Date Night

This past Wednesday Jerry decided he was going to take me on a date to dinner and a movie.  This is how we decide our movies:

J: So, let’s go to dinner and a movie tonight and I believe I owe you a chick flick.

K: Try 10

J: I don’t think there are any out right now.

K: Of course not…Oh wait there is one out

J: Which one?

To which I just stood there with a smirk on my face

J: Which one?… No, I’m not seeing that

Now, I am just rolling around on the ground laugh hysterically

K: I’ll trade you the 10 movies you owe for this one!

J: I am not going to see Magic Mike.

K: ahahahah Dang it!  I thought for sure I could get you with that swap.

J: Sooo, Dark Knight Rises?

K: Sooo, no movie then?

Dinner it was, I am holding firm no more guy movies until I get my chick flick!

Dancing on Clouds

When I was little I always wished that I could dance on the clouds one day.  I still wish for that and it’s probably why when the clouds looked like this from our plane it made me long for that again.

On our later flight we were blessed with this view and it made me realize it would be best to dance on them at sunset.

The best show of the evening though was when the clouds held a lightening show for us.  I guess God’s fireworks are better than our man made ones any way.  Wish I could have got a picture, but it wouldn’t have done it justice anyways.

Exhausted

As my brother keeps reminding me I have been absent here for about two months, and while I feel this blog helps relieve stress and express things I have a hard time expressing normally, I just haven’t had the energy to write.

Summer is generally the time that I rejuvenate and prepare for the end of the year in all of it’s craziness and required obligations, but no amount of rest has been helping.  I am just exhausted all the time, I wake up exhausted and stay that way through out the day and honestly this isn’t a new thing I have just hid it.  If I could I would go home after work and crawl in bed and sleep until the next day and I might have enough energy finally. 

The worst part of this is that I have lost my relationship with the Lord and I don’t know how to get it back.  I know that trusting him and resting in him gives me strength but getting up earlier to read my bible or stay up later wasn’t working.  So, please say a few prayers for me, and eventually I’ll get back to this at a regular interval, and until then it might be basic post with little to no thought behind it.

Something to smile about

We celebrated my birthday this past weekend with our group of friends and as always we have a great time together.  We went out to lunch and then went wine tasting.

During wine tasting Wonder Woman pulled out fake mustaches for us girls and some of us took this photo.

I love this photo for so many reasons, but especially because it reminds me that no matter what is going on I have been blessed with a group of girlfriends that for one day will help you forget you are a mature adult.  This photo is my phone background and I giggle like a school girl every time I see it.

Wishing I was Peter Pan

Remember back when you were young and all you wish is to be a grown up and to be able to make all your own decisions?  Well I remember that time and this week I wish I could back then.  I wish I could be Peter Pan with all the innocence and naivety that a child is lucky enough to have.

This past weekend we were faced with one of those adult decisions where the right answer isn’t obvious and either choice you make will hurt.  Rusty had a block in his intestines and if we didn’t operate we would have to put him down.  If we operate it is going to cost us any where from $3k – $6k depending on the vet we go to.  So do we tighten our budget and do the surgery or not?  We debated this for 24 hours going back and forth.

We ultimately decided to do the surgery and I’m glad we made that decision, but we have been faced with so many adult decisions lately that I am tired of being an adult.  I want to go back to years where my biggest worry was how much homework do I have and how many days until summer are left. 

I hope this memorial day weekend we can all find the time to be young at heart again even if only for a little bit.

Rearview mirror

In my women’s bible study on Monday we just finished going through the book of Esther.  I recommend you read that book of the bible and if you have read it before re-read it.

I think this time reading through I saw a Godly woman in a secular environment showing those people who God is just by her actions.  If you work or live in this type of environment re-read this book with that focus, and you will see you can make a difference.

The thing that caught me this week was that out of this event there came a celebration of Purim as a reminder of all God did.  So last night our discussion centered around ways to remember the victories God has won in our lives and why it is so important to remember them.

We were asked to think of creative ways to remember God working in our lives, and I realized that this blog has become that.  I hope you find ways to remember what God has done in your life because it really does help us get through the tough times.

Jerry’s Redemption

My last post, which was far to long ago, was about Jerry trying to transfer a gift from one holiday to another.  Yes, my birthday is considered a holiday and much like Christmas it takes a full month to appreciate.

Well, at the the end of the post I stated that the Nike+ Fuelband is actually available I would be getting it shortly.  Guessss Whaaaat!?!  It arrived and I have been enjoying the awesomeness that it is for this past weekend.

 

 

I apologize for the arm hair, but it’s the best we get.

I am loving the band and I love that it is a challenge for myself.  My daily goal currently is 2500 fuel points and so far this has been challenging since I haven’t been able to make it to the gym.  I feel the days I can make it to the gym or get a nice long walk I can probably have the goal set at 3,500.

The thing I also love is I can sync it with my phone and see where I am at for the week as well as take a look at the daily activity.

I also love when you meet your goal there is a celebration, and I have been able to celebrate both Saturday and Sunday.  I realize for some people that this could be lame or juvenile, but I need something to make working out a challenge or fun and this has done that.

I do wear the band all day, but if you look at the picture from yesterday you will notice that I didn’t really get many Fuel points unless I was working out or involved in high physical activity.

Lastly, it does state your calories and it is generally a 3 Fuel points to 1 calorie ratio, but it is important to note that the calories might not be 100% accurate and are more of a guideline.

The post in which Jerry gets thrown under the bus…in a loving way of course

My birthday is in exactly one month from today and on that day I’ll be 27.  Why am I telling you this?  Because it is pivotal to the story and now you know and can’t forget.  (May 12th for those of you that can’t read a calendar or count)

I am a difficult person to buy gifts for because I never know what I want and only know what I don’t want.  So, this has been one of the expectations that has been hard to have met.  Now I just try to have really low expectations, but it is hard because my birthday is important to me.

Jerry has been doing a great job of figuring out the gift mystery this year, but he purposed something the other night that absolutely 100% goes against gift giving.  He was going to buy me a present for my birthday that he already promised to get me for Valentine’s day.

Why hasn’t he got the previous present you ask?  Well it is because it is the Nike+ Fuel Band and it is still out of stock.  STILL!  One had to pre-order it, and apparently they are never ever going to have it in stock again.

Anyhoo, since Jerry still hasn’t been able to get it he thought he could transfer the gift from Valentine’s day to my birthday. 

Dear Men of the world,

This is never allowed. EVER.

Love,

Kelly

Men here are three rules about gifts:

1. The gift can’t ever be transferred.  The gift is always outstanding until received.
2. If the gift is no longer available buy something different.
3. If the gift becomes available later please refer to rule number 1.

 

P.S. When I was taking the above picture from Nike I discovered they now have the Fuel Band in my size.  Yay!  So in two weeks time I will have one in my possession. muahhahahah!

Fears or phobias which ever you prefer I have them

I have a few fears other than my medical phobia, and while none of them stop me from living life they are real.

1. Snakes.  They are the devils spawn and should be eliminated.  Reference Genesis in the Bible for further clarification.
2. Elevators.  A metal box held by small little cables that can plunge at any second.  Pass
3. Flying.  Enough said.
4. Being attacked.  Not kidding every time I walk some where by myself I have an escape route and repeat - in-step, nose, side and groin. (Name that movie!)
5. Parking garages.  See point four.  All.Is. Explained.

Why am I telling you this?  BECAUSE fears 1 and 3 became real life today. 

At some point Jerry thought it would be hysterical (in the ha ha way) to suggest we watch the movie Snakes on a Plane.  To which I respond in a hysterical (I am having a break down way) manner.  If I ever saw that movie I would have to be given a horse tranquilizer to step foot in an airport.

But it’s happened in real life people!  Two of my worst fears at the same time!  It’s likely that if that ever happened to me I would absolutely have a heart attack and never recover.

So, that flight to Europe later this year should real fun.  Jer, you might want to investigate those tranquilizers.

P.S.  I have to park in a parking garage and ride two elevators everyday.  My favorite is when signs appear asking us to notify maintenance if the elevators aren’t working properly.  But it’s risk death or walk up 7 flights of stairs, so death it is.
P.S.S. If I am given tranquilizers I am sure I will look something like this.

Action filled weekend part 2

At the beginning of the month we had an action filled weekend experiencing almost all the Southern CA has to offer.  I say almost all because we couldn’t quite swing the beach in that same weekend, and I can’t say I was that disappointed as I don’t really care for the beach.  What!?!  Crazy right?  Except there is sand at the beach and I HATE sand, it gets every where and sticks to everything and often is stuck in the places that the sun don’t shine in.
So, it must come a surprise that I was willing to spend four hours romping around the desert on and ATV.  Normally, I would have passed this opportunity up, but one thing I have been learning in this time of marriage healing is that Jerry needs me to be interested occasionally in activities he loves.  And we got Groupons so if I hated it we didn’t waste a ridiculous amount of money.  So ATVing it was.
We went with my whole family…enjoy.
Getting ready…don’t forget your sun screen because it is as hot as the sun and you are likely to be burned alive


Thing 1 and Thing 2

Yes I am so thrilled to be here.
Half way through and a picture of me looking deranged.  It’s the best we can do, the sand was getting to me.

I have videos, and the are probably long and boring but if you haven’t got anything better to do check them out.

180

Yesterday as I was leaving for Book Club Jerry said that he would have a surprise for me when I returned.  This “surprise “ illustrates one of the fundamental differences between us.  You see he was so excited to surprise me by flipping our room around and making it look like a mirror image of it’s old self.  Which is awesome, and I appreciate him wanting to change things up, but this is not my definition of surprise.
A surprise to me is flowers or fresh baked cookies, a donut, dinner made, new jewelry or even greeting me at the door in a loin cloth.  See the difference.  This can make for major disappointments, and until recently has.
Jerry would mention that he has a surprise for me, and I would get excited and wonder what it was and how awesome it was going to be.  Only to be disappointed because it wasn’t what I would really call a surprise.  This causes hurt feelings on both sides.  I am hurt because he doesn’t know what is important to me(or so I thought) and he is hurt because I am not appreciating the effort he made.
The honest truth is that we were both right and both of our feelings were accurate.  So, how do you work through that and make it better?  You appreciate where you are in that moment.  I appreciated him changing the room around because we had been talking about it for a while and he did it to show he is listening.  Jerry has also be trying to surprise me in the ways I like to be surprised. 
Expectations are okay to have, but when they are always larger than reality it causes problems.  What if you have expectations that are never met?  Then it is time for you to start speaking up.  Unless superpowers become real, a person isn’t going to know unless you tell them.  Keep in mind they need to be achievable because if your expectations are unrealistic you probably won’t ever have them met.
Have you had any 180s in your life recently? 

Winter Wonderland

This past week we took a couple of days off and went up to Mammoth mountain for Snowboarding fun and by fun I mean torture that I put up with because my darling husband loves it.

Recaps to come of course, but here is a teaser in the mean time.

We woke up to this ridiculousness on Saturday morning, and it was a firm reminder why I don’t live in a place where it snows.

Yup all the cars were buried in about 3ft of snow.  Good thing Jerry believes in 4 wheel drive.

I got nothing…ramblings

I was suppose to be writing up our fabulous action packed weekend part two, but I forgot to transfer the pictures and videos to my handy dandy flash drive so that will happen later.  Instead you get randomness from yours truly.

Soooo those resolutions that I am suppose to be keeping?  Yup, the only one I have semi sort of maybe kept is doing the dishes and complimenting Jerry.  Everything else gone, ka-put, nada, nothing.  I would say this week I am going to trying to get back on track but it's not going to happen.  So maybe the week after that.

Here is where things get a little weird.

I have been smelling a random odor today much like one you would smell on the beach.  A mix of sea and sand.  I also believe it is on my person, but I can’t figure out where.  This has led me to continuously smell myself including armpits.  I would assume if caught or spied upon it would be as embarrassing as picking your nose, but I am truly concerned.  I think my concern is amplified by the fact that I showered today, so I should be smelling nice and clean not like I just took a dirty run on the beach.

This leads me to wonder if there is something stuck in my nose, or maybe my mental stability is gone and I have officially jumped off the deep end. 

Or my brain is telling me I need a vacation, on a beach in the Caribbean. 

I’m not sure, but aren’t you now concerned with me?  You should be.

P.S.  My arm pits in fact actually smell lovely and the repeated smellings only confirm this.

Action filled weekend part 1

Remember last week when I talked about Jerry’s new toy and how I was actually going to be able to use it…yup not true, but I have been promised that come Mammoth I will have used it.

This past weekend we decided that since we live in CA that really we should explore all it has to offer and we should do it all in one weekend.  So we went to the mountains and the dessert all in one weekend.  Sadly we couldn’t make it to the beach, but 48 hours goes quick, especially when you  spend 12 hours of that in the car.

On Saturday we went up to Big Bear for some snowboarding before we hit up Mammoth in two weeks.  Frankly this was just a test run for Jerry so he would know how annoyed he would be with me in Mammoth.
All these pictures and videos were taken using the GoPro, but please note in the videos it was the first time Jerry used it.  Therefore we now know it needs to be moved so that we can see more than just the snow.  So, Mammoth is showing great potential for video awesomeness.

One of the beautiful runs, and it was so hot that day.  By the noon the snow was slush…boo for poor winters.


The required series of lift photos


Later we met up with Bubbly and her husband Mountain Man.  Bubbly and I are like this on the mountain because we go about the same speed. 


I love this man, and these pictures made me laugh out loud.




And here are two of the promised videos:

New name, same blog

I am pretty sure that I am breaking some blogging cardinal rule or something, but since I never was one to make life easy it seems fitting.  That’s right people, I am changing the name of my blog. 
When I named this blog “Random Wanderings of my Mind” it never felt right, and that is probably because I just needed something and it was a better alternative then all the rest of the ideas I had.  This new title came to me last week when I was writing about our marriage, and it fits what this blog is really about.
Here it is “Together we are Jelly”!  Just as crazy as the previous title, but this one actually has meaning behind it.
Every couple needs a Hollywood couple name and lucky for us ours was bestowed upon us long before we started dating.  We were hanging out with a couple of friends and while one was talking on the phone she said that she was hanging out with Jelly.  We all laughed and went on with our day.  Fast forward 6 months and we started dating; fast forward again 3 years and our pastor accidentally calls us Jelly and Kerry during our wedding ceremony.
So, together our names make jelly.
Now to answer the real question, why am I changing the name?  This blog originally started as a way for me to share who I am what is happening in my life, but the thing is I can’t separate who I am and what I do from Jerry.  We do so much together, and this blog started to become more about our lives and it wasn’t fair to only have it represent me. 
P.S.  Nerd fact – Jelly is sticky and since we are “stuck” with each other until death it is a great nick name.
P.S. If you ever have the urge to buy us jelly please only get Welch’s Grape Jelly as it is the only kind we voluntarily eat.  It really should be the only jelly sold at stores.

Love and Healing

As I have mentioned before this past year was full of tough days, and days that were only completed because of God’s strength.  When you go through these times it affects people around you, and while it is easy to hide it from most people you can’t hide it from the one person you are living with. 

Jerry went through these days, weeks and months with me, and there are days I am sure we both thought we wouldn’t survive.  If we weren’t Christians and didn’t make a commitment for life we honestly probably wouldn’t have survived.  I own so much of this heart ache and pain, but since neither of us are perfect we both made mistakes.

Why am I telling you this?  It’s because for so long growing up in the church all you see is what people want you to see.  There is never real talk about the days you have to fight for your marriage and to hold on to your best friend.  I have said this before, but I want this blog to be a real honest look at my/our life and that includes both the awesome fun times and the struggles that come along.  Marriage is GREAT, but it is also hard work that requires time and energy.

Jerry and I have been rebuilding our marriage and working hard at being friends and appreciating each other.  Recently we went to the Real Marriage Tour that featured Mark Driscoll, and it was awesome!

Through this two day conference we both walked away with things that we need to work on, and the biggest is knowing that we are on the same team.  At the end of the day that is what is most important.  We have had good conversations, and I am really looking forward to this next chapter in our life.  I do know that I am married to the right man, and that I would really rather walk through this life with him than any one else!

Randomness

We are going spelunking or something…

Jerry got his new GoPro, and is so excited to use it this weekend when we go on our off roading adventure.  I was testing it out the head band, and I got him to agree to let me wear it in Mammoth this year!  Yes!

And….you really need to get the app below:

Once you have this app set up all you need to do is bump your phone to another iPhone user with this app and it transfers your contact info, pictures and more.  The picture above Jerry “Bumped” to me, and it was easier than messaging or emailing a picture.  So, do yourself a favor and get this app!

Caution construction ahead

In other news, Jerry has agreed to let me learn how to use an electric saw aka a mitar saw.
This is me right after he agreed:

I know you are wondering about the evil glint in my eye, but in reality it is an excited “OMG, think of all the things I can make when we finally own the saw!” look.  You are probably as shocked as I am that Jerry agreed to show me how to use a mitar saw, but if this current career ever tanks I need something to fall back on.  So, it was decided wood working would be the way to go.
Also, no good carpenter is without a tool belt and fancy shmancy gloves.  Jerry is pinching his pennies to buy me that tool belt, but he rewarded my good behavior at Home Depot with those pretty teal gloves.  That’s right people I stayed at home depot this past Sunday for 2.5 hours and didn’t complain the entire time we were there.
The real reason we were there was to price out four projects we hope to complete in the next year or seven: 

1.Redo our shower because currently it is leaking like Niagara Falls.  So, we need to take the entire shower and tub out to replace the valve.  Then we get a new shower / tub and all new faucets.  Yay!
2. We want to expand our closet so we can both fit our clothes in it instead of just my stuff.  So, that means moving two walls, and redoing the way it is set-up inside of it.
3. We are going to build a TV stand from unfinished kitchen cabinets.  The reason for this is because Jerry wants it a specific way and we are having a hard time finding it and finding it for cheap.  I am most excited for this project!
4. We are going to build a new wine rack / pantry / cabinet in our family room and get rid of the pantry we currently have.  It’s bulky, blocks the window and is falling apart.

Yay for new projects, but boo it is going to take so long to complete them!  I am sure there will be plenty of hilarious and ridiculous stories for us to share along the way, so buckle up kids because it’s going to be a bumpy ride!

More wine you say?

This past Sunday Jerry told me that I needed to start drinking more wine, and I said Challenge Accepted!
Okay, okay, let’s back up…I found this bottle below at Target and my heart went a flutter because of all the beautiful things I can do with it.

Can’t tell which beautiful bottle I am talking about?  Oh, I am sorry here is a better picture.

I am going to frost the bottles with some nifty frost spray paint, and then we are either going to fill them up with Christmas lights or use them as vases.  The paint part will start soon, but then we (and by we I mean Jerry) need to figure a way to cut a hole so that Christmas lights can fit inside the bottle.  AND we need to figure this out without cracking all the bottles or I could just drink more wine.  Done and Done!
So if you know how to cut glass well, please let us know because we are at a loss.

The post in which I am suppose to get sappy…re: Valentine’s Day

Or not.  I don’t do sappy really, and since this Valentine’s day was spread across three days it’s hard to get to that point of sap.  Plus if things were headed in the sappy direction Jerry would make some joke about farts, sex or something else inappropriate because that’s what you do in marriage.  Or ours at least.

So here is the ridiculously quick run down.

1. Monday I was in a bad mood (credit goes to PMS and work) and Jerry decided it would be best to bust out the VDay gift early.  I got a card, (awww) chocolates, (did you know those lame people snuck two coconut chocolates in the box!  that is everyone’s least favorite piece.) and he is getting me the Nike+ FuelBand.

2. Like mature adults we decided that we would spend VDay pouring into the precious lives of teenagers.  Because we are just that awesome!  BUT Jerry got us Nothing Bundt Cakes (don’t be so impressed he has been craving them and was looking at a friends car in the parking lot that happened to also contain the store.  Coincidence? I think not!)!!  So we devoured those when we got home.

3. On Wednesday we went out to dinner to celebrate and went to the Barrel Room.  The food was pretty good, the wine was great and the dessert was awesome!  Seriously bananas + pastry dough + cinnamon sugar = the best thing ever! 

So there you have it, our VDay celebration at it’s best.  What did you do?  The ol’ flowers and candy routine, dinner or something awesome? 

P.S. Next year a hot air balloon ride around VDay is an absolute must.  They are always floating on my way home, but they were in full force on VDay and as usual it look like one of the best experiences ever.

Thing 2’s artwork

Last Friday Thing 2 stole my iPad and started drawing these lovely pictures.  Yes, you are correct he made them as obnoxious as possible.  Enjoy.

Apparently I am the new white Whoopi Goldberg.  Although this is better than how it started.  Before I looked like the picture below, but I guess he got confused for a second?

The day I almost stole from Target

I played hooky from work on Friday, and by play hooky I mean requested the day off so I could do mindless things or lose my mind.  Same thing either way you look at it.

I went and had a hour and a half massage, and it’s true what they say about deep tissue massages; they don’t feel good until a couple of days later.  Then I had to cut Thing 1 and Thing 2’s hair.  No big deal, except we are never quite sure if Thing 1 will look good when I am done. (FYI, he did this time) 

Then the fam and I ran errands, all of us minus my mother because she had some where to go.  If you want to be entertained you should run errands with us because there is never a dull moment.  Especially when Thing 2 will do anything to ride shotgun.  I am convinced that man makes the rules up as we go.  The new rule is blitz, an effort to steal shotgun from the person who called shotgun.  (The way a person steals is by calling blitz and beating the previous person to the car.) Thing 2 attempted to use this against my father but he forgot my dad is faster than him, but the footrace was hysterical. 

Are you still reading?  You are? Crap, here is the story you have been waiting for.  Our next stop was Target, which if it were a man and I weren’t married I’d probably marry it.  We walk by the card section and I realized I never picked up a card for Jerry for Valentine’s day, which is tomorrow in case you didn’t know.  As usual I got distracted and lost and distracted again.  It’s so easy in this store! 

I found my family 4 hours later and we were joking around making our way to the check out.  Still laughing and joking and walked out the store.  Once out of the store I realized that I still had the card in my hand and never paid for it.  To which I exclaimed “I never paid for this!”  So, I ran back inside and paid for that little card, lest I become a thief and break one of the ten commandments.

Best part of the whole thing…I stole right in front of the Target Security guard.  That’s right peeps, I am so sly the man didn’t even notice.  Or he was checking out my butt.  I say win-win for everyone!      

When I grow up I want to be….a housewife?

I figured out what I want do for the majority of my life, or more accurately I stopped denying it.  I think that was what last Monday’s post was all about.  I have been given a heart to stay home and take care of my family; make sure dinner is cooked, the dishes are done and everyone has clean socks. 

I think I have been afraid to admit this because as a woman people think you are crazy if this is your life’s dream.  They remind you about all the hard work women in the past have put in to get us here, and then say that we have so far to go against the glass ceiling.  But, that isn’t my passion and I don’t share the same drive to fight that fight for the next 40 years.  Instead, I want to fight to make my husband happy at the end of the day and make sure my kids have a parent at every sporting, dance or art event they are in.

Some of you might think that I am asking for a life of being a servant to Jerry, and in a way you are right but in reality you are very wrong.  You see my husband is the kindest most servant oriented person I know.  He always jumps in and helps, and a life with him would never be a life of indentured servitude (Check out not one but two SAT words!).  Instead it would be me taking care of him, so at the end of a crazy day where people yell at him he is excited to go home.

Does this mean life will be perfect? Ha!  Have you met my dog Rusty?  Or have you ever heard my sassy mouth?  Life won’t be perfect, but if we are both doing something we love it’s one less thing to add stress to our lives. And that, that is what is most important.

Anywho, the whole reason this all was written was because last night Jerry said I had achieved housewife of the year status…aaand the world stopped turning for a moment.  This is why he stated that unbelievable statement:

I am the worst grocery shopper.  Seriously it’s the last thing I want to do at night or on my day off.  It takes a long time, I have to be around weird people and I often freeze in the stores.  Anyyyways, Monday night I remembered that we again didn’t have anything for lunch the next day and I knew Jerry wasn’t going to want to eat a PBJ a third workday in a row.

So I rushed home from bible study at 9pm and decided I was going to make us both dinner.  I decided to make chicken and pasta, but the only problem is that they chicken was frozen.  That means running hot water over it for 5 min, and waiting for the water to boiled.  FYI, the saying a watched pot never boils…totally true and I was watching two pots.

While I was waiting for the water to boil, and then my partially frozen chicken to cook I did the dishes!  Who says you can’t multi-task?  Did I mention I got this all done in 45 min. Hey-oo!

Then yesterday after work I made blueberry muffins for breakfast today and then dinner in a hour; all before Jerry got home.  So, take that Good Housekeeping I AM the house wife of the year!

Let's play tag, shall we?

This past weekend I went to winter camp with the high school group at our church, and it was a good time with a small amount of sleep.

The real story, though, happened before I even left for camp.  I rushed home because I still needed to pack and I knew I was only going to have about 45 min to get everything done.  Miracles of miracles I was ahead of schedule and got the car packed up before the other leaders I was riding up with arrived at my house.

I was reading and waiting to hit the road when all of a sudden I noticed Rusty was really quite and no where to be found.  If you can't hear that dog or he isn't standing right next to you, he is in trouble.  I rushed down stairs and see him on the couch munching on something.  He looks at me, immediately stops and looks at as if to say "Don't mind me I am doing nothing, oh crap I haven't fooled her!"  Then he runs off.

If you have never been in my house, our downstairs level is a giant circle with the stairs in the middle.  So I proceeded to chase the dog around the circle, stop go the other way almost catch him and then chase him again.  This goes on for a few minutes and Izzy decides she needs to jump in the action and actually helps me corral him.

At this point life moves in slow motion.  I finally grab him and as I am trying to wrestle a sock of out his mouth my glasses fall down onto the floor and I crush them with my itty bitty size 6 foot.  It is much to late to worry about those so I wrestle the sock completely out of his mouth only to find it has been pepper with holes.

I pick up my glasses and they are completely flat (so flat they could have been used a double monocle (dinocle?)), but the lenses are still good!  So I try to "fix" them so I can at least wear them when I don't have my contacts in.  I got them almost back to normal...the right side still flops around and when I wear them they are crooked.  Ah well they still work, I guess that means I need to go get a new pair.  Aww sucks!

P.S.  This is exactly one of the reasons I need to get lasik!

A little story for you

Once upon a time, this puppy

Became this ridiculously large dog


That learned how to propel himself over our 8ft backyard fence.  The end.
Seriously if this dog isn’t training for future children I don’t know what is!  He stood up on his hind legs, put his front paws on the top and pulled himself up and over the fence chasing after an imagined rat.  Jerry watched this whole thing happened ran in and screamed “The dog went over the fence!”  So now we have to guard said fence with our lives so he doesn’t attempt this again. 

One day he’ll probably learn to jump and bounce off my shoulders onto the roof.  I’ll keep you posted.

iiiittt's done!!!

My sign is complete and is already hanging up in all it's glory!  You can find parts 1 here and 2 here.

We had to touch of some of the letters after car brakes were put on the sign, but all is well that ends well.  So after the touch ups Jerry drilled holes into the top, and then we used wire wrapped in pretty brown something or other.  I would tell you exactly what it is but we threw away the packaging before I took a picture and I can't find it on the Michael's website.

Then Jerry hung it outside on a nail that was already present.  See this sign was meant to be!

Isn't she a beauty!  Now you literally know what the inside of my house is going to look like before you walk in.  I have teal every where and the walls are practically painted the same color inside and out.  Yay!  One craft complete 17 more to go.

Resolutions - Week 4

Last week I was .5 points away from a mental breakdown, and the weekend was no where near enough time to actually recover.  Since I barely held it together last week, is it really any wonder that I completely failed at all of my resolutions?  Nope not a surprise to any one at all!

Being completely honest, I haven't actually recovered at all from this past month.  I still feel run down and out of energy and frankly I want to hide from the world.

If I am being even more completely honest, I am angry.  I am frustrated at this point in my life, it's not where I want to be or even really where I want to be headed.  I want the path God promised me to be happening now and it isn't and I am tired of waiting.  I want to be at that next step and I don't want to learn whatever lesson God is trying to teach me.

But most of all I am tired of pretending to be satisfied with the way things are.  I am not.  I am not joyful, and all I really want to do is crawl in bed and not come out until these feelings go away.

I realize the way I am feeling is not what we are taught as the mature Christian way to feel, and I realize it's hard to be friends with someone when they feel like this.  But, is it better that I pretend nothing is wrong?  Because I feel that isn't right, I feel it's better to be honest and open and let the pieces fall where they may.  As usual there are good days and bad, and for the most part you probably wouldn't know the difference because I don't want you to.  But maybe you are feeling the same way and you don't know how to express it, at least you know there is someone else that has been there.

Anywho, as this journey continues there are going to be days like today when it's hard to face the day and it would be easier to call in sick to life and stay in bed.  Today that wasn't the right decision and what do you know I made it through one more day.

P.S. My friend Char now has a blog so check it out!  

So glad this week is over

This past week has been one of those weeks where you feel like you have been dragged through the mud over rocks and thrown in a swirling ocean.  I have made it through and for the most part feel stronger, but there are some fights and some events that even though they are the right thing are tough to get through. 

I will say though that this week reaffirmed that I married the right man, and that God knew what he was doing (of course, duh!) when he allowed us to find one another.  I know that no matter how much we fight or drive each other crazy, that at the end of a ridiculously hard day he’ll be there for me and say “Was it a one glass or two glass of wine kind of day? Actually, it doesn’t matter here is a glass and I have dinner under control.”

This awesome husband of mine turns 29 (eek!) on Sunday so I am sure I will find more crafty projects to torture him with, after of course we have a nice dinner. J  I hope you enjoy your weekend as much as I will!  

Week 3 like Week 1, but slightly better

1.      Work out five separate times a week - failed miserably.  I think I got two work outs in. Maybe, yes I did because I played soccer twice.  And one bonus work out on Saturday.  This week isn't off to a better start either.

3.       Do laundry once a week - Passed barely, I needed towels washed so that got done

4.       Do the dishes twice a week - I rocked this one!  I did the dished 4 times.  I know we eat a lot for only two people, and it is our personal goal to use as many pans as possible when cooking dinner.

5.       Compliment Jerry everyday - I think this was a success, but Jerry would probably not agree.

Craft in progress

FYI if you upload pictures to Picasa they have to stay there or else they disappear from other google products, aka this blog.  So I found my flash drive and downloaded the needed pictures there. J  Now you can see my latest project.

See that wall right there, the plan one?  I have been trying to figure out something to put up there for the last 2.5 years with no luck.  Everything is either too big or too small.  Please ignore Jerry as he is bored out of his mind and can’t be bothered to pose in the picture.

While when we were wandering around Michaels the other day I came up with this idea to put scrap booking paper into frames and hang it on the wall.

I was thinking of going with one of these two options (probably option 1), but now I am thinking of putting them in various frames and making it a little more eclectic.  I am not sure how it will work or if that is what I really want to do, but since I could only afford two frames I have a while before I need to make a decision.  I might even go to thrift stores or to garage sales to see what type of frames I can find.  (This is why things never get finished in my house because I can’t ever make up my mind.)

Oh well I am sure I’ll have an update of some sort within the next 2 years.

I might be dying or going blind. Either way it'll be fiiiine!

Today’s blog was supposed to be about the idea I/we finally came up with for the disgustingly empty wall by the dogs cages, and how to make it pretty 60 years after we moved in.  BUT apparently on picasa you can only store so much and then you have to pay to upgrade storage.  Whelp, I am much too cheap to pay for someone else to store my photos when I have an external hard drive at home, so I have to empty that out and upload new pic etc.

I felt you still deserved something so instead you get this fascinating story about how I continue to fall apart mentally/physically.

This morning I woke up and couldn’t see clearly out of my left eye; you say oh no big deal that happens when you are blind and it’s dark.  That might be true but I had my glasses on and couldn’t see the bathroom.  It was like the entire room was a gray haze but my right eye it was fine and then when I turned on the bathroom lights everything was fine.  It was equivalent to my arm falling asleep and flopping back down when I tried to hold it, and when the blood returned it worked fine.

I have resisted looking at WebMD because we know how crazy that can get and Lord knows I can't afford passing out at work, but I probably have a brain tumor, lose cornea or it could just be stress.  My bet is on stress, but I am going to have to set-up that eye doctor appointment I have been pushing off and Lasik might never happen now if they decide I am going blind/dying.

P.S.  It’s AWESOME trying to take a shower while simultaneously having a panic attack. 

P.S.S.  Did you know that it is really easy to forget to wash your entire body in the shower?  Well, it is possible because I did it and by the time I figured it out I was practically dressed and didn’t have time to fix that problem.  Good thing I’m playing soccer tonight otherwise I might forget to shower later too.

New favorite hair style

What!?!  Two posts in one day?  Since I have been lagging, and should have had the earlier post up on Monday you get two for today!

Pintrest is great for crafty things, but I have really appreciated the hair styles and clothing ideas because I have a hard time thinking of new ideas in both areas.  So, in my effort to become more girly and actually care about my appearance I have been pinning hair styles that are different but something I can do.

I found this one and loved it because my hair isn’t long enough for a pretty bun, but I thought my hair could be styled this way easily.  Here are her directions on how she actually puts it up along with a video.  It was so easy to learn, and I love that it takes 10 min style, so in the mornings when I need to sleep in (hit snooze 6 times) I can do this and still look cute.

I can hold this style in with one bobby pin, but if I add a few more I can go a whole day and even play soccer without it coming undone.  This is so important especially since fancy hairdos don’t last long with me because I play with my hair too much.  To get this style to look good I need to put it up right after washing or the day after washing when it is flatter otherwise my hair is too thick and wavy to style correctly.

If you are looking for a new style for your hair give it a try!  Have you been styling your hair differently?  Do you have any quick styles to share?

P.S. This isn't Jerry's fav style, but he appreciates that I want to change it up and understands my need for lazy but beautiful hair days.

Week 2...a success!

I am so behind this week in the blogosphere.  You would think I would have been quick to run and blog Sunday night announcing to the world that I actually completed my resolutions last week.

I know crazy, right?!?  I actually went to the gym, did laundry and the dishes.  Plus I am still alive to talk about it, so we all know it didn’t kill me. 

True story, the gym might have almost killed me, especially because I did weight training and then endurance training one day right after the other after not working out in weeks.  When I got home from the gym after my endurance training I literally couldn’t walk up the stairs, and all my loving husband could offer in support was “Don’t worry I’ll just keep a hand on your butt so you don’t fall backwards.”  Just the encouragement I needed to run up those stairs, and the ability to compliment him when all I wanted to do was smack him.

In other news, I have been getting my craft on and torturing Jerry with various ideas (pictures of his excitement to come!).  One of the things I’d like to start doing is taking ideas from Pintrest and, you know, actually complete them.  Then I’ll blog about how easy or hard it was for me the anti-crafty person to do.  I have a couple of “projects” (were starting simple here people) in the works, including finishing my sign from days gone.  Hopefully this will encourage you to step out of your comfort zone a bit and try something new! 

What our potential future children will look like in the bath. Sort of.

Our shower / tub has increasingly become less and less user friendly.  I do realize there is no true technology in it, but it has still been difficult to use.

The new problem is that the bath diverter has been stuck in the shower position, and yes this is great but I am a bath person so the only way to take a bath is by filling the tub up with the shower.  This takes 5 days to fill, and frankly I don't have that kind of time.

Jerry kindly offered to fix the bath spigot this past weekend, but as usual nothing ever goes according to plan for us.  So it was leaking and pushing water back into the wall.  This is a big problem, so we have been with out a usable shower since Monday.  A bath is possible as long as you don't mind the water hitting the shower wall and running down into the tub.

Well, on Tuesday I was giving Jerry a hard time because he hadn't clean himself for a week and I felt we were way past proving any possible points.  So, I coerced him into taking a bath.  Of course this was for my pure enjoyment and it didn't disappoint.  To bad I couldn't hide my smirks and sniggling.

Well I felt that this was too good not to share, so I made him act this out for everyone.  You. Are. Welcome!

This is how well he fits in said tub!

While I was getting ready in the morning he shouted "I need a cup!" So this is the cup he used to bathe himself.

Shampooing his hair!

"I'm done give me that camera back!"

"I can't hear you.  No, really what did you say?"

"Look I'm a bird."