again, not so much. The Tylenol didn't even begin to help my headache. But Excedrin did, which is weird, seeing as how it's just Tylenol with some caffeine. So I was very drugged up yesterday, which I don't like. But Nick was great, especially since I get pretty whiny when I don't feel good. He bought me a heating pad and ice pack, and brought me home some donuts. The he went to church to teach Sunday School by himself, and took me to Urgentcare. Then he fixed me lunch and brought me some ice cream. We also had Crown class last night, so he went to it by himself too. And he did the laundry. He's a lot better at taking care of me than I am of him.

We're both taking off Thursday. We have some stuff to do (!), but hopefully we'll also have some time to do nothing. And eat at Smokey Pig.

Misc.

Miscellaneous is my fall back word. I use it for a lot of stuff. Not sure why I wanted to mention that really. Random also probably works in this case.

I've been feeling a little guilty about Nick's birthday. It was last Saturday, and while we did go eat Friday night at Longhorn (which is his favorite restaurant that we hardly ever eat at), I was supposed to cook dinner for him. I had all the stuff at home, but I had to start preparing stuff the night before. And I totally forgot until I was in bed Thursday night. So not only did he not get a present (that was not my fault...he picked out a bunch of stuff and then changed his mind, and then said there was nothing he wanted), he didn't even get a dinner fixed for him. He didn't seem to mind, and birthdays are not as big of a deal to him as they are to me. But still. I'm been kind of flaky lately, which is not like me. It bothers me. I wouldn't call me OCD, but I like things very organized and just so. So I feel like I need to plan something for him to make up for his birthday.

Also, I saw a really cute baby today, and I had this thought. I think when I have kids, it will be like the dogs. I will think she (or he) is so adorable and cute at first, and then once she grows out of that and hits whatever age it will be when she stops doing new things (talking, walking, whatever), I'll be ready to get another one. That sounds terrible. It's not like Izzy isn't cute anymore, but I love puppies. And then I will get a 2nd baby, and wonder what I have gotten myself into. Like the dogs. Sydney's great and all, and I'm glad we got her, but she is seriously a handful. And we're for sure stopping with the dogs. I always wonder if I make people mad with the comparisons between dogs and kids. I don't actually think it will be the same at all, but it's really all I have to compare it to right now.

Tomorrow WKU plays Florida Atlantic at home. So far I've really enjoyed this football season; even if we haven't won a ton of games, it's been cool playing the teams we have. But I also liked I-AA...at least back when we were good. Hilltopper Hysteria was last night, and it was disappointing. These scrimmages are always bad, but it's very weird for me to watch them play now. The entire staff, except for 2 managers, is new, half the team is new...it's just going to be a little weird for a while. Also I don't think they're going to be any good. I have such a different perspective on it this year. Anthony is on staff, and I'm not even too excited about that (which is like...NUTS). And yet, I'm going to shell out the way too much money for season tickets. Even my parents aren't getting tickets this year. I can't help but think what would have happened if Coach Cherry had been hired instead.

Another busy weekend

We had another hectic weekend. I don't think I can do many more weekends like this. I'm very tired. Saturday was Nick's birthday, so on Friday the two of us went to Longhorn, his favorite restaurant. I used to not like it, but I do love their lobster and asparagus, and also the appetizer he always gets. And their bread. So it was good. But expensive, which is why it's only for special occasions. Saturday his parents and grandparents came down. We went to O'Charley's (possibly my least favorite restaurant now, but when they come, we either do that or Logan's every time), and then to Jackson's Orchard. It was about 90 degrees, so that might have been a mistake. We did get 2 pumpkins for the house. Some of the people in our neighborhood have gone a little crazy with the Halloween decorations. That was beside the point, but it's bothering me. Saturday night we went to the WKU football game. Which was frustrating. We lost 24-7 to Ball State, who is ranked 25th. But they played well enough to win, and honestly they should have. Except for stupid mistakes. Sunday, we went to church, got something to eat with some friends from church, stopped by Walmart (like that's ever fast), and finally got home around 2pm. We had to leave again at 3:40 for our Crown class. So all in all, we had no time to relax all weekend, and I'm exhausted. We're supposed to do the grocery shopping tonight (the Walmart trip yesterday was just to get us through until tonight), but I'm thinking Nick might be going alone. I'm hoping this next weekend is calmer...another football game, but hopefully that's it. Because this week is going to be crazy. Our schedule is going to have to change soon. We're too busy.

Stupid Email

This is scary stuff...
Could all this be untrue?


This election has me very worried. So many things to consider. About a year ago I would have voted for Obama. I have changed my mind three times since than. I watch all the news channels, jumping from one to another. I must say this drives my husband crazy. But, I feel if you view MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News, you might get some middle ground to work with. About six months ago, I started thinking "where did the money come from for Obama". I have four daughters who went to College, and we were middle class, and money was tight. We (including my girls) worked hard and there were lots of student loans.

I started looking into Obama's life.

Around 1979 Obama started college at Occidental in California . He is very open about his two years at Occidental, he tried all kinds of drugs and was wasting his time but, even though he had a brilliant mind, did not apply himself to his studies. "Barry" (that was the name he used all his life) during this time had two roommates, Muhammad Hasan Chandoo and Wahid Hamid, both from Pakistan . During the summer of 1981, after his second year in college, he made a "round the world" trip. Stopping to see his mother in Indonesia , next Hyderabad in India , three weeks in Karachi , Pakistan where he stayed with his roommate's family, then off to Africa to visit his father's family. My question - Where did he get the money for this trip? Nether I, nor any one of my children, would have had money for a trip like this when they where in college. When he came back he started school at Columbia University in New York . It is at this time he, wants everyone to call him Barack - not Barry. Do you know what the tuition is at Columbia ? It's not cheap! to say the least. Where did he get money for tuition? Student Loans? Maybe. After Columbia , he went to Chicago to work as a Community Organizer for $12,000. a year. Why Chicago ? Why not New York ? He was already living in New York .

By "chance" he met Antoin "Tony" Rezko, born in Aleppo Syria , and a real estate developer in Chicago . Rezko has been convicted of fraud and bribery this year. Rezko, was named "Entrepreneur of the Decade" by the Arab-American Business and Professional Association". About two years later, Obama entered Harvard Law School . Do you have any idea what tuition is for Harvard Law School ? Where did he get the money for Law School ? More student loans? After Law school, he went back to Chicago . Rezko offered him a job, which he turned down. But, he did take a job with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland. Guess what? They represented "Rezar" which Rezko's firm. Rezko was one of Obama's first major financial contributors when he ran for office in Chicago . In 2003, Rezko threw an early fundraiser for Obama which Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendelland claims was instrumental in providing Obama with "seed money" for his U.S. Senate race. In 2005, Obama purchased a new home in Kenwoood District of Chicago for $1.65 million (less than asking price). With ALL those Student Loans - Where did he get the money for the property? On the same day Rezko's wife, Rita, purchased the adjoining empty lot for full price. The London Times reported that Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born Billionaire loaned Rezko $3.5 million three weeks before Obama's new home was purchased. Obama met Nadhmi Auchi many times with Rezko.

Now, we have Obama running for President. Valerie Jarrett, was Michele Obama's boss. She is now Obama's chief advisor and he does not make any major decisions without talking to her first. Where was Jarrett born? Ready for this? Shiraz, Iran ! Do we see a pattern here? Or am I going crazy?

On May 10, 2008 The Times reported, Robert Malley advisor to Obama was "sacked" after the press found out he was having regular contacts with "Hamas", which controls Gaza and is connected with Iran . This past week, buried in the back part of the papers, Iraqi newspapers reported that during Obama's visit to Iraq , he asked their leaders to do nothing about the war until after he is elected, and he will "Take care of things".

Oh, and by the way, remember the college roommates that where born in Pakistan ? They are in charge of all those "small" Internet campaign contribution for Obama. Where is that money coming from? The poor and middle class in this country? Or could it be from the Middle East ?

And the final bit of news. On September 7, 2008, The Washington Times posted a verbal slip that was made on "This Week" with George Stephanapoulos. Obama on talking about his religion said, "My Muslim faith". When questioned, "he make a mistake". Some mistake!

All of the above information I got on line. If you would like to check it - Wikipedia, encyclopedia, Barack Obama; Tony Rezko; Valerie Jarrett: Daily Times - Obama visited Pakistan in 1981; The Washington Times - September 7, 2008; The Times May 10, 2008.

Now the BIG question - If I found out all this information on my own, Why haven't all of our "intelligent" members of the press been reporting this?

A phrase that keeps ringing in my ears - "Beware of the enemy from within"!!!
__________________________________________________________________________________

I received this email from someone at my church. So it shouldn't surprise me I guess, since they're mostly very conservative. But seriously...wikipedia? That's a source known for its dependability. I could go on there and post something and apparently that makes it fact. Obama has admitted that he shouldn't have associated with Rezko, but at the time the guy hadn't been accused of any wrongdoing. And really, most of our past presidents had a less than stellar background (I guess alcoholism and drug use is not that big of a deal, right?). I'm sure it's just the man stream media's left wing bias...that's why they're not covering that Obama is obviously tied to the terrorists. I just wish people would read something and have the brains to think about it or do some research on their own before they accept it as fact and pass it on. Do you think even if he had the same background, any of this stuff would come up if he was a white man? It's sad to me that our country is still not passed the race issue. It's very frustrating to me.

Interesting (and long) article

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain/page/1

This is a story on John McCain in Rolling Stone. Kind of makes me wonder how he even won the nomination. I know the source is no doubt a little biased, but then again, so am I.

Weekend

We had a pretty fun weekend. On Friday night, Nick took me to see Nights in Rodanthe, which was not that great really. But I read the book, so I wanted to see the movie. We had older women on both sides of us who talked the entire movie. The ones on my side thought Richard Gere was gorgeous...old but gorgeous. I don't remember that book at all, so it must not have been that good either. I saw that Nicholas Sparks has a new book out, so I have to find time to read that one soon. Saturday Nick went home to help his dad, so I ran a lot of errands and cleaned, and at least got to start working on my scrapbooks. I am so behind. After church Sunday, we went with our ABF class to Mammoth Cave to cook out. We took the dogs, who got really dirty and nasty, but it was fun. Another couple took their dog too, but he's only like 5 pounds and also he has a broken leg. So they couldn't play. But we had fun...we cooked hot dogs (a hamburger for me) and smores. I can't remember the last time I went to Mammoth Cave.

But now the weekend is over and it's back to work. I'm hoping that Nick's work will be better. He's been very stressed out lately, and there's not really much I can do about it. His birthday is Saturday, and he has no idea what he wants from anybody. So he might not be getting anything. I've never had that problem...not knowing what I want for a holiday. Speaking of holidays...I am so ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Prayer for my husband

Today is going to be a difficult day for Nick at work. Though the last several weeks have been stressful, today I think will be the worst. So pray for him. We have talked about it and know that God is in control and we trust him. But that doesn't mean we understand it always. But on the positive side, if he gets through today, things should get better. Hopefully.

I'm feeling better...still have a runny nose and a cough, but I can deal with that. We watched the vice-presidential debate last night. Sometimes I wish I could watch these things with a non-partisan, non-biased perspective, but unfortunately I cannot. And I don't think my opinion would be much different. I am looking forward to the debate next Tuesday, since I missed the first presidential candidate debate. I love politics, but it stresses me out.

Nick is going home to help his dad farm tomorrow, so I get to sleep in and do some stuff that I never have time to do. Like work on my scrapbook and put some songs on iTunes. Sounds boring, but I'm looking forward to it.

Home Sick

I'm getting pretty tired of being sick. I have my 2nd sinus infection in 3 months, so I guess it's back to having one every other month. Which is awesome. It has been nice to relax at home though. Although there's not a ton of relaxing, between the dishes, laundry, etc. Not sure why I can't just sleep all day, which is what I would like to do. But I am catching up on the episodes of the Hills and 90210 that I missed. Nick has something planned for us tomorrow night. I'm hoping it's a movie (Nights in Rodanthe), but I'm guessing it's probably not. Which reminds me, we did go see Fireproof last weekend. It was really good, although the acting skills were not the best. But it was pretty cool to see so many people there for a Christian movie. Anyway I don't have much else exciting to post. We're getting the house fixed up slowly. It's a huge hassle getting these people to come. People aren't really dependable.

Interesting Evening

So we had an interesting night. Right before either of us got home yesterday someone ran off the road and hit the back deck. He just barely missed the house. If it had been just a few minutes later, our dogs would have been out there, so thankfully they weren't. Anyway it's a long story, but here are some pics. You can see how far off the road he had to drive to get to our house. We filed a police report, though he asked us not to (he was in a company truck). So now we get to wait on their insurance. It was ironic too...I was going to take pics of the outside of the house last night so we could put it up for sale.

Exciting

So, Nick and I have been talking about going on a mission trip for a few months now. We both wanted to do something to serve, so we started off with teaching Sunday School. But I had continued to pray about opportunities for mission trips. I would love to go overseas but Nick is not as certain on that part. Last night as we were leaving Crown, Stuart and Jenny asked us if we would be interested in maybe going on the trip to Japan the church is taking next summer. It was very strange...good, but weird. Several people, including Stuart and Jenny, went last year. Actually they were all people from our old Sunday School class. They're going back this summer, minus Jenny and probably Stuart (twins will probably keep them busy). It sounds like a very cool opportunity, because you don't really have to do a whole lot...other than going up to strangers and starting conversations, which I'm obviously no good at. But I always kind of knew a mission trip would be about expanding my comfort zone anyway. No manual labor is required, which I like. Anyway Nick seems very receptive and interested, so we will be praying about this a lot. The trip will be a couples trip again, and we will probably know several of them, which is good. So anyway, I'm very excited about this, which was really an answer to prayer.

Answer

So you know that I posted a few weeks ago about prayer. Well our pastor's recent blog actually addressed that. Which is pretty cool. And also makes me feel like I really need to be consistent about reading the Blackaby book daily. I would link to it but that doesn't seem to work, so here it is.


As I read this devotion this morning, I received the best and most succinct explanation of prayer I have ever heard. It comes from Blackaby's devotion "Experiencing God Day by Day", which is available here at his website.

A couple of weeks ago, I had someone ask my why we should pray if God was sovereign. They did not understand the need to speak to God about matters He'd already determined in His will. I attempted to explain what Blackeby has written here about prayer. Needless to say, I did not do as well.

This is what prayer is and what it does. This is good.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (Acts 2:1)

Prayer does not give you spiritual power. Prayer aligns your life with God so that He chooses to demonstrate His power through you. The purpose of prayer is not to convince God to change your circumstances but to prepare you to be involved in God’s activity.

The fervent prayer of the people at Pentecost did not induce the Holy Spirit to come upon them. Prayer brought them to a place where they were ready to participate in the mighty work God had already planned.

Jesus told His followers to remain in Jerusalem until the Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:4–5). The disciples obeyed His command, waiting for God’s next directive. As they prayed, God adjusted their lives to what He intended to do next. As they prayed, a unity developed among them. For the first time the disciples used Scripture as their guide in decision making (Acts 1:15–26). The day of Pentecost arrived, and the city of Jerusalem filled with pilgrims from around the world. When God released His Holy Spirit upon the disciples, He had already filled the city with messengers who would carry the Gospel to every nation. Prayer had prepared the disciples for their obedient response.

Prayer is designed to adjust you to God’s will, not to adjust God to your will. If God has not responded to what you are praying, you may need to adjust your praying to align with God’s agenda. Rather than focusing on what you would like to see happen, realize that God may be more concerned with what He wants to see happen in you.

Wow! Wrap your mind around that and give God praise. Prayer, like life in Christ, is all about what God is doing and our being aligned to Jesus. It is not about us.

http://www.1075theriver.com/cc-common/podcast/single_podcast.html?podcast=woodyandjim.xml

This is a link (hopefully) to the 9/11 audio clip they play on 107.5 every year on 9/11. Pretty cool that they play this on a secular station.

I stayed up way too late last night (by which I mean, 11:30pm, which officially makes me pathetic and old) to watch Obama on Letterman. He didn't even have a Top 10 list because Obama was on for so long. Nick and I are taking off the day after the election, since we (or at least I) will stay up late. Hopefully we won't have to stay up late. I wish there was another holiday there in between. I read on Andrea's blog that one of the presidential debates is being held at Belmont in Nashville, so I'm kind of excited about that. I don't really know to get tickets or if I even could, but I'm going to try. Can you imagine the security for that? Anyway I get very excited about politics, even though I'm not as informed as I need to be. I should work on that.

Graduates

The dogs graduated from obedience class last night. I have some pics that I'll try to post later. They got framed certificates. I have an idea for a photo display for the wall...actually I've been thinking about it for a while. We have pictures of us at the wedding, us on our honeymoon, us on vacation, etc, but not many with the dogs. Which seems silly, since we love our dogs! So I need to get moving with that. I'm very proud of them, but they still have some things to learn. Mostly just not to be so stubborn (Izzy) and to listen to Nick and not just me (Sydney). But I said all along that if taking the class allowed us to take Sydney on a nice normal walk, it would be worth it. And now we can!

Also last night was the first meeting of our Homeowners' Association. Actually apparently they had a meeting last year, but obviously they failed to notify anyone. We were supposed to have a homeowners' association when we first bought the house, but 2 years later and we still don't. Nick went to part of it and had to leave early for dog class. Apparently there were lots of complaints. And they plan to charge us $125 a year for dues. Which is interesting to me, seeing as they do nothing. I will not be paying that. Nick takes everything so seriously...if someone said it, it must be true! But maybe I'm just too cynical. I'll just be glad to put our house up for sale...even if it does take years to sell. Hopefully not though.

The first night of Crown was interesting. I think going over all of this again will really help Nick and I get refocused. Probably mostly me. I don't consider myself to be very materialistic, but seriously I so am.

Sick again?

I feel myself coming down with something again. Awesome. I like watching tennis now. Now I'm watching Nadal and Murray. I don't really like Nadal, but everyone seems to love him. I like Federer, who will play in the US Open final tomorrow. Federer vs. Nadal is the match-up that everyone wants I guess. I would enjoy watching women's tennis, but the Williams' sisters kind of get on my nerves.

Tonight Nick and I start Crown Financial class at church. I really hope we like it as much as FPU. Today we had our ABF Open House, and a couple new couples came to our class. It's pretty cool that only a couple months ago, we only had 2 couples and now we have 8 or 9. I'm so glad we've gotten more involved in church. We've met a lot of people and some friends who we can hang out with.

Not a 3 day weekend

So is it just me or has this week seemed incredibly long? Why do short work weeks always seem so long? But it's finally Friday, so I'm happy. Even if it's not a long weekend. It's been a busy week. We've had to do something every night. Last night Nick went to pick up his truck, which was fixed. But it had a flat tire, so he had to fix that. Between the two of us, we've had at least 5 flat tires in the last year. I picked up my Coach purse yesterday. I love it, although it's not as big as the last one I was using from Target. That's probably a good thing, since I could never find anything in the last one. I also got the matching wallet and date / address book. But it's also big, and if I carry it in the purse, I don't have much room left. I don't have to carry it in there, but it matches and it's so pretty. I'm kind of crazy when it comes to purses.

Fun!

Today was fun. We did pretty much nothing. Nick put together my new dresser and matching shelf. We took a nap...and played with the dogs. It was awesome. I wish every weekend was a 3 day weekend. Yesterday we went to Nashville to eat at Olive Garden and go to SuperTarget. I love SuperTarget. Also, today I order my Coach purse, so that's very exciting. I'm getting pretty tired of watching the news. CNN has been on all day. I just turned to Fox News, and I'm going to see how long I can take it. It's funny to me how people see things so differently. That's why politics drives me nuts. I don't even understand where some people are coming from. I know I'm supposed to be open minded, but I have a hard time with it. So it's good I'm not in politics.

3 Day Weekend!!

I've been waiting for this long weekend for a long time. Or so it seems. Also, football season is here. Yay for sports on tv again. I miss not seeing the Braves, even if they are bad. Terrible. Worse than terrible. But whatever.

Nick and I both got haircuts this week. Pretty exciting stuff.

St. Louis and other things

I accidentally deleted my pics from the State Fair concert last weekend. Fortunately I downloaded a free program and found some of them. Here is one of Brad Paisley and Jewel. It was a pretty awesome concert. St. Louis was also a lot of fun yeterday. The Braves are totally out of any post-season race and I only know about 3 players now, but I did get to see Chipper play! And I always get closer in St. Louis for BP than I can anywhere else, so I got some good pics.

I'm looking forward to the 3 day weekend. As far as I know, we don't have any plans for Labor Day. How awesome would it be to stay home and do nothing! We'll see.

Prayer

I've been wondering about something lately...actually for a while. So I thought maybe I could get some feedback (from the whole 2 people that read my blog). We know that God is in complete control of our lives and of everyone's. God has a plan for us all and He knows everything that will happen. So if that is the case, why should we pray? Surely God's mind won't be changed because we ask for something. And yet we are commanded to pray. Even Jesus prayed, knowing his plea wouldn't change God's will. I'm not saying I think prayer is useless; I think it's very important in our personal relationship with Jesus. How can you have any kind of relationship without ever communicating? And maybe prayer is just meant for us to ask God for certain things, and then allow Him to reveal to us his will / plan on those issues.

So my question is, what is the point of prayer? Why are we commanded to do it? And what difference does it make really?

I googled it, and found either really deep and philosophical answers (which I think were actually just people trying to use big words to skirt around the issue because they didn't have an answer) or answers from people who thought that God doesn't actually have any plan for us and we're in control of our own lives. Which is silly.

Friday is my favorite day

I really love Fridays. I like them more when my weekend isn't jam packed with things to do, but that's rare apparently. Last weekend Nick and I had a great time at the Brad Paisley concert. I had some good pics and video, and then accidentally deleted them. I'm so awesome. Julianne Hough from Dancing with the Stars opened for him, as did Church Wicks and Jewel. Jewel was actually awesome, but I used to love her. And she sang some of her old songs that I knew, like Foolish Games (my favorite!), You Were Meant for Me, Who Will Save Your Soul...you get the point. Brad is always good in concert. So it was fun. Sunday we headed to Ohio County for the Pops Concert at Nick's parent's church. They have it every year (his dad is in choir), and they have homemade ice cream and other good desserts. So the weekend was fun, but busy. Tomorrow Nick and I are going with my dad to St. Louis to see the Braves play. The Braves obviously suck this year, and pretty much all of them are either on the DL or on the verge of retiring (or both actually). But I haven't been to the new Busch Stadium yet, and I still love them even if they're 10 games out of first place.

I'm sad the Olympics are almost over. We've really enjoyed watching them. Swimming was our favorite I think, but we also watched the gymnastics and beach volleyball. I would have liked to have watched basketball and soccer, but it's always on at weird times. But the US women's soccer team won gold! And both basketball teams should.

Poor Nick is sick now. He was so convinced he had managed not to get it from me, but he did. And he hates taking off work, even though he has days he could use. And also I think it's easier to work through when it's Friday. But my doctor prescribed me a refill on my antibiotic, so I called that in for him.

I think we have our vacation for next year planned. I'm super excited, but it's a really long time away so that's depressing. We're not going until October of 2009. We're planning to go to the Bahamas (I've always wanted to stay at the Atlantis...at least since I saw that Mary-Kate and Ashley movie "Holiday in the Sun"). The Bahamas, unlike Hawaii, actually gets some hurricanes, so we're trying to go as close to the of hurricane season as we can. But while the rates are still cheap. I got my borchure in the mail this week, and I'm really excited about swimming with the dolphins again. I love vacations. And we will have to go somewhere else earlier in the summer to hold me over until October.

Maybe I'll get around to posting a little more often. I doubt it.

Sick

I haven't had a sinus infection in over a year until now. Although it doesn't seem like a sinus infection, because I'm not completely congested like I usually am. But that will probably come tomorrow. My throat is killing me though. I got a Z-Pack, which pretty much does nothing for me. But oh well.

I went to the dentist this week and I didn't have any cavities! I was pretty excited. They could actually tell that I've been flossing. I was going to be pretty mad if I'd been brushing and flossing every day for nothing. It was the best dentist visit ever.

I love the Olympics. Although I wish the good stuff wasn't just early in the morning or late at night. So far the swimming is my favorite. I watched the women's gymnastics last night, but it just made me mad. I feel sorry for the girl that messed up so much, but seriously.

Nick and I are going to see Brad Paisley this weekend. He's always good in concert, so I'm looking forward to it. Although it mwans that we'll get in late late and have to get up early the next morning for church. And our crazy wild funny 4 year olds.

Now I have to go finish watching Tori and Dean. I love that show. And after that, it's naptime.

What a busy weekend!

But it was pretty fun. I had a work thing Friday night at Chaney's, and we got free ice cream! Yay for free food, especially ice cream. We had our yard sale Saturday, and did very well. We sold everything but a few clothes and some misc. things...and we took all of that to Goodwill. So there's no longer junk sitting around our house and garage. And we made some extra money, which I'm saving for our vacation next year. I'm already excited about it. Saturday night was date night for Nick and me. We saw Step Brothers, which was very stupid. I think I'm probably done with Will Ferrell movies. And then today we started helping out at Sunday School. We had 4 year olds, and we found out today that we're going to be the teachers. We thought we'd just be helping the teacher. I think Nick kind of freaked out. But I think we'll be ok. The lessons are mostly just coloring I think. And the kids are pretty well behaved and soo cute. It will definitely be a good experience for the two of us, especally right now. So I'm excited about it. And this afternoon we helped count and organize school supplies at church. Stuart was organizing the whole thing, so we got to see him and Jenny. Since they changed ABF classes, we hadn't seen much of them. Also, I love this commerical that's running now for Visa....it's narrated by Morgan Freeman, about the track athlete who got injured and finished last in his meet at the Olympics. His dad came down and helped him so he would finish. I love the Olympics, especially the summer games. Anyway I'm exhausted...after getting up at 4:15am Saturday morning and 6:30am this morning, I should probably be going to bed. Right after Army Wives...and ice cream.

It's been a while

Thankfully tomorrow is Friday. Although it's going to be a busy weekend...I have a work get together tomorrow night, our yard sale bright and early Saturday morning, Sunday is the first day for us to start helping with the kids at Sunday School, and we're helping with the Back to School Blitz at church Sunday afternoon. Saturday night is date night for Nick and me (I think that's right...not Nick and I or me and Nick). I hate having weekends that are so busy and planned out...they go by too fast.

The Braves are done. They've traded away Mark Texeria, Chiper's on the DL, and now Tim Hudson's season is over (and possibly next season also) because of injury. Also Brian McCann was knocked unconscious a few days ago, so he's missed some games. It's actually pretty unbelievable all the injuries they've had this season. By the time we get to go see them play in St. Louis, I won't recognize anyone on the field.

I'm loving my iPhone, and my Blackjack and iPod both sold on eBay. That's about all the excitement I've had this week. Probably why I haven't posted. Although when I came home from work today, Nick did have candles out and he was playing my ocean sounds. And he hates candles, so it was sweet.

It's too hot!

Not being able to blog at work has really slowed down my blogging. How unfortunate for all of you (you know, the 2 people that read this). I went to see Mamma Mia tonight with Andrea. It was actually decent, aside from having to hear Pierce Brosnan sing...and seeing him without a shirt. Hard to believe he was James Bond. I was hoping that Colin Firth would be her father, but they made him gay. Which didn't mean that he wasn't her father, but he didn't get back together with the main chick (Meryl Streep). But it was entertaining and amusing. My iPhone is awesome and it's a good thing I have the unlimited internet plan because I use it a lot. And it runs down the battery like crazy. But it's awesome. Nick was sick yesterday and went to the doctor, but seems to be doing better now. He had an intestinal infection, which sounds awesome. He tends to assume the worst, so we were worried it was appendicitis or kidney stones or something. Fortunately not. He's been doing good on the nice things for me lately...the past 3 weeks he's brought me home blue flowers (!), left a note in my car at work, and today he wrote I Love You in blue marker on papers and taped them on my bathroom mirror. So now I have to start thinking up some better things to do for him. Also, church has been especially good lately. Jason's messages the past couple of weeks have been really thought-provoking and have encouraged me to go a little deeper in my relationship with Christ. And also in the level of importance He has in my life. Plus, the music has been good too. And our ABF started a new book that I think will be really good...I haven't loved the last few we've done. This past Sunday we met 2 other couples from Small Group / ABF at the mall (I went to Steve & Barry's for the first time, and while I didn't find anything, I think I will love that place), took our dogs to the dog park, and then played the Wii at one of their houses. It's good to find some new people to hang out with. Our yard sale is in a week and a half so this weekend will probably be dedicated to preparing for that...not fun.

Slacking on the bloggin'

My iPhone came in yesterday, which is lucky because my parents left today for Florida. I had to have my mother with me. So far I've had some problems...more with AT&T than the phone I think. I was there for 2 hours last night and another hour and a half today. They really seem kind of clueless, and remarkably unconcerned about it. But whatever, I have the phone and it seems to work for now. We're watching Angel for my parents, and she is wild. I thought Sydney was nuts, and she is, but Angel is out of control. You can sit there and yell No at her, and she has no clue. Obviously never heard the word before. I love my dogs. Thankfully tomorrow is Friday. I really hate how fast the weekends go by. Doesn't life seem kind of pointless if you're always waiting on the weekends...or vacation, but mine is over. I don't have any exciting plans for the weekend, other than finding a case for my phone. What a boring life.

iPhone!

I went to AT&T Friday, and of course they were already sold out of iPhones. But I ordered one and it should be here in a few days. I'm excited...and I should be able to make the money back by selling my BlackJack and iPod. Nick and I started going through all our stuff for the yard sale this weekend. We have way too much junk. So hopefully we'll make some extra money.

My parents are going on vacation later this week, and we're keeping Angel for them. I think that 3 dogs is going to be interesting. Plus their dog is crazy. They were going to board her, but that made me feel bad.

Anyway, Nick and I have had a fun weekend of doing not much. It's been kind of nice to not have any plans. We even got to take a nap with the doggies. But now the weekend is almost over.

Doggie Class

Last night we had our first night of obedience class with the dogs. And wouldn't you know, they were awesome. Which is good, but I feel like it's most likely a fluke. And we bought them new collars, which allow us to correct them a litle better. So I think that's mostly what has been the difference. If we had known that, we probably could have just bought the collars and not gone to the class. But I think that the obedience class will end up being very good for them. We're supposed to practice this week, with heeling, sitting and staying. Izzy was awesome last night. She's the most stubborn dog I've ever seen. Sydney is crazy and wild and drives us nuts sometimes, but I think stubborn is worse.

I am trying to get up the motivation to improve my eatng habits. They're not bad anymore; I've cut out sodas (which is kinda huge for me) and also most salty stuff, like chips. And I've started eating a lot more fruits and vegetables. But I love sweets! I love ice cream and candy and cookies...and pretty much everything else. I know that the less of it I eat, the less I'll crave it. But it's so hard.

Nick has started getting up earlier in the morning to ride his bike and do his Bible reading. I'm proud of him, and hope he can keep it up. Also I hope I can support and encourage him the way that I need to.

Also, not that anyone really watches it, but I was surprised that the Bachelorette picked Jessie. And also that they've already set a date for next year. They seemed pretty fake on the after show. But what do I know.

Coolness

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get an iPhone next weekend. Well, if my mom lets me upgrade on her line. The cheapest data plan is $30 a month, but I'm excited about it. I can sell my iPod and also my BlackJack on eBay. Also, yesterday when we went to the Mall at Green Hills, I went in Sephora for the first time. Oh my gosh, I love it. I found the stuff I like for my hair, and also some cool mascara. And I found something else for my hair I had been looking for. So I found a new store I love.

Long Weekend

I have enjoyed my long weekend. Nick and I have gotten to sleep late, shop and we finally got to go to our church for a regular service. It's been over a month since we have done that. Worship service is so important for me, and it's kind of amazing what it does for me. Jason's message today spoke to me; I feel like I am growing spiritully, but I think it's time for me to step out of my comfort zone and do something for others. But I also have a bad habit of saying I want to do something and then not following through. So I am going to find a way to volunteer at church, maybe with the little kids. Also I want to volunteer at the Humane Society. Nick is afraid I will get too attached and want to bring all the dogs home. Which I probably will, but my two dogs are a handful already. Anyway, we've got to go to the grocery and to run some errands.

Yay for good health

I got my results back yesterday from the blood draw at our health fair. My cholesterol and glucose were normal. Last year I forgot about it, so I ate in the morning and my results were screwed up. Well, they were high, so I was hoping they were screwed up. But everything is normal. Exciting. I am getting kind of tired of being lazy and not working out. I go through phases where I am really motivated to get in shape, and that lasts for about a month. But I really need to just make the time to do it every day...or most days. Nick got up early this morning and took Sydney jogging. I can't do it early in the morning, I know that much. And running is so boring and not right for me. But I don't want to pay to join a gym, so it's really my only option.

We finished our landscaping yesterday. It makes the house look a lot better. It's very colorful. Although I did see a wasp hanging around the hibiscus plant yesterday, so I'll probably be staying away from that area. I love how nice it's been outside. Yesterday I got to sit outside and read a magazine for a while, and it was relaxing. I got some sun. But of course it's supposed to rain and then cool down. Sometimes I think I'd love to live in California, where it's almost always 72. But they have earthquakes. And 72 is not really warm enough for me to swim outside. But then again we have earthquakes too, and how often do I swim outside unless I'm on vacation anyway?

Tonight is an all new Grey's Anatomy! I'm so excited. There's been nothing on for so long now. Actually it's been kind of nice, because I don't feel like we're tied to the tv. We actually go outside and do stuff, and I get to read books. And we eat dinner at the table. And we talk! Wow.

On a side note, my job is killing me. One of our assistant coaches is an absolute jerk. Can't wait until the day I walk out of this place and never come back...not too far away!

Another Fun Week

This weekend was busy. I hate busy weekends, but I also hate being bored. Hard to find a happy middle. Friday night we went to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was funny, but a little too graphic (there was a lot of nudity and sex). Pretty much the whole movie was about sex really. But it did have some funny parts. Saturday we went to Ohio County to see Nick's parents and eat at Moonlite in Owensboro. I love Moonlite. Then as soon as we got back, we had small group. It was at a new couple's house this time. Sunday we took Mikaela to church with us. Our ABF class is kind of breaking up, it seems. A lot of the couples in there have been married for 3 or 4 years, so I guess they're ready to move on. There's only a few of us that are staying in it, so hopefully it will grow pretty quickly. After church we ate, took the dogs for a nice long walk / run, then took them to the dog park. The dog park was, of course, packed. We usually kind of worry about how our dogs will behave (mostly because they don't pay any attention to us, so it's a hassle trying to chase them down when it's time to leave). But they were good this time. It's funny to see the differences in their personality. Izzy ran away from us the second she got there. She doesn't really care about other dogs; she prefers the people. She ran around to every single person there to be petted. She's such a people dog. Sydney, however, would not leave us. When she finally did get up the courage to venture off, she'd keep looking at us to check in, and then she'd run back to us after a few seconds. But eventually Isabelle got tired and came back to us, so leaving was actually very easy. Then we went to the Family Meeting at church about the expansion, and took Mikaela to a Bible Study. She hardly ever goes to any of the middle school church activities, so we're going to try to take her more. My parents go to church if they get up on time or they're not busy, but they go to worship service and that's it. I'm hoping that Nick and I can be a positive influence on my sister...not that we're perfect, but I know Mikaela doesn't ever hear about God at home. I know I didn't. Anyway, so after church we went to Walmart and to get ice cream. So we had a busy day, and now I'm exhausted. I had to get up early today to take Isabelle to the groomer. And I think after work we're going to buy some flowers and plants for our yard. I have this idea of buying one of the WKU yard flags, and planting some red and white flowers. But I also found some bluish purple ones last night that I liked. So we'll see.

Earthquake

I'm so glad it's Friday. I think Nick and I are going to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall tonight...although the review I read online was not so good. But it was a link from WayFM, so it's a Christian review. Apparently they didn't like all the sex, nudity and obscene language. I'm not looking forward to seeing the main dude naked (he's not so attractive), but I am glad it's him and not all female nudity like it usualy is in movies. Tomorrow we're going to Ohio County, and I think we're going to eat lunch at Moonlite. I love Moonlite.

So I woke up around 4:30 this morning because the lamp on Nick's bedside table was shaking. Actually it sounded like the gutters were being shaken, so I thought it was rain or hail. But then I realized the lamp was shaking also. It was kind of scary. Of course Nick didn't wake up, so I had to get him up. He messed with the lightbulb in the lamp for a minute. I doubt he even remembers any of it. Sometimes I don't like being married to such a heavy sleeper. Someone could break in and shoot me, and I'm pretty sure he'd sleep through it. I thought maybe it was an earthquake, but our dogs slept right through it also. I thought dogs were supposed to have some sort of sixth sense about things like that. Apparently I just have lazy dogs. But anyway, when I got up this morning I saw that it was actually an earthquake. Which is kind of scary. They always told us in elementary school that we were close to the fault line, and it could happen any day. But it never did. And I just realized that if our TV in the bedroom falls off, it would probably crush our dogs. So we're going to have to do some rearranging.

Job Resolution

So I have finally made a decision about my job. Nick and I had a very long and drawn out conversation about it on Friday. We for some reason always make things more complicated than they should be. But anyway, I'm actually going to stick with the decision this time, so I'm happy about it. I (hopefully) made the last reservation for our trip to Hawaii today. Since all our flights got cancelled, we had to change some stuff around, and are spending a night in Honolulu now. Which gives me a good excuse to stay at this hotel I've been looking at. Actually I saw it on the Travel Channel first. That trip cannot come soon enough. How weird is it that Nick and I have been married for 10 1/2 months? I can't decide if it feels like it's been longer than that or if it feels like it just happened...a little of both I guess.

Speaking of my lovely husband, he made me watch A History of Violence this weekend. Actually we started it and both agreed to stop it. But I hate starting a movie and not seeing how it ends, no matter how crappy it is, so we finished it later. But it was awful. He heard it was action-packed apparently...not so much. I also don't get why women find him so attractive. I didn't see that. But that's what I get for letting him pick a movie. That's why I'm the movie chooser. Because my girly movies tend to be better than his dumb ones.

Anyway, my dad's birthday is tomorrow so we're doing his stuff tonight. I think he has a meeting tomorrow night. Always fun with my parents.

Stormy

Nick & I bought a weather radio yesterday. It woke us up in the middle of the night already. But that's why I wanted it...mainly for tornadoes actually. But it makes me feel better to not have to wait until I hear a tornado. But seriously, the thing is loud.

Also, I have discovered that my job is not going to get better. Which means that obviously God has something else in mind for me. Just wish I was better at figuring it out. I miss my old coaches...well not all of them, but most of them. So anyway something is going to have to change on the job front. I know I've been saying that for a really long time, but I held out because I knew the coaches and didn't want to let anybody down. Plus I wanted to try to salvage any kind of reference I could from Coach Horn. So now I've done that, and I don't know these people well enough to disappoint them. The only person I have to worry about letting down now is Nick...or at least I would feel like I was if I wasn't working and contributing financially to our marriage. But he has noticed that I'm unhappy and wants me to leave. It's just disappointing because I was really hoping that the coaching change would be what I had been waiting for. Obviously not.

Thankfully it's Friday. We don't really have too much planned for this weekend. It's supposed to be cold, which sucks. But the weekend's still the weekend.

Ugh

My back still hurts, but it's not as bad as it was yesterday. Maybe it's stress related...can stress make your back hurt? Because work is stressing me out. I'm hoping that it's just adjusting to the new coaches, and that everything will settle down. But I'm not so sure. Things are nuts right now, and I have no help. I don't like bosses who assume that everything they have going on is obviously more important than what I'm doing. Because what I'm doing is actually my job. So it looks like it's going to be another one of those bosses. Which makes me wonder what God has planned. Also, we had booked our flight to Hawaii on Southwest, who has a codeshare with ATA for the leg to and from Hawaii. But now ATA has gone bankrupt, so it looks like that flight is cancelled. I know we can get a refund, but we leave next month, so we need to re-book now. And all the other airlines were way more expensive than Southwest. Also we have other flights booked around the original flight schedule. So now even my vacation is stressing me out!

My Back

So something is screwed up with my back. I'm not usually one to have back issues (except that one time I had the shooting pain down my leg...but that was at least 2 years ago and it's never come back). I was hoping I had just slept on it wrong (although how would you sleep on your back wrong?), but I don't think so. It's a constant pain, whether I'm sitting or standing. I can't stand up straight, but it hurts to walk leaned over also. Apparently I'm an old person!