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? 

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!

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."

I thought I'd make Jon Stewart More Attractive

A while back I share that Jerry compared me to Jon Stewart, and while that might be insulting to some, I’d rather be Jon Stewart than Martha Stewart any day.

Since I can barely keep the house in order I figured there have to be other ways to make Jerry enjoy coming home.  These are the options I came up with…

(1)       Always have a warm meal ready for him to eat when he gets home.

(2)       Always have a cheery deposition and a smile on my face so he immediately perks up.

(3)       Have a cold beer waiting and his favorite TV show ready to play when he walks in the door.

(4)       Dress cute so he thinks everything is well kept.

So, 1-3 are automatically out…I get home the same time he does and I don’t really like to cook.  If you think number 2 is even remotely possible you clearly don’t know me because I can make ya laugh, but I am not going to always be happy.  We rarely have beer in the fridge, and we don’t have cable so that’s out!

That leaves me with option 4, and I of course can do this but it has already proven a challenge.  Yesterday, I wore a cute sweater / skirt combo and actually wore panty hose / stockings and quickly remembered why I gave those up a long time ago.  Take the picture below…Yup that is a snag that arrived at or before 8 am.  So the rest of the day I was doing everything possible to prevent a run and then run home and put clear nail polish on it so they will last more than one wear.  Those weren’t cheap baby, and I can’t be ruining them every time I wear them at $6 a pop!

Also, the panty hose never stayed up all the way, so I now know what the Beibs feels like with his tight girl pants that he sags, and frankly I have no idea why he thinks it’s so comfortable.  

Today is day two of dressing cute and I am wearing these beauts.  These are the shoes that I was waiting for (which they never came and I had to go re-buy them. Lame!) and they’re technically half a size small, but they look hot and I’m keeping them.  No pain no gain!  

Jer, if at any time this isn't working for ya, just let me know because I can always go back to dressing like People of Walmart no prob!

Life's happenings

Here is what is going on or not going on in my life currently.

-          I have a half decorated Christmas tree because nothing says “We have spirit, yes we do!” like a half decorated tree.  The way we are going this tree won’t be finished until 5 days after Christmas, but it WILL be finished at some point.

-          My sign still isn’t done, so when you come to my house don’t think we aren’t welcoming you.  As a matter of fact we have every intention of welcoming you; we just haven’t gotten to it yet.

-          I am currently driving around a Kia Soul.  If you ever want to drive in a car that is made from tuna cans, this would be the one.  In case you have no idea what this car looks like, it is the car from the commercial with the mice driving the car.  Also, no joking on some models apparently the speakers light up based on the music you are playing.  People, you clearly couldn’t get any more hip than this car! 

-          Jerry attempted to shut me in the garage today as I’m trying to leave for work.  There I am sitting in the garage about to back out and the garage door goes down.  He apparently missed the cherry red Soul sitting in the garage.  I realize that his truck could eat the Soul in one bite, but it is bright red and his truck doesn’t sit that high off the ground.  The best part is when I open the garage door back open, and I was standing in the middle of the garage he was laughing hysterically.  So that begs the question true mistake or practical joke?  Jerry, care to respond?

-          Last but of course not least, look what I found at Albertson’s this week.  That’s right ladies it’s “Afternoon Delight” in Twilight form.  Now you can have your Edward, Jacob and chocolate all at once.  You ARE Welcome! 

Updated: Jerry is nothing if not honest

Last year at this time Chik-fil-a had a Peppermint, Chocolate Chip Milk shake that Jerry fell in love with.  If he could have married it he probably would have.  Well when he found out that they were bring it back this year he about peed his pants in excitement.  This man was so thrilled that he would be able to indulge again for another two months!

Well this treasured milk shake came out last week, and I am sure that he went several times to get this milk shake because as he said to me I only have a limited time to enjoy this.  So the following was a discussion that occurred because of this.

K:“Hey so I thought that we could go get you a milkshake from Chik-fil-a!”

J: “We can get you one, but I don’t really want one.”

K: “What!?!  How could you possibly not want one?  What happened to I only have a limited time?”

J: “I am full from dinner, so maybe another time.”

K:“Okay, well I want one, and I don’t want to share.  Especially because you don’t share them well.”

J: “Okay.”

5 min later

J: “We’ll just get you one.  It is likely that I’ll drink it all, but let’s only get one.”

10 Min

J: “We’ll have one small Peppermint Chocolate Chip milkshake.”

K: “Small?”

J: “Yes, I am not going to have that much.”

10 min later

K: “I am soooo glad we got mee the milk shake.”

J: “Are you being sarcastic?”

K: “What me? Sarcastic? No, Never!”

5 min later

K: “Okay, but seriously I thought we got this for me.”

J: “I am only sharing it with you.”

K: “Yah, but as you said if you shared you would drink it all.”

J: “Sooo, what didn’t you understand about that?”

Touché Jerry, Touché.  Expectations set and met.

Online PDA - You've been warned!

If you have spent any time with Jerry and I you have probably noticed how private we tend to be, especially when it comes to PDA. This was one of the biggest hurdles early on in our relationship. I thought any affection was private even down to holding hands! Jerry on the flip side was almost the exact opposite. If you have met him you know how he loves to give hugs, poke or just let you know he is around in some physical way. So through out our relationship he has slowly brought me closer to his side, even though I had real trouble getting use to the idea that I would have to kiss him in public on our wedding day. Eeek!! So after making him explain and demonstrate and talk about this petrifying moment over and over and over I was able to give him a kiss on our wedding day in front of 190 people.

Of course there is a new PDA world out there - online! Talk about a new struggle!! Jerry once again has no problem with this, whether it is just a sweet "Thanks for being awesome" or something funny like "I love your bear face!". I should be able to do this too, right? I mean it isn't that hard, its only one line.

So here is to one gigantic PDA to make up for all the many little ones I never wrote:

Jerry,

Thank you for being the person that I can always go to no matter how I am feeling! I appreciate when you joke with me to bring out of a bad mood or wipe tears away when I have enough. Thank you for your sarcastic comments that make me laugh hysterically and make me smile later on when I think about them. I know you put up with my crazy moods and you should get a medal for that!

I am so glad that I have been blessed with some one who appreciates ice cream and frozen yogurt as much as I most of the time. I know you use it to bribe me with, but I don't mind because normally what you are asking me to do isn't that bad. Thank you for knowing that when I have a bad day or I'm not feeling well that sometimes this sweet treat makes things better for a little while!

Thank you for putting up with our crazy adorable dog, even though you prefer cats, just because you know she makes me happy. I know she is winning you over slowly but surely especially when she does crazy things like trying to jump out the office window to play with the kids on the street. I know your yard is a mess because of her, but eventually it will be pretty again!

Thank you for watching TV shows you hate because I love them and you want to spend time with me. Thank you for working hard everyday because it helps pay the bills. Thank you for every time you have washed my car, or that I squirted you with water when "helping" and you haven't retaliated. :-) I know I have it coming some time. Thank you for always reminding me that we aren't in control, and for pointing me to the One who is.

Lastly, I just want you to know that I am sooo proud to be your wife and I truly appreciate having you in my life. I know that my life would not be the same if you were not in it!

Love you always!

Your wife, Kelly