John and I are on a diet. We're spending this month focusing on diet and exercise - with the hopes of losing weight, being healthier, and saving money.
Now me? I've been trying to lose weight for at least two years now - ever since I started taking birth control pills and jumped 50 lbs in 6 months. I don't have to be the same size I was in college, but I'd like to not be in the "overweight" category!
On the other hand, John seems to have no real trouble with his weight. When he's busy or stressed or happy, he sometimes forgets to eat, and loses weight no problem. But he's a big guy, and it wouldn't hurt him to lose a bit of weight as well. His motivation right now is China.
See, he's working in a lab that is full of Chinese people. The primarily language of the lab is Mandarin, and John is loving it. We both had Asian roommates in college, so we're much more familiar with the culture than most Americans (I think). Both of us are interested in the possibility of moving to China or Taiwan or someplace someday.
And Chinese people (for the most part) are much smaller than Americans. They don't weigh as much, and there is a greater emphasis on appearances there. If we are working towards being able to move there and be a part of that culture, the best thing for us to do is to work on trying to "fit in" - as much as we can, of course.
And while my short-term motivation happens to be my brother's wedding (he still hasn't asked her yet - but it's supposed to be this summer!), I will admit that I'd certainly feel better moving to China if I were about 30-40 lbs lighter ...
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Challenges and Pirates!
Last night I made John take me to see The Pirates of Penzance. I've wanted to see it for years, and a professional traveling Gilbert & Sullivan group was performing in town. John got in free with his student ID, and I got a discount because I'm staff at the university, ... so we got to see a professional opera performance for $10!
Totally worth it!
If you don't know anything about the show, Pirates is just a goofy, silly opera (in English) with a crazy storyline that is written to make you laugh. You know it's silly when the largest real conflict of the performance depends entirely on the question "How old are you if you are born on February 29th?"
The singing and dancing were lively and enthusiastic. John and I laughed throughout the entire thing, and a good time was had by all.
Yesterday John and I started a month-long diet and exercise program. I've been trying to lose weight for about two years now, which honestly has been difficult because John keeps bringing home ice cream. And asking me to make cookies and cheesecake, etc. And the fact that I love bread.
Anyway, this time we're doing it together. We've decided that we're going to eat simply (meat, veggie/salad) for dinners, and go to the gym at least 4 days a week. As a reward for not cheating and meeting our goals for the week, we're treating ourselves to something on either Friday or Saturday. That treat can be ice cream or dessert, or whatever.
We're not doing a fancy exercise program or hiring a trainer or taking a class, but we're being very professional about it. We weighed ourselves yesterday, and then took each other's measurements, and we're going to see where we are after four weeks.
So, this is Day Two. Here's hoping for success!
Totally worth it!
If you don't know anything about the show, Pirates is just a goofy, silly opera (in English) with a crazy storyline that is written to make you laugh. You know it's silly when the largest real conflict of the performance depends entirely on the question "How old are you if you are born on February 29th?"
The singing and dancing were lively and enthusiastic. John and I laughed throughout the entire thing, and a good time was had by all.
Yesterday John and I started a month-long diet and exercise program. I've been trying to lose weight for about two years now, which honestly has been difficult because John keeps bringing home ice cream. And asking me to make cookies and cheesecake, etc. And the fact that I love bread.
Anyway, this time we're doing it together. We've decided that we're going to eat simply (meat, veggie/salad) for dinners, and go to the gym at least 4 days a week. As a reward for not cheating and meeting our goals for the week, we're treating ourselves to something on either Friday or Saturday. That treat can be ice cream or dessert, or whatever.
We're not doing a fancy exercise program or hiring a trainer or taking a class, but we're being very professional about it. We weighed ourselves yesterday, and then took each other's measurements, and we're going to see where we are after four weeks.
So, this is Day Two. Here's hoping for success!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Not much is going on ... if I weren't so sleepy I'd try to get some excitement in my life ...
John has a cold.
Which meant that we had a quiet weekend and didn't really get anything done that we wanted to. I spent the weekend in the spare bedroom since I didn't want to get sick, which made my body ache. The bed is comfortable, but it's a twin, and Honey would rather join me and share the twin bed with me than John and the queen bed. She's heavy enough that I can't move her without some major effort when she's asleep and doesn't want to be moved, so I end up sleeping in the weirdest positions because she's pushed me out of her way.
She's so spoiled.
Now we've started another week. One bit of exciting news - I've been invited to be an Honorary Member of the Golden Key Honor Society. Only students can be members, and since I'm not a student I don't qualify. But I'm really excited about this - it's the first time this type of thing has happened to me!
John is enjoying his lab - he's so pleased at how much work he can get done in the lab. As sick as he was, he still got up and went in and did some work in the lab on Saturday. Seeing him so happy is wonderful.
Well, I'm hoping this is a slow week, but the only way that's going to happen is if I actually go get some work done.
Which meant that we had a quiet weekend and didn't really get anything done that we wanted to. I spent the weekend in the spare bedroom since I didn't want to get sick, which made my body ache. The bed is comfortable, but it's a twin, and Honey would rather join me and share the twin bed with me than John and the queen bed. She's heavy enough that I can't move her without some major effort when she's asleep and doesn't want to be moved, so I end up sleeping in the weirdest positions because she's pushed me out of her way.
She's so spoiled.
Now we've started another week. One bit of exciting news - I've been invited to be an Honorary Member of the Golden Key Honor Society. Only students can be members, and since I'm not a student I don't qualify. But I'm really excited about this - it's the first time this type of thing has happened to me!
John is enjoying his lab - he's so pleased at how much work he can get done in the lab. As sick as he was, he still got up and went in and did some work in the lab on Saturday. Seeing him so happy is wonderful.
Well, I'm hoping this is a slow week, but the only way that's going to happen is if I actually go get some work done.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Ready for the weekend
We were planning on doing so much this weekend.
Helping some friends move.
Driving to the next town over to shop at Aldi's.
Spend some time on the phone with John's school bill company and talk about finances.
That may all be changing, though. John's feeling poorly today, and will more than likely be out for the count with a bad cold all weekend. I'll spend the time trying not to get sick and nursing him back to health.
Still, it's been a super stressful week, and I'm so glad we're almost to the weekend!
Helping some friends move.
Driving to the next town over to shop at Aldi's.
Spend some time on the phone with John's school bill company and talk about finances.
That may all be changing, though. John's feeling poorly today, and will more than likely be out for the count with a bad cold all weekend. I'll spend the time trying not to get sick and nursing him back to health.
Still, it's been a super stressful week, and I'm so glad we're almost to the weekend!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Starting up the new year - and some movie reviews!
So, I've been back at work for a week now ... John started classes on Monday ... and we're picking up our normal lives again after a perfectly wonderful break!
Seriously, I think this was the best vacation I've ever had. We all (John, Honey, and I) went to John's parents house for Christmas. We visited family, ate amazing food, visited Ikea, opened presents, played games, and watched the birth of a baby cow. John's parents keep cows - and most of them were expecting babies while we were there. One of them came right up near the house, and we were able to watch her give birth from the window - it was amazing! Since then, they've had 12 baby cows born, and 8 more coming any day now.
We came back home the day after Christmas, and perhaps 2-3 hours after we got home a couple from church dropped their dog off at our house for us to take care of for the week. "Ice" was a small little white terrier dog (I don't know the actual breed), and she and Honey did not immediately care for each other. John and I spent the week just relaxing and doing things around the house, while the dogs kept each other occupied.
Honey was so stressed out - she hated having to share John and I. She didn't mind if Ice played with her toys or went in her bed, or anything. But if Ice got in our laps to be petted, Honey got upset and paced and whined and barked. Thankfully though, by the time it came for Ice to go home, the two of them were getting along much better. Of course, Honey was still over-the-moon happy when Ice went home. She was bouncing and happy and playful and on her very best behavior!
John got a lot of really good work done on the house over the break. He completely re-did my pantry! and it is totally amazing! I am so loving my pantry now. I'll have to get some pictures off my phone to put on here. He also painted most of the garage - with a stinky acylic paint that permeated the entire house with that awful paint smell. Still, the garage looks much better.
We also went to see both "The Hobbit" and "Les Miserables" in theaters. They were brilliant. Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins was spot-on. My favorite parts of "The Hobbit"? When Smaug destroyed the city at the beginning, and when the dwarves were showing up at Bilbo's house. I also loved that they added scenes that were not necessarily from the book, but explained the back story. John did some research, and apparently Peter Jackson, the director, was given access to Tolkien's writings that were never published. My personal feeling is that Jackson and his crew have immersed themselves in Tolkien's world for almost 10 years now - I have every faith in them that if they do add something, it will be an enhancement, not a detractor from the world.
Unfortunately, "Les Miserables" did not live up to my expectations. I've seen the stage musical twice before on stage, and have been in love with the musical since high school. Anne Hathaway as Fantine was perfect. She was by far the best part of that movie. Overall, it was a good movie. I just had two problems with it: Hugh Jackman as Valjean, and the music.
Now, it was clear that Hugh Jackman put all he had into this role - he worked at it, and his acting was stellar. My only complaint with his is that he doesn't have the voice to carry that role. Valjean is the backbone of the entire musical - he has multiple solos and dramatic pieces to sing. Honestly, I probably would have been happy if they had dubbed over Jackman's voice. He's not a bad singer - not at all. But he didn't have the authority in his voice to carry that particular role. (Side note - I've heard very similar arguments about Russell Crowe, who played Javert. Yes, you can say exactly the same thing about him - stellar acting, not as good singing voice - but this didn't bother me so much, because Javert does not sing as much as Valjean.)
My next criticism is with whoever did the soundtrack for the film. Because that's what it is - a soundtrack. When you see the play in person, the music is a powerful, driving force that envelopes you. In the movie, the music is toned down to background music - an aside. By doing they, they lost the impact that the music gave.
Anyway, it was a wonderful break, and John and I enjoyed it so very much. We're (maybe) ready for this next semester? We certainly jumped into it feet-first!
Seriously, I think this was the best vacation I've ever had. We all (John, Honey, and I) went to John's parents house for Christmas. We visited family, ate amazing food, visited Ikea, opened presents, played games, and watched the birth of a baby cow. John's parents keep cows - and most of them were expecting babies while we were there. One of them came right up near the house, and we were able to watch her give birth from the window - it was amazing! Since then, they've had 12 baby cows born, and 8 more coming any day now.
We came back home the day after Christmas, and perhaps 2-3 hours after we got home a couple from church dropped their dog off at our house for us to take care of for the week. "Ice" was a small little white terrier dog (I don't know the actual breed), and she and Honey did not immediately care for each other. John and I spent the week just relaxing and doing things around the house, while the dogs kept each other occupied.
Honey was so stressed out - she hated having to share John and I. She didn't mind if Ice played with her toys or went in her bed, or anything. But if Ice got in our laps to be petted, Honey got upset and paced and whined and barked. Thankfully though, by the time it came for Ice to go home, the two of them were getting along much better. Of course, Honey was still over-the-moon happy when Ice went home. She was bouncing and happy and playful and on her very best behavior!
John got a lot of really good work done on the house over the break. He completely re-did my pantry! and it is totally amazing! I am so loving my pantry now. I'll have to get some pictures off my phone to put on here. He also painted most of the garage - with a stinky acylic paint that permeated the entire house with that awful paint smell. Still, the garage looks much better.
We also went to see both "The Hobbit" and "Les Miserables" in theaters. They were brilliant. Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins was spot-on. My favorite parts of "The Hobbit"? When Smaug destroyed the city at the beginning, and when the dwarves were showing up at Bilbo's house. I also loved that they added scenes that were not necessarily from the book, but explained the back story. John did some research, and apparently Peter Jackson, the director, was given access to Tolkien's writings that were never published. My personal feeling is that Jackson and his crew have immersed themselves in Tolkien's world for almost 10 years now - I have every faith in them that if they do add something, it will be an enhancement, not a detractor from the world.
Unfortunately, "Les Miserables" did not live up to my expectations. I've seen the stage musical twice before on stage, and have been in love with the musical since high school. Anne Hathaway as Fantine was perfect. She was by far the best part of that movie. Overall, it was a good movie. I just had two problems with it: Hugh Jackman as Valjean, and the music.
Now, it was clear that Hugh Jackman put all he had into this role - he worked at it, and his acting was stellar. My only complaint with his is that he doesn't have the voice to carry that role. Valjean is the backbone of the entire musical - he has multiple solos and dramatic pieces to sing. Honestly, I probably would have been happy if they had dubbed over Jackman's voice. He's not a bad singer - not at all. But he didn't have the authority in his voice to carry that particular role. (Side note - I've heard very similar arguments about Russell Crowe, who played Javert. Yes, you can say exactly the same thing about him - stellar acting, not as good singing voice - but this didn't bother me so much, because Javert does not sing as much as Valjean.)
My next criticism is with whoever did the soundtrack for the film. Because that's what it is - a soundtrack. When you see the play in person, the music is a powerful, driving force that envelopes you. In the movie, the music is toned down to background music - an aside. By doing they, they lost the impact that the music gave.
Anyway, it was a wonderful break, and John and I enjoyed it so very much. We're (maybe) ready for this next semester? We certainly jumped into it feet-first!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Holiday Update
It's the Thursday before Christmas ... and life has been hectic!
John's been on break from school, so he's been looking for projects to complete around the house. Meanwhile, I'm still working and then I volunteered us to dog-sit over my vacation break, so I invited that family over for dinner tonight so that their dog can meet Honey and get used to us before actually being left here for several days.
So, John decided yesterday afternoon was the perfect time to rip out the pantry and re-do it.
I got home from work yesterday and the entire contents of my pantry were strewn all over my kitchen cabinets (John reassured me that we'd get a pizza so I didn't have to try and cook). He'd torn out all the shelves in the pantry and did some dry-wall repair in there.
Tip: Did you know that Lowe's will cut your wood for you? Seriously - John bought this long strip of wood to use for shelves in our new pantry, and Lowe's cut that long strip down to the exact sizes we needed for the shelves. Normally it costs $0.25 per cut, but they didn't charge us for it. So much easier than trying to do it outselves!
So ... last night we went to Lowes and wandered around a bit, then picked up our pizza. After dinner, John started sanding the dry wall down and then painted the first coat of white in the pantry. I started going through all the food from the pantry and getting rid of stuff that was either expired or I knew that we'd never use (most likely because we'd had it for over a year).
Biggest surprise of the night? Finding 10 cans of black beans - an ingredient I only use in 1 recipe that I make maybe 2-3 times a year.
Grossest surprise of the night? Finding an unopened container of balsamic vinaigrette dressing that looked like things were growing in it. Surprisingly, it was not past the expiration date. We threw it out anyway.
So now John is painting a second coat in the pantry and trying to install the shelves before we have company tonight. I'm making a lamb roast with steamed vegetables and rolls. My guests are bringing dessert and a tiny dog that will probably get into a fight or something with Honey.
Yay!
John's been on break from school, so he's been looking for projects to complete around the house. Meanwhile, I'm still working and then I volunteered us to dog-sit over my vacation break, so I invited that family over for dinner tonight so that their dog can meet Honey and get used to us before actually being left here for several days.
So, John decided yesterday afternoon was the perfect time to rip out the pantry and re-do it.
I got home from work yesterday and the entire contents of my pantry were strewn all over my kitchen cabinets (John reassured me that we'd get a pizza so I didn't have to try and cook). He'd torn out all the shelves in the pantry and did some dry-wall repair in there.
Tip: Did you know that Lowe's will cut your wood for you? Seriously - John bought this long strip of wood to use for shelves in our new pantry, and Lowe's cut that long strip down to the exact sizes we needed for the shelves. Normally it costs $0.25 per cut, but they didn't charge us for it. So much easier than trying to do it outselves!
So ... last night we went to Lowes and wandered around a bit, then picked up our pizza. After dinner, John started sanding the dry wall down and then painted the first coat of white in the pantry. I started going through all the food from the pantry and getting rid of stuff that was either expired or I knew that we'd never use (most likely because we'd had it for over a year).
Biggest surprise of the night? Finding 10 cans of black beans - an ingredient I only use in 1 recipe that I make maybe 2-3 times a year.
Grossest surprise of the night? Finding an unopened container of balsamic vinaigrette dressing that looked like things were growing in it. Surprisingly, it was not past the expiration date. We threw it out anyway.
So now John is painting a second coat in the pantry and trying to install the shelves before we have company tonight. I'm making a lamb roast with steamed vegetables and rolls. My guests are bringing dessert and a tiny dog that will probably get into a fight or something with Honey.
Yay!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
cute cat pictures cure everything, don't they?
About all I can say is that I'm here.
John's taking tests this week. He had one yesterday afternoon from about 3:00 pm until 5:30 pm ... and then one this morning from 8:30 am until .... well, it's still going, so I don't know how long it will be.
I probably should have stayed home another day.
At least I don't have the flu! I think.
And because I can't think of anything else ... and because this is kinda a downer post ...
here's something to make you smile!
Enjoy!
John's taking tests this week. He had one yesterday afternoon from about 3:00 pm until 5:30 pm ... and then one this morning from 8:30 am until .... well, it's still going, so I don't know how long it will be.
I probably should have stayed home another day.
At least I don't have the flu! I think.
And because I can't think of anything else ... and because this is kinda a downer post ...
here's something to make you smile!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Thanksgiving Drama - Part Three
Just a quick note - I may be mia for the next few days. I can feel the most awful cold coming down on me, and if it weren't for the fact that I have an event to work today, then I'd totally still be home in bed. Not sure if I'll feel up to logging onto my computer while I'm sick. We'll see.
This series feels like its gone on forever - perhaps because there are other things I want to talk about! But this is the part everyone's been waiting for (and by everyone, I mean me because I want to remember this in 20 years)!
You can begin reading this epic storyline here ....
My MIL came back up from the chickens at 3:30 AM, planning to get a little bit of sleep before getting up at 5 AM to meet the catch crew at 6 AM. She lay on the living room floor (so as to not wake up anyone else - and so she wouldn't oversleep), and at 3:44 AM set her alarm for 5 AM.
The catch crew arrived at 3:45 AM.
Making them simultaneously both hours late and several hours early. MIL jumped up, and rushed back down to the chickens to meet them.
The entire catch crew was Hispanic, and most didn't speak any English. They were upset with my MIL because the chickens weren't ready for them, and my MIL was upset for everything that had happened previously! But, knowing that the chickens weren't ready to leave for another 2-3 hours, she started very slowly prepping the houses and the chickens for the catch. The crew would just have to wait on her.
She finally finished up in house one, and left the catch crew to begin setting up, while she went and prepped house two. Once she was finished with that, she took her tools out to their Mule, passing one of the Hispanic men on his way to their van. She returned to house one to watch and help the crew. Shortly afterward, the Hispanic man she'd passed came up to her and asked, "Did you take our bags?"
She was startled. "No, I didn't take anything. I've been here working."
Apparently, while they were working on the farm (a good 30+ minutes from town) someone had snuck onto the farm, and stolen all the workers backpacks out of their van! Their backpacks which each contained: hundreds of dollars, iphones, driver's licenses, and green cards.
Work completely stopped. The men talked among themselves for a few moments, and then about 4-5 of them jumped in their van, and took off down the driveway as fast as they could - trying to catch up with the thief. As they reached the end of the driveway, they saw a large black truck take off down the road; they gave chase! Next thing we know - there's a van full of Hispanics in a high-speed chase after a Black Truck down country roads at 4:30 in the morning!
I don't know what would have happened if they had caught the truck. But once the truck turned onto a main road, the van turned around and came back to the farm; they probably didn't want to get caught without their licenses and green cards!
Meanwhile, my FIL heard all the commotion from up at the house, and got down there to catch the end of all this. He immediately called the police (who took about 45 minutes to get there). They arrived and took down everyone's names and interviewed everyone and got a complete listing of everything that was stolen.
After the police left, someone (I'm not sure who) got the idea to go take a closer look where they had seen the black truck sitting. When they went down there, they found all the backpacks in the pasture - everything was there except for one iphone. All the workers spread out through the pasture, combing the fields looking for that iphone. My MIL had the idea that maybe the phone had been in the thief's pocket, and he perhaps threw it out the window once he was in the truck. The searchers moved up the road a little, and they found the iphone!!
Needless to say, by the time the actual catch was over and the crew left, it was 9:00 AM. Both my MIL and FIL went back to the house, took quick showers, and went to bed for a few hours. John and I got up, and made lunch for everyone. We all ate lunch at 12:30 PM, and then John's Dad left for work. He had another 10 hours of work to go to.
While MIL got ready for the day (I think she should have gone back to bed!), John and I drove to a local mattress store and bought a mattress. Upon returning, MIL and John surprised me with a trip to Ikea - I had no idea that they were planning on going! I agreed, on the condition that we stop by my aunt's house on the way home. I had picked up gifts for my aunt's family the night before, and wanted to be able to deliver them. About that time I realized that all my phones (I have three!) were completely dead - and I didn't have my aunt's phone number.
Once we got to Ikea, I realized why they had been so insistent to go that day - even though I though my MIL needed to rest after the crazy Thanksgiving! She was completely intent on buying us a Poang chair for Christmas - and wanted us to pick out something that we liked.
By the time we left Ikea, it was 8:30 PM - meaning it would have been 9:30 PM before we could get to my aunt's house. Since I didn't have her phone number, I couldn't call to see if that was okay, and I thought that 9:30 PM was too late to stop by unannounced. So, we just drove straight home.
Just in time to almost hit a cow in the driveway! One of the cows had gotten out, and we spent the next 45 minutes running all over the farm at 10:00 PM trying to chase this cow back into the pasture.
So, that was Thanksgiving and all its drama. Certainly more interesting than any Thanksgiving I'd ever had previously!
This series feels like its gone on forever - perhaps because there are other things I want to talk about! But this is the part everyone's been waiting for (and by everyone, I mean me because I want to remember this in 20 years)!
You can begin reading this epic storyline here ....
My MIL came back up from the chickens at 3:30 AM, planning to get a little bit of sleep before getting up at 5 AM to meet the catch crew at 6 AM. She lay on the living room floor (so as to not wake up anyone else - and so she wouldn't oversleep), and at 3:44 AM set her alarm for 5 AM.
The catch crew arrived at 3:45 AM.
Making them simultaneously both hours late and several hours early. MIL jumped up, and rushed back down to the chickens to meet them.
The entire catch crew was Hispanic, and most didn't speak any English. They were upset with my MIL because the chickens weren't ready for them, and my MIL was upset for everything that had happened previously! But, knowing that the chickens weren't ready to leave for another 2-3 hours, she started very slowly prepping the houses and the chickens for the catch. The crew would just have to wait on her.
She finally finished up in house one, and left the catch crew to begin setting up, while she went and prepped house two. Once she was finished with that, she took her tools out to their Mule, passing one of the Hispanic men on his way to their van. She returned to house one to watch and help the crew. Shortly afterward, the Hispanic man she'd passed came up to her and asked, "Did you take our bags?"
She was startled. "No, I didn't take anything. I've been here working."
Apparently, while they were working on the farm (a good 30+ minutes from town) someone had snuck onto the farm, and stolen all the workers backpacks out of their van! Their backpacks which each contained: hundreds of dollars, iphones, driver's licenses, and green cards.
Work completely stopped. The men talked among themselves for a few moments, and then about 4-5 of them jumped in their van, and took off down the driveway as fast as they could - trying to catch up with the thief. As they reached the end of the driveway, they saw a large black truck take off down the road; they gave chase! Next thing we know - there's a van full of Hispanics in a high-speed chase after a Black Truck down country roads at 4:30 in the morning!
I don't know what would have happened if they had caught the truck. But once the truck turned onto a main road, the van turned around and came back to the farm; they probably didn't want to get caught without their licenses and green cards!
Meanwhile, my FIL heard all the commotion from up at the house, and got down there to catch the end of all this. He immediately called the police (who took about 45 minutes to get there). They arrived and took down everyone's names and interviewed everyone and got a complete listing of everything that was stolen.
After the police left, someone (I'm not sure who) got the idea to go take a closer look where they had seen the black truck sitting. When they went down there, they found all the backpacks in the pasture - everything was there except for one iphone. All the workers spread out through the pasture, combing the fields looking for that iphone. My MIL had the idea that maybe the phone had been in the thief's pocket, and he perhaps threw it out the window once he was in the truck. The searchers moved up the road a little, and they found the iphone!!
Needless to say, by the time the actual catch was over and the crew left, it was 9:00 AM. Both my MIL and FIL went back to the house, took quick showers, and went to bed for a few hours. John and I got up, and made lunch for everyone. We all ate lunch at 12:30 PM, and then John's Dad left for work. He had another 10 hours of work to go to.
While MIL got ready for the day (I think she should have gone back to bed!), John and I drove to a local mattress store and bought a mattress. Upon returning, MIL and John surprised me with a trip to Ikea - I had no idea that they were planning on going! I agreed, on the condition that we stop by my aunt's house on the way home. I had picked up gifts for my aunt's family the night before, and wanted to be able to deliver them. About that time I realized that all my phones (I have three!) were completely dead - and I didn't have my aunt's phone number.
Once we got to Ikea, I realized why they had been so insistent to go that day - even though I though my MIL needed to rest after the crazy Thanksgiving! She was completely intent on buying us a Poang chair for Christmas - and wanted us to pick out something that we liked.
By the time we left Ikea, it was 8:30 PM - meaning it would have been 9:30 PM before we could get to my aunt's house. Since I didn't have her phone number, I couldn't call to see if that was okay, and I thought that 9:30 PM was too late to stop by unannounced. So, we just drove straight home.
Just in time to almost hit a cow in the driveway! One of the cows had gotten out, and we spent the next 45 minutes running all over the farm at 10:00 PM trying to chase this cow back into the pasture.
So, that was Thanksgiving and all its drama. Certainly more interesting than any Thanksgiving I'd ever had previously!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Thanksgiving Drama ... Part Two
Last time I ended the story with us getting in the car and driving to the factory to hopefully find someone to help us save the chickens.
We were hoping to pass the catch crew on the road - even though they'd be late, at least we would know where they were. But we made it through the 30-minute drive into the nearest town without a glimpse of them. By the time we pulled into the factory parking lot, it was nearing 10 PM Thanksgiving night. we drove around trying to decide where to park and where would be the most likely place to find someone ... when we actually saw someone!
A man was sitting in his 18-wheeler truck working on paperwork, or something. John and I stayed in the car, while MIL went to go talk to him. It was amazing. Downright miraculous, even.
The man in the truck was only supposed to be at the factory for a total of about 5 minutes (we had caught him in that time span!) and had the cell phone numbers of the people we needed to call!! He made a few calls, and let my MIL talk to some people on his phone, before giving her the phone numbers for her reference.
Apparently, someone had changed the schedule, so the chicken catch was meant for 6AM instead of 8 PM - without telling anyone about the change. With that change in place ... the birds were supposed to be coming off their feed Now ... even though they'd already been off their feed for hours. My in-laws made some quick decisions - they decided to let hte birds eat and drink for 1-2 hours, and then take them off their feed.
By the time we got home, it was nearing 11 PM. My MIL rushed down to the chickens to help my FIL.
About 11:45 she came back to the house, got cleaned up, and my MIL, John, and I all went Black Friday shopping; a developing holiday tradition.
Since we normally go about 10 PM - this was the latest we'd been out shopping, and as we got closer to the stores (Tanger Outlets) we saw cars parked out at least a mile from the stores. We were seriously thinking about turning around and going home - who wants to walk a mile just to get to the stores? But previous years had shown us that sometimes there are spots in the parking lot that people never seem to take (they give up and just park before they get to the middle of the parking lot!), so we decided to try and find a spot closer to the stores. If we couldn't, then we'd go home.
We found a parking spot not 10 feet away from Bath and Body Works. It was astonishing. Even more astonishing than the line outside of Bath and Body Works (we did not go in that store!)
So, we checked to make sure we all had our cell phones, and then split up to get our shopping done quickly - we had to get back to farm to get the chickens ready for their 6AM catch. We got their about midnight, and left about 1:30 AM - so we were quick about it. John and I got all our Christmas shopping done, as well as a few things for ourselves. (Here's a plug: I got an amazing new wool peacoat at Wilson's Leather for $45.)
When we got home, my FIL was already in bed - he'd left a note with instructions about the chickens for my MIL. She rushed down to the birds, and John went to bed. I was still awake, so I read a while before turning the light out at approximately 3 AM.
And this is another long post, so I'm breaking it off here. I PROMISE I'll get to the car chase and the police in the next part!
We were hoping to pass the catch crew on the road - even though they'd be late, at least we would know where they were. But we made it through the 30-minute drive into the nearest town without a glimpse of them. By the time we pulled into the factory parking lot, it was nearing 10 PM Thanksgiving night. we drove around trying to decide where to park and where would be the most likely place to find someone ... when we actually saw someone!
A man was sitting in his 18-wheeler truck working on paperwork, or something. John and I stayed in the car, while MIL went to go talk to him. It was amazing. Downright miraculous, even.
The man in the truck was only supposed to be at the factory for a total of about 5 minutes (we had caught him in that time span!) and had the cell phone numbers of the people we needed to call!! He made a few calls, and let my MIL talk to some people on his phone, before giving her the phone numbers for her reference.
Apparently, someone had changed the schedule, so the chicken catch was meant for 6AM instead of 8 PM - without telling anyone about the change. With that change in place ... the birds were supposed to be coming off their feed Now ... even though they'd already been off their feed for hours. My in-laws made some quick decisions - they decided to let hte birds eat and drink for 1-2 hours, and then take them off their feed.
By the time we got home, it was nearing 11 PM. My MIL rushed down to the chickens to help my FIL.
About 11:45 she came back to the house, got cleaned up, and my MIL, John, and I all went Black Friday shopping; a developing holiday tradition.
Since we normally go about 10 PM - this was the latest we'd been out shopping, and as we got closer to the stores (Tanger Outlets) we saw cars parked out at least a mile from the stores. We were seriously thinking about turning around and going home - who wants to walk a mile just to get to the stores? But previous years had shown us that sometimes there are spots in the parking lot that people never seem to take (they give up and just park before they get to the middle of the parking lot!), so we decided to try and find a spot closer to the stores. If we couldn't, then we'd go home.
We found a parking spot not 10 feet away from Bath and Body Works. It was astonishing. Even more astonishing than the line outside of Bath and Body Works (we did not go in that store!)
So, we checked to make sure we all had our cell phones, and then split up to get our shopping done quickly - we had to get back to farm to get the chickens ready for their 6AM catch. We got their about midnight, and left about 1:30 AM - so we were quick about it. John and I got all our Christmas shopping done, as well as a few things for ourselves. (Here's a plug: I got an amazing new wool peacoat at Wilson's Leather for $45.)
When we got home, my FIL was already in bed - he'd left a note with instructions about the chickens for my MIL. She rushed down to the birds, and John went to bed. I was still awake, so I read a while before turning the light out at approximately 3 AM.
And this is another long post, so I'm breaking it off here. I PROMISE I'll get to the car chase and the police in the next part!
Friday, November 30, 2012
We Interrupt this Saga for an Important News Bulletin
We got John's last test back .... and he practically Aced it!
The average for the class on the test was an 81, and John got a 99! (He totally broke the curve). He made the highest grade in the class!
He actually missed three points ... but actually was given two extra points because some of his answers were so good!
He is thrilled, and I am so stinkin' proud of him!!
The average for the class on the test was an 81, and John got a 99! (He totally broke the curve). He made the highest grade in the class!
He actually missed three points ... but actually was given two extra points because some of his answers were so good!
He is thrilled, and I am so stinkin' proud of him!!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Thanksgiving Drama ... Part One
Now that we're a week out ... let's talk about Thanksgiving!!
Hmm. Perhaps some backstory is in order.
My in-laws own a chicken farm; they have two chicken houses that can each house between 25-30 thousand birds. (And since I've had more people ask lately - no, the birds are not in cages. They can wander where-ever they like inside the houses, which are each longer than a football field.) Basically, the birds that my in-laws raise go to the company that provides chicken for places like Zaxbys.
Well, my in-laws work super hard on the farm and on the chickens; the days leading up to getting the birds and the days leading up to getting rid of the birds are almost non-stop - full of crazy hours, hard work, and little sleep. They get paid by how much the birds weigh, so not only is it important for the birds to be alive and healthy, but they need to weigh a decent amount.
That being said, I didn't realize until I married the son of a chicken farmer just how hard it is to keep these birds alive. These birds are dumb. Really dumb. As in, you have to shuffle your feet along the ground when you walk through the house because they don't know enough to walk out of your way so that you step on them. Since my in-laws get the birds practically just out of the egg, they need to keep those birds at a very strict temperature - even a 5 degree difference can kill thousands of birds. They are always praying for the weather to cooperate whenever they have birds!
My inlaws latest batch of chickens were scheduled to be picked up on Thanksgiving evening at 8 pm. A "Catch Crew" would come out with all the trucks, catch the birds, and take them to the company plant. About 6-7 hours before the scheduled catch, my inlaws took the birds off their food and water; this is a requirement by the company so that the birds don't contaminate the factory. What this means is that they are now dependent on the catch crew showing up on time and doing their job; from here on out, the birds will just lose weight - and if they wait too long, the birds will start dying.
Because my inlaws were both working so hard prepping the chicken houses on Thanksgiving, my MIL put the meat in the oven (we had a standing rib roast instead of turkey - So much better!) and I did everything else. While they were working outside, I made the mashed potatoes, the corn on the cob, the zucchini, the veggie tray, and the biscuits. Right before the meal, my MIL came back up and helped me with the gravy and the cranberry sauce.
It was a wonderful Thanksgiving meal! And I'm not just saying that because I made most of it! ;o)
Anyway ... we were planning to go Black Friday shopping after the catch that night, so John and I took naps that afternoon, while my inlaws continued to work in the chicken houses.
Finally it was almost time. My FIL was down with the birds, while my MIL was with us in the house watching for the catch crew. 8 pm came and went. By 9 pm my in-laws were starting to get really frantic - in their almost 20 years of chicken farming, the catch crew had never been so late. The birds were starting to lose weight at an alarming pace, and would start dying soon. My MIL tried calling everyone she knew to call, but only got voicemails - it was Thanksgiving Night - who's going to answer their work phone?
After some quick, frantic discussion, we agreed on a course of action - a rather desperate thought, but the only one we could think of. We left out FIL in charge of the birds, and John, my MIL, and I hopped in the car, and at 9:30 that night we started the 30 minute drive to the plant. Maybe, just maybe, we'd find someone who could help us.
Before this gets too long - I'm going to break here. Part Two is Here!
Hmm. Perhaps some backstory is in order.
My in-laws own a chicken farm; they have two chicken houses that can each house between 25-30 thousand birds. (And since I've had more people ask lately - no, the birds are not in cages. They can wander where-ever they like inside the houses, which are each longer than a football field.) Basically, the birds that my in-laws raise go to the company that provides chicken for places like Zaxbys.
Well, my in-laws work super hard on the farm and on the chickens; the days leading up to getting the birds and the days leading up to getting rid of the birds are almost non-stop - full of crazy hours, hard work, and little sleep. They get paid by how much the birds weigh, so not only is it important for the birds to be alive and healthy, but they need to weigh a decent amount.
That being said, I didn't realize until I married the son of a chicken farmer just how hard it is to keep these birds alive. These birds are dumb. Really dumb. As in, you have to shuffle your feet along the ground when you walk through the house because they don't know enough to walk out of your way so that you step on them. Since my in-laws get the birds practically just out of the egg, they need to keep those birds at a very strict temperature - even a 5 degree difference can kill thousands of birds. They are always praying for the weather to cooperate whenever they have birds!
My inlaws latest batch of chickens were scheduled to be picked up on Thanksgiving evening at 8 pm. A "Catch Crew" would come out with all the trucks, catch the birds, and take them to the company plant. About 6-7 hours before the scheduled catch, my inlaws took the birds off their food and water; this is a requirement by the company so that the birds don't contaminate the factory. What this means is that they are now dependent on the catch crew showing up on time and doing their job; from here on out, the birds will just lose weight - and if they wait too long, the birds will start dying.
Because my inlaws were both working so hard prepping the chicken houses on Thanksgiving, my MIL put the meat in the oven (we had a standing rib roast instead of turkey - So much better!) and I did everything else. While they were working outside, I made the mashed potatoes, the corn on the cob, the zucchini, the veggie tray, and the biscuits. Right before the meal, my MIL came back up and helped me with the gravy and the cranberry sauce.
It was a wonderful Thanksgiving meal! And I'm not just saying that because I made most of it! ;o)
Anyway ... we were planning to go Black Friday shopping after the catch that night, so John and I took naps that afternoon, while my inlaws continued to work in the chicken houses.
Finally it was almost time. My FIL was down with the birds, while my MIL was with us in the house watching for the catch crew. 8 pm came and went. By 9 pm my in-laws were starting to get really frantic - in their almost 20 years of chicken farming, the catch crew had never been so late. The birds were starting to lose weight at an alarming pace, and would start dying soon. My MIL tried calling everyone she knew to call, but only got voicemails - it was Thanksgiving Night - who's going to answer their work phone?
After some quick, frantic discussion, we agreed on a course of action - a rather desperate thought, but the only one we could think of. We left out FIL in charge of the birds, and John, my MIL, and I hopped in the car, and at 9:30 that night we started the 30 minute drive to the plant. Maybe, just maybe, we'd find someone who could help us.
Before this gets too long - I'm going to break here. Part Two is Here!
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
A word of advice for the service industry ...
Don't be so snobby!
I'm planning an event for my company - about 200 people, evening reception at a fancy venue.
I'm calling around to get information from the various caterers in the area. Once I have all this information, then I will decide who to ask to cater the event.
I'm calling and representing a large company - one that is very well known in the area. It's not like I'm just a random person walking in off the street.
The questions I'm asking:
We don't discuss business like this over the phone. I can email you our menu with prices if you'd like, and we can meet in person to discuss the event next week.
Umm ... what?
I'm calling because I don't have time to go to every catering business in the area to get one-on-one meetings. I'm calling to see if I want to work with you! Not to set up a face-to-face!
Needless to say, I crossed them off the list before I even hung up.
I'm planning an event for my company - about 200 people, evening reception at a fancy venue.
I'm calling around to get information from the various caterers in the area. Once I have all this information, then I will decide who to ask to cater the event.
I'm calling and representing a large company - one that is very well known in the area. It's not like I'm just a random person walking in off the street.
The questions I'm asking:
- Are you available to cater this event?
- Would you be able to work within my budget?
We don't discuss business like this over the phone. I can email you our menu with prices if you'd like, and we can meet in person to discuss the event next week.
Umm ... what?
I'm calling because I don't have time to go to every catering business in the area to get one-on-one meetings. I'm calling to see if I want to work with you! Not to set up a face-to-face!
Needless to say, I crossed them off the list before I even hung up.
Backing up a bit ...
It's been far too long since I've written - there's so much to catch up on!!
Maybe brief points?
That weekend I was worried about karaoke and Western Day? Interesting.
Karaoke wasn't scheduled until 9pm that Friday night (9 pm!), which makes me feel old at even thinking about going out that late. So, we had some time to kill that evening. We tried a new Chinese restaurant (so good!) and then watched silly youtube videos for a few hours. We took Honey for a walk, and played with her for a while.
And then ... we found ringworm on her belly. John took a picture and emailed it to his dad (a vet) to get an unofficial official diagnosis, and so we could figure out how to treat her. (Basically we had to rub cream on her belly for 30 days, and wash everything in the house). This of course changed our plans dramatically for the next month!
But, we couldn't do anything that night, so we were still planning on karaoke. Until John got a text from a classmate - karaoke was canceled. Instead, John's classmates were getting together for a party at someone's house.
We got there about 9:30 pm. And were the first to arrive - the hostess was still in the shower! She let us in, and then rushed out to the store to get chips and dip. By this time, John and I were just looking at each other in shock - I couldn't get over the fact that it was after 9pm and the party hadn't even started yet!
People finally started arriving at 10 - and that's when the party actually got going. And let me just say ... I love John's classmates. Late Friday night ... bunch of Grad Students ... after a week of their hardest exams yet ... and there was practically no alcohol to be found. I think 2 of the 15+ people who showed up had one drink. Everyone was just having fun and enjoying each other's company. We played board games, and then had a dance competition with the Wii. I got some priceless video of John dancing to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" (we got Rickrolled!!) and dancing to Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe". The night was amazing - we left about midnight, and the party was going strong.
Thanks to Honey's ringworm, we didn't go to Western Day on Saturday - we spent the whole day cleaning everything in the house! By the end of the weekend, the house was cleaner I think than it was when we moved in!
We'd been planning and had actually invited several couples from our church to spend Thanksgiving Day with us ... but we had to cancel because of Honey. Apparently ringworm is a bit like Athlete's Foot - not really that serious unless it affects small children - and all of the people we'd invited had small children. We did NOT want to be responsible for causing a ringworm outbreak among the children at our church! So, instead we canceled and made plans to go to John's parents for Thanksgiving.
Which is another story coming up!
Maybe brief points?
That weekend I was worried about karaoke and Western Day? Interesting.
Karaoke wasn't scheduled until 9pm that Friday night (9 pm!), which makes me feel old at even thinking about going out that late. So, we had some time to kill that evening. We tried a new Chinese restaurant (so good!) and then watched silly youtube videos for a few hours. We took Honey for a walk, and played with her for a while.
And then ... we found ringworm on her belly. John took a picture and emailed it to his dad (a vet) to get an unofficial official diagnosis, and so we could figure out how to treat her. (Basically we had to rub cream on her belly for 30 days, and wash everything in the house). This of course changed our plans dramatically for the next month!
But, we couldn't do anything that night, so we were still planning on karaoke. Until John got a text from a classmate - karaoke was canceled. Instead, John's classmates were getting together for a party at someone's house.
We got there about 9:30 pm. And were the first to arrive - the hostess was still in the shower! She let us in, and then rushed out to the store to get chips and dip. By this time, John and I were just looking at each other in shock - I couldn't get over the fact that it was after 9pm and the party hadn't even started yet!
People finally started arriving at 10 - and that's when the party actually got going. And let me just say ... I love John's classmates. Late Friday night ... bunch of Grad Students ... after a week of their hardest exams yet ... and there was practically no alcohol to be found. I think 2 of the 15+ people who showed up had one drink. Everyone was just having fun and enjoying each other's company. We played board games, and then had a dance competition with the Wii. I got some priceless video of John dancing to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" (we got Rickrolled!!) and dancing to Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe". The night was amazing - we left about midnight, and the party was going strong.
Thanks to Honey's ringworm, we didn't go to Western Day on Saturday - we spent the whole day cleaning everything in the house! By the end of the weekend, the house was cleaner I think than it was when we moved in!
We'd been planning and had actually invited several couples from our church to spend Thanksgiving Day with us ... but we had to cancel because of Honey. Apparently ringworm is a bit like Athlete's Foot - not really that serious unless it affects small children - and all of the people we'd invited had small children. We did NOT want to be responsible for causing a ringworm outbreak among the children at our church! So, instead we canceled and made plans to go to John's parents for Thanksgiving.
Which is another story coming up!
Friday, November 9, 2012
Decisions, decisions ...
John's taking his test right now; he said that he felt ready for it. I hope that he does well!
After the test, a bunch of his classmates are going to a Korean BBQ Restaurant (John says that it's not really BBQ) to eat and do karaoke. John really wants to go, while I'm a bit more ... ambivalent.
First, by the end of the week I'm tired. I want to go home and get into some comfortable clothes and relax! Going out with a bunch of people I hardly know isn't very relaxing. Of course, then the arguement is that I won't get to know them if I stay home.
Another thing is the karaoke - I've never been before, but I know what it is, and I'm not sure I'd like it. Not sure why - but I get way too uptight about music. I don't know most of the music, and it really bothers me when music isn't sung properly. I looked up a list of the top 500 karaoke songs ... and I barely knew 7 of them well enough to be able to sing them. John and I were looking at some last night, and let's just say I didn't react well when John started singing horribly on purpose. I don't know why it grates so badly, but it drives me up a wall!
On top of that is the whole social anxiety deal - I've been prepping myself to go to Western Day on Saturday. That's an annual event that our church puts on. We went last year, and I had the worst attack of anxiety yet - it took everything in me to not collapse in tears when we arrived. I spent the entire time sitting quietly in a corner while John played flag football with the men. It wasn't fun.
I know I *ought* to go to both... karaoke tonight and western day tomorrow. I honestly don't want to go to either. But I promised John I'd go to at least one of them with him. I don't know what I'll do.
John will want to get out of the house and have fun this weekend; he always does after a test! So, we'll see what happens!
Happy Friday!
After the test, a bunch of his classmates are going to a Korean BBQ Restaurant (John says that it's not really BBQ) to eat and do karaoke. John really wants to go, while I'm a bit more ... ambivalent.
First, by the end of the week I'm tired. I want to go home and get into some comfortable clothes and relax! Going out with a bunch of people I hardly know isn't very relaxing. Of course, then the arguement is that I won't get to know them if I stay home.
Another thing is the karaoke - I've never been before, but I know what it is, and I'm not sure I'd like it. Not sure why - but I get way too uptight about music. I don't know most of the music, and it really bothers me when music isn't sung properly. I looked up a list of the top 500 karaoke songs ... and I barely knew 7 of them well enough to be able to sing them. John and I were looking at some last night, and let's just say I didn't react well when John started singing horribly on purpose. I don't know why it grates so badly, but it drives me up a wall!
On top of that is the whole social anxiety deal - I've been prepping myself to go to Western Day on Saturday. That's an annual event that our church puts on. We went last year, and I had the worst attack of anxiety yet - it took everything in me to not collapse in tears when we arrived. I spent the entire time sitting quietly in a corner while John played flag football with the men. It wasn't fun.
I know I *ought* to go to both... karaoke tonight and western day tomorrow. I honestly don't want to go to either. But I promised John I'd go to at least one of them with him. I don't know what I'll do.
John will want to get out of the house and have fun this weekend; he always does after a test! So, we'll see what happens!
Happy Friday!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Project Garden Makeover!
Before it gets much closer to winter, I'd better post these pictures of my front garden! Considering the day is cool and wet and dreary, it's nice to remember the absolutely gorgeous weather here!
I can't really explain why this was so high on our priority list, but both John and I agreed that we wanted to plant the flower bed in the front. Maybe we wanted to make the house look ours; or maybe we were just taking advantage of the rare lovely weather. It's only nice here maybe 5 weeks out of the year - we need to spend all the time outside that we can when it's nice!
Here are some BEFORE pictures:
John and I spent about 2 hours in Lowes, wandering around the gardening section. Neither one of us had any experience doing this, so we were reading all the plant labels, and finally tracked someone down to talk to us. This is what we ended up buying:
We also bought a honeysuckle climbing vine - but I guess I didn't take a picture of it.
Next: THE PROCESS!
I broke up the dirt, and John decided that all the bricks surrounding the bed needed to be raised. So, we re-sized the bed, and raised each of the bricks by a few inches. While John was doing that, I was pulling all the weeds out of the bed. I may have gotten a bit carried away with it (John says I'm too much of a perfectionist), but the end result looked nice, I think!
And so, we began planting - by far the most fun part of the afternoon (and the quickest)!
John's parents had given us a large box of bulbs (both orchid and lily), so we planted those along the back of the bed, close to the house. We then placed a medium sized trellis to the right of the window, and planted the honeysuckle vine so that it would climb the trellis. (That is a total experiment on our part. If it grows out of control, or attracts bees or something, we'll tear it out. We don't want to deal with bees that close to the front door.)
Next, we placed a few rows of the Dusty Miller, and planted the mums in the very front.
Ready to see?
All in all, this project took us about 4.5 hours (including the time in the store), and cost us about $80-$100 (we had to buy all the tools, and the soil). We're hoping that they last through the winter, and we can enjoy them this spring. We're not expecting anything to grow this summer. 100+degrees does not equal a good garden!
I can't really explain why this was so high on our priority list, but both John and I agreed that we wanted to plant the flower bed in the front. Maybe we wanted to make the house look ours; or maybe we were just taking advantage of the rare lovely weather. It's only nice here maybe 5 weeks out of the year - we need to spend all the time outside that we can when it's nice!
Here are some BEFORE pictures:
 |
| Confession - this is after I dug everything up. I'd forgotten to get a true BEFORE picture. It didn't look much better, though. |
 |
| Yay, front of my house! |
John and I spent about 2 hours in Lowes, wandering around the gardening section. Neither one of us had any experience doing this, so we were reading all the plant labels, and finally tracked someone down to talk to us. This is what we ended up buying:
 |
| Mums! Honestly, not our first choice, but we liked the colors, and they were on sale. |
 |
| Apparently these are called "Dusty Miller" We thought they looked cool - especially next to the colors of the mums. |
We also bought a honeysuckle climbing vine - but I guess I didn't take a picture of it.
Next: THE PROCESS!
I broke up the dirt, and John decided that all the bricks surrounding the bed needed to be raised. So, we re-sized the bed, and raised each of the bricks by a few inches. While John was doing that, I was pulling all the weeds out of the bed. I may have gotten a bit carried away with it (John says I'm too much of a perfectionist), but the end result looked nice, I think!
 |
| Totally ready for planting! |
 |
| John was so right about raising the stones. It looks so much better! |
And so, we began planting - by far the most fun part of the afternoon (and the quickest)!
John's parents had given us a large box of bulbs (both orchid and lily), so we planted those along the back of the bed, close to the house. We then placed a medium sized trellis to the right of the window, and planted the honeysuckle vine so that it would climb the trellis. (That is a total experiment on our part. If it grows out of control, or attracts bees or something, we'll tear it out. We don't want to deal with bees that close to the front door.)
Next, we placed a few rows of the Dusty Miller, and planted the mums in the very front.
Ready to see?
 |
| Doesn't it look nice? The Dusty Miller is supposed to grow taller than the Mums, which is why they're toward the back. You can't see the bulbs. |
 |
| Yay! Project, successful! |
All in all, this project took us about 4.5 hours (including the time in the store), and cost us about $80-$100 (we had to buy all the tools, and the soil). We're hoping that they last through the winter, and we can enjoy them this spring. We're not expecting anything to grow this summer. 100+degrees does not equal a good garden!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Election Day
Today is election day in the US. John and I went to vote after I got off work this evening, and it went fairly smoothly. No riots, no excessive lines ... very orderly.
I'm not going to say much about politics here. We're having a quiet night in. John is studying for his test on Friday, while I'm purposefully not watching the news, because I get angry with the media and I'm pretty sure it's not healthy to get as worked up about it as I do. We had the news on briefly, but when I figured out that the news was predicting states based on less than one percent of the votes in each state? Oh, that made me mad! Just give us the news - stop analyzing and discussing everything ad nauseum about all the possibilities that may or may not happen!
Now I'm getting upset again. Ugh.
John and I watched this video a week or so ago. And found it interesting, and actually agreed with several points made in the video.
I don't know if it's been made clear on this blog yet, but John and I are both relatively conservative, and attend a Baptist church. So, obviously, there are some things that we don't agree with from this video.
Just as a warning, this video is NSFW, due to some language.
I don't know how the election will turn out, or who will be president in a few months. Yes, it's important. And yes, I'm hoping it's a particular candidate. But if the person I voted for loses? It's not the end of the world. God is still in control.
And God tells us in the Bible to pray for our nation's leaders. He told the Christians in Rome to pray for their leaders - even the ones who were persecuting the church and trying to stomp out the church. So, no matter who wins this election, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to respect the office of President, (even if I don't agree with the person in that office) and pray for them.
I don't tell people who I vote for. I take full advantage of my constitutional right to secret ballots. So this is about as political as I get outside my own private conversations with John.
I hope you voted today.
I'm not going to say much about politics here. We're having a quiet night in. John is studying for his test on Friday, while I'm purposefully not watching the news, because I get angry with the media and I'm pretty sure it's not healthy to get as worked up about it as I do. We had the news on briefly, but when I figured out that the news was predicting states based on less than one percent of the votes in each state? Oh, that made me mad! Just give us the news - stop analyzing and discussing everything ad nauseum about all the possibilities that may or may not happen!
Now I'm getting upset again. Ugh.
John and I watched this video a week or so ago. And found it interesting, and actually agreed with several points made in the video.
I don't know if it's been made clear on this blog yet, but John and I are both relatively conservative, and attend a Baptist church. So, obviously, there are some things that we don't agree with from this video.
Just as a warning, this video is NSFW, due to some language.
I don't know how the election will turn out, or who will be president in a few months. Yes, it's important. And yes, I'm hoping it's a particular candidate. But if the person I voted for loses? It's not the end of the world. God is still in control.
And God tells us in the Bible to pray for our nation's leaders. He told the Christians in Rome to pray for their leaders - even the ones who were persecuting the church and trying to stomp out the church. So, no matter who wins this election, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to respect the office of President, (even if I don't agree with the person in that office) and pray for them.
I don't tell people who I vote for. I take full advantage of my constitutional right to secret ballots. So this is about as political as I get outside my own private conversations with John.
I hope you voted today.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
You should've come to my house at 6 pm last night
I meant to post this on Thursday, but it took me till today to get a picture.
Last night was my very first Halloween.
My family didn't "do" Halloween when I was growing up. We never decorated, we never dressed up, we never trick-or-treated. In fact, I think I remember missing out on some of the halloween activities in elementary/middle school because of a note from home.
When we got married, John and I never really talked about Halloween, except to agree that we didn't want to do Halloween at our place. That neighborhood was scary! Any kids that we might get (and we never expected any - especially after dark) more than likely went to better neighborhoods.
But this year ... we have a nice house in a quiet little subdivision, and we knew that we'd get trick-or-treaters. And we decided ... that's okay.
So, the first order of business was decorating.
Honestly, I love fall - I love the weather, I love the colors, I love just about everything fall. I love getting my sweaters out of storage. So, all of my decorations are Fall decorations - not Halloween decorations.
We didn't do much. John and I went to the store and picked out two pumpkins for the front porch. We were going to carve the pumpkins, but then got busy and didn't get around to it. So, we've had some pumpkins sitting on the front steps for a few weeks now.
Next, we went and bought a fall wreath to hang on the door. That wreath makes me happy every time I see it - red and orange and glittery!
That was about it. John had a study session last night, so he didn't come home in time for trick-or-treaters. I'd filled two large bowls of candy to give out, and changed into a t-shirt with a big pumpkin on it, and that was it for me.
Unfortunately, I ran out of candy far too soon, but that's my fault. The first 20-30 kids who came by got a large handful of candy, before I realized that I really should be stretching the candy out. I managed to last a bit longer when I started giving each kid 3-4 pieces of candy, but I still closed up much earlier than my neighbors. Oh well.
I'm a little bummed about it, but considering it was my very first time EVER? I'll know better next year.
And as far as I'm concerned? John totally missed out.
Last night was my very first Halloween.
My family didn't "do" Halloween when I was growing up. We never decorated, we never dressed up, we never trick-or-treated. In fact, I think I remember missing out on some of the halloween activities in elementary/middle school because of a note from home.
When we got married, John and I never really talked about Halloween, except to agree that we didn't want to do Halloween at our place. That neighborhood was scary! Any kids that we might get (and we never expected any - especially after dark) more than likely went to better neighborhoods.
But this year ... we have a nice house in a quiet little subdivision, and we knew that we'd get trick-or-treaters. And we decided ... that's okay.
So, the first order of business was decorating.
Honestly, I love fall - I love the weather, I love the colors, I love just about everything fall. I love getting my sweaters out of storage. So, all of my decorations are Fall decorations - not Halloween decorations.
We didn't do much. John and I went to the store and picked out two pumpkins for the front porch. We were going to carve the pumpkins, but then got busy and didn't get around to it. So, we've had some pumpkins sitting on the front steps for a few weeks now.
Next, we went and bought a fall wreath to hang on the door. That wreath makes me happy every time I see it - red and orange and glittery!
 |
| Welcome! |
That was about it. John had a study session last night, so he didn't come home in time for trick-or-treaters. I'd filled two large bowls of candy to give out, and changed into a t-shirt with a big pumpkin on it, and that was it for me.
Unfortunately, I ran out of candy far too soon, but that's my fault. The first 20-30 kids who came by got a large handful of candy, before I realized that I really should be stretching the candy out. I managed to last a bit longer when I started giving each kid 3-4 pieces of candy, but I still closed up much earlier than my neighbors. Oh well.
I'm a little bummed about it, but considering it was my very first time EVER? I'll know better next year.
And as far as I'm concerned? John totally missed out.
Friday, November 2, 2012
A little bit of pampering
A few weeks ago, John mentioned to me that I never seem happy anymore.
That really hit me between the eyes. And started a few weeks of soul-searching.
There are so many things that I should be happy about - my husband, my dog, my house, my job, my coworkers, my brother. Everything with us seem to be going well.
But I was dwelling on the things that weren't going well. My parents have been having marital trouble - and I'm very seriously considering breaking contact with my dad. (Not gonna happen right now, but considering it). I've developed social anxiety over the past year or so that hits me sometimes with the force of a two-by-four. I just recently found out that I have PCOS, and without treatment (and even with treatment), there's a distinct possibility that I can never get pregnant. The medication for that makes me exhausted and nauseous, and honestly neither John nor I think its working. I've gained about 40 pounds in the past four years, and have been feeling overweight and ugly.
John told me that he wants me to do things that make me happy. To take care of myself, so that I feel better.
So ... I am.
I am focusing on things that make me happy. I got my hair cut - and highlighted. I've never had color put into my hair before. And I love it! I bought new make-up and am experimenting with eye shadow. I'm not quite sure what I think about it, but I'm having fun looking different. I'm proud of myself for figuring out how I want to look, and putting in the time and effort to get there. I'm proud of myself for figuring out that by putting a pinch of mousse into my hair, I can prevent fly-aways. I've started counting calories, and keeping an eye on what I eat - the only thing in the past few years that has worked for me in losing weight. Tonight I'm going to a jewelry party - hosted by one of the ladies in my church - where I will spend some money buying myself some jewelry that I like.
I've considered and looked into finding a therapist for my social anxiety, although I'm not going to act on that until after January because of work issues. I've got an appointment with my Ob/Gyn in two weeks, where I'm sure we'll have a serious talk about my medications and some decisions will be made. And I've handled learning that my sister-in-law is pregnant by crying in the shower for 30 minutes before getting a hug from John, and us talking about it, and coming to the realization that God is in control. He saw it fit that my brother and sister-in-law have a baby, and that John and I have to wait a bit longer. I just need to trust His timing. And now I'm ready to be happy for her, and to get excited about becoming an aunt. (John, by the way, is beside himself with excitement!)
I'm forgiving myself for when I make a mistake. For when the house isn't clean, or the laundry isn't done, or dinner isn't cooked. I'm realizing that John and I are in a unique place in our lives - that really no one else near us is in this place we're in. As such, it's okay that I don't have any close friends to spend time with and talk with. That will come later as God wills it.
I'm thankful for God blessing my with my job - this job has opened up so many doors and the possibilities spread before me are astounding.
Yes, this is a self-centered post. This serves more as a reminder to me to focus on the things that are worthwhile; to take care of myself, so that I am better able to take care of others. And to remind myself that it's okay to make mistakes - every day is a chance to do better and start over.
And it's also a bit of a commitment. That I will lose weight - I want to be down to at least 140 pounds by my brother's wedding. That I will take care of myself, and not feel guilty about spending a little bit of time or money on myself. And that I will forgive myself when I don't live up to the expectations I build for myself.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Normal again - and all it took was some caffeine
So, I've been caffeine-free for the past several years - ever since my sophomore year of college, actually.
It started completely by accident. I don't drink coffee or tea, and the only soda's that I liked back then were sprite and root beer. The cafeteria at college didn't offer root beer, so I just drank sprite whenever I got a soda. Without my even realizing it, months passed with no caffeine being injected into my system.
I didn't realize what was going on until my sophomore year. I had a big day, full of tests that I was dreading. But the night before I was completely exhausted, and I went to bed about midnight, with the plan that I would get up early the next morning and get some more study time in. So, 5 AM comes, I drag myself out of bed, go down to the vending machine, and buy a nice 20oz Code Red Mountain Dew.
And drink the whole thing.
By 6:30 AM, when my roommates started stirring, I was so worked up that I couldn't sit still. I tried resting my eyes for a bit, but as soon as I did the world started spinning and I felt like I was falling.
Somehow I made it through my morning classes.
By lunchtime, I was still so jittery I was shaking. I'm surprised that the essay test I had in History was readable!
By 4 PM I'd stopped shaking, but was still super jumpy. Jumpy enough that my co-workers were commenting (and laughing).
I didn't fall asleep that night until 3 AM the next morning.
After all that? I stopped drinking caffeine.
Skip ahead a few years. A few months ago, I started taking this medication that makes me tired. No, tired is too casual a word ... exhausted. We'd take Honey for a walk around the block, and I'd need a nap as soon as we got back. It hasn't been fun.
So I've been slowly adding caffeine back into my diet. A few weeks ago I started drinking a coca-cola everyday - and actually started feeling good again! I could get things done! I wasn't being a lazy bum and laying around the house all day!
Still, drinking that much coke isn't very healthy ... so John and I started discussing options. Coffee is out - although I'd love the energy boost that it would give me, I just cannot stand the taste. As for tea - I'd never found a tea that I liked. I like Chai Tea Lattes, but those aren't much healthier than Cokes!
This past weekend, I bought some Twinings of London Chai Tea bags, and started drinking that tea. I'm not going to say that it's good - but it's drinkable. (John says it's really good tea, though.) I still need to add some cream and sugar to the tea, but I'm hoping over time to wean myself down.
The tea doesn't give me as much of a caffeine energy jolt as the Coke does, but it's more stable. I can drink a cup of tea and get my work done.
I feel normal again. And it's wonderful!
It started completely by accident. I don't drink coffee or tea, and the only soda's that I liked back then were sprite and root beer. The cafeteria at college didn't offer root beer, so I just drank sprite whenever I got a soda. Without my even realizing it, months passed with no caffeine being injected into my system.
I didn't realize what was going on until my sophomore year. I had a big day, full of tests that I was dreading. But the night before I was completely exhausted, and I went to bed about midnight, with the plan that I would get up early the next morning and get some more study time in. So, 5 AM comes, I drag myself out of bed, go down to the vending machine, and buy a nice 20oz Code Red Mountain Dew.
And drink the whole thing.
 |
| Insert "Caffeine" in place of "Red Bull", and that about describes it. |
By 6:30 AM, when my roommates started stirring, I was so worked up that I couldn't sit still. I tried resting my eyes for a bit, but as soon as I did the world started spinning and I felt like I was falling.
Somehow I made it through my morning classes.
By lunchtime, I was still so jittery I was shaking. I'm surprised that the essay test I had in History was readable!
By 4 PM I'd stopped shaking, but was still super jumpy. Jumpy enough that my co-workers were commenting (and laughing).
I didn't fall asleep that night until 3 AM the next morning.
After all that? I stopped drinking caffeine.
Skip ahead a few years. A few months ago, I started taking this medication that makes me tired. No, tired is too casual a word ... exhausted. We'd take Honey for a walk around the block, and I'd need a nap as soon as we got back. It hasn't been fun.
 |
| This has been me. |
So I've been slowly adding caffeine back into my diet. A few weeks ago I started drinking a coca-cola everyday - and actually started feeling good again! I could get things done! I wasn't being a lazy bum and laying around the house all day!
Still, drinking that much coke isn't very healthy ... so John and I started discussing options. Coffee is out - although I'd love the energy boost that it would give me, I just cannot stand the taste. As for tea - I'd never found a tea that I liked. I like Chai Tea Lattes, but those aren't much healthier than Cokes!
This past weekend, I bought some Twinings of London Chai Tea bags, and started drinking that tea. I'm not going to say that it's good - but it's drinkable. (John says it's really good tea, though.) I still need to add some cream and sugar to the tea, but I'm hoping over time to wean myself down.
The tea doesn't give me as much of a caffeine energy jolt as the Coke does, but it's more stable. I can drink a cup of tea and get my work done.
I feel normal again. And it's wonderful!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
In which a frustrating and embarrassing situation all works out in the end - kinda
My sister-in-law does amazing things with coupons. She's constantly giving away stuff that she got free or freakishly inexpensive because she had a coupon.
Me? I can barely drag myself to the store to get food, let alone plan ahead enough to hunt down coupons! I mean, I like saving money, but I just can't build up any enthusiasm about the whole process.
My version of coupon-searching is looking at the Kroger website prior to going shopping, and downloading some coupons onto my card. If I'm feeling majorly ambitious, I'll head over to the Kroger (and maybe Publix) websites and look at their weekly ads.
Just so I'm buying seasonal stuff, of course. After all, can't expect Easter Eggs when they're selling Halloween candy.
Yesterday evening I went to the store with a mission. I had at least $10 worth of coupons, and between that plus what was on sale at Kroger, I was looking forward to spending and saving some money. (That, and we had no food in the house.)
I spent about an hour and a half wandering Kroger, meticulously crossing things off my list, marking things that I'd have to go to Publix to get, and making triple sure that the items I was getting matched the coupons. Finally, exhausted, I headed to the checkout.
The lady rang up my groceries. I reached in my bag ...
to find no wallet. No ID, no credit card, nothing. I did have my checkbook, but without my ID, it would do me no good.
I was so utterly embarrassed.
The checkout lady (a very nice lady named Marie) kindly told me that she'd keep the cart in the cooler for me, so that I could go look for my ID. I thanked her, and left the store, wondering frantically where my wallet was!
Well, it wasn't in the car. And it wasn't at home. John got home about an hour or so later, and we found it in his car, but by that point, it was so late that there was no point in going back to the store.
I almost forgot about it ... until I went looking for a bedtime snack, and remembered why I'd gone to the store in the first place.
The worse thing? I lost all those coupons.
Me? I can barely drag myself to the store to get food, let alone plan ahead enough to hunt down coupons! I mean, I like saving money, but I just can't build up any enthusiasm about the whole process.
My version of coupon-searching is looking at the Kroger website prior to going shopping, and downloading some coupons onto my card. If I'm feeling majorly ambitious, I'll head over to the Kroger (and maybe Publix) websites and look at their weekly ads.
Just so I'm buying seasonal stuff, of course. After all, can't expect Easter Eggs when they're selling Halloween candy.
Yesterday evening I went to the store with a mission. I had at least $10 worth of coupons, and between that plus what was on sale at Kroger, I was looking forward to spending and saving some money. (That, and we had no food in the house.)
I spent about an hour and a half wandering Kroger, meticulously crossing things off my list, marking things that I'd have to go to Publix to get, and making triple sure that the items I was getting matched the coupons. Finally, exhausted, I headed to the checkout.
The lady rang up my groceries. I reached in my bag ...
to find no wallet. No ID, no credit card, nothing. I did have my checkbook, but without my ID, it would do me no good.
I was so utterly embarrassed.
The checkout lady (a very nice lady named Marie) kindly told me that she'd keep the cart in the cooler for me, so that I could go look for my ID. I thanked her, and left the store, wondering frantically where my wallet was!
Well, it wasn't in the car. And it wasn't at home. John got home about an hour or so later, and we found it in his car, but by that point, it was so late that there was no point in going back to the store.
I almost forgot about it ... until I went looking for a bedtime snack, and remembered why I'd gone to the store in the first place.
The worse thing? I lost all those coupons.
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