Dana

Welcome to India!

2012-01-18T06:52:00.001-08:00

"The Crew" at RDU, a photo by johnenzor on Flickr.

We left the US Friday night, Dec 30th at 6 pm. 3 Flights and 27+ hours of traveling, we finally landed in India around 4am their time. Although a few of us got a few hours of sleep on the planes, we were still very exhausted. By the time we landed, all we cared about was sleep and a shower.

Now, from here on out, everything I had ever known was new. Even my ideas of what was weird or crazy was nothing compared to what I was about to experience.

Well, let me back up. Here's a few things you need to know about India before we get too far along:

1 - India is predominately made up of ...what for it...Indians. Yes, shocking I know, but you need to know this to realize how rare it is for these people to see white people. White people are all over their ads, their posters, any TV show, they're all white, or very fair skinned Indians. Saying we stood out was an understatement.

2 - From education or TV, some people speak both English and one (or two) of the many Indian languages. Many of the kids we ran into could say things like "Hi" or "How are you" but not many could speak more than that.

3 - In their culture, it is a sign of respect for them to ask you to sit, and then to wait on you hand and foot. You think that sounds all wonderful, but it is very humbling to be asked to sit in a chair, up on a stage, with 50+ adult, elderly people, or pregnant women, sitting on a dirty concrete floor at your feet, every where you go.

So, with all that laid out, we get off the plane and through customs.

Immediately, you start to notice the thousands of people waiting for family or loved ones, who all start staring at us. They're taking pictures, staring with no self awareness or feeling to turn away when you look at them, and they just stare. If one of them saw you and his friend didn't, he'd nudge him to get him to turn, and immediately you'd have all of them staring at you. In America, if someone was to stare at you like this, when you look at them, they'll turn away. But not in India.

We immediately knew, we are the only white people here!

Part of the organization that our team is partnered with, is a Children's Orphanage in Hyderabad. The main contact from this home for us was a man named Raja. When we landed, he had a few of the boys there from the orphanage and another leader there to great us with beautiful ornate flower leis. These leis, are by far the most fragrant arrangement of flowers I have ever smelled, and they were gorgeous! They were packed with lillies, roses, and fragrant herbs. As we later learned, we would get these everywhere we went, as a sign of honor and respect, but there was nothing like that first deep breath of the first lei, right after you land from being on a hot plane ride for days.

Raja brought one of the leaders with him to greet us. He was such an inspiration! Having been born with 2 clubbed feet, he walked with crutches and grew up in the orphanage. Now an adult, he spent most of his free time pouring his time and love back into the place that fostered him into a very articulate, intelligent young man of God. His sense of humor was uplifting and I enjoyed being around him. He spoke English well, with the exception of some of our more rare or slang phrases, and was a great asset to have when speaking with the children. Currently, he is in college for his Masters in Engineering.

It was surreal to get off the plane and see how incredibly different everything was from where we were just a few hours before. Being in a strange place, with people who didn't fully understand my language was really beginning to set in that this trip would be crazy, fun, challenging, incredible, and surreal.

Welcome to India!!

We're Back!

2012-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! John and I are back from India! I haven't updated this blog in forever, but since only my friends read this, you guys probably already knew we went to India.

I'm going to post a few entries about our trip over the next few days, including photos, lots of stories, and much more.

India was worlds different than here in America, to say the least. I am thankful for so very much now that I'm back, including simple things like clean running water, a toothbrush, and air conditioning. One of my biggest worries was the food and how my body would handle it, and amazingly enough, my body tolerated Indian spiciness pretty well! It wasn't very happy with the plane rides, or airplane food, and it's not adjusting well back to American food, but it will just take a few days to re-balance itself.

I'll be back in a few days to give you some pictures and updates! In the meantime, hug on your families and be thankful for every single thing you do today, because most likely it is a privilege many don't have.

Hard work = Happy??

2011-05-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! And Especially to my hubby, because today is our 4 year anniversary! I'm sure most of you read it on Facebook already, and will probably get sick of hearing about today from the two of us, but seriously, it's a really great time for us!

To understand how incredibly happy I am, you have to understand a little back story.

John and I dated and were engaged for almost 2 years before we were married. And even though we had gone on trips together and had spent a lot of time together, and we took a "pre-marital" class with the most honest and true married couple out there....our first year married was difficult, to put it nicely. Now, I know some people say "oh that's the honeymoon year!" Well, for us, that honeymoon phase lasted until we were back in Raleigh, the day we got back from our actual honeymoon. Short lived, I know.

That first year was tough. And it was tough for both of us. There were times I doubted if I had made the right decision, and times when he thought the same. There were times when baggage each of us had brought to the relationship was overwhelming, and it seemed the easiest thing to do to was not work on the marriage aspect and just be content with living together for a while. But, we got in a newlyweds class, read my favorite book we've read together to date "Men are like Waffles, Women are like Spaghetti" We talked with other newlyweds and amazingly, we all realized the same thing:

We're all going through the same thing!

If you're reading this, and thinking, 'wow, we've never been like that' then you're definitely different. But for us, this first year contained so many things: living together, in a tiny apartment that was way over priced, me working a new and extremely stressful job, John working his "normal" 8-5 stressful job, then getting laid off from said "normal" job, and deciding to start his own business, all thrown on top of the normal first year of figuring out what this "marriage" thing looks like.

Over time, we've learned how to talk to each other, especially in arguments, how to tell the other one they've gotta step it up, without making them feel defeated, that we're really different when we thought we were so much alike, and how to be happy in those differences.

Going into marriage, I knew things weren't going to be Cinderella and a Fairytale, but what I did know was that I wanted to be happy, and however that was to happen I wasn't sure, other than talk and work on it. And that leaves a lot up in the air to "work on" and that just doesn't sound like much fun.

I knew this was going to be hard coming in, but I really didn't know just how hard it was going to be. And I don't mean it's been hard for me to deal with my husband, he's really great! It has been hard, for me to realize that I do a lot of things wrong, and I'm pretty judgmental sometimes, hard-headed and stubborn, whiny..a lot, change my mind frequently, at times hard to understand, and had a massively exploded head in thinking how awesome I was. I had self confidence, and then I had massive ego. Self confidence = good. Ego = bad bad bad.

I realized that my husband reacts differently when I hurt his feelings than I would. And while I know how to handle the way I would have reacted, I didn't know how to handle this man I molded him into, who couldn't see how great he was because I was too busy picking out the negatives and making them huge. I didn't do it on purpose, but it seemed that when we disagreed, I was somehow able to make them a point to be noticed. I realized that much of the things I didn't like about what he did...or didn't do, were reactions to things I had done to him.

How did we get through those things?

We had very very honest, very painful conversations...ones where we were not allowed to dispute the other person's points. He would tell me deep things on how I had hurt him, and I had to sit there and take it, and not bite back. And that was hard to hear. And I sat and I listened, and I listened and I listened. And if you've ever met my husband, you know he doesn't usually talk this much, so I knew it was bad if he had this much to say. Later, I then told him some of the things that had hurt me, things I didn't expect to go how they were going, and how they shattered my idea of what a happy marriage looked like. And he listened, and he didn't bite back.

And at the end, we both were able to see that we needed to do a lot to change.

And today, 4 years after we were married, I can honestly say, that I have never been happier. He is my very best friend, one who challenges me to be a better person, who accepts my faults, and loves me like crazy. He still does things to impress me, and I love it. We talk honestly and openly about our differences and are able to see how they make us mesh together perfectly. I am happy because of the love and the life we have built together.

And if this is only 4 years, I can't wait to see what 10 years, what 25, 40, or maybe even 60 years looks like.

'Cause this is awesome!

Yummo Brownies

2011-04-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

Last night, I got this huge craving for brownies. But, sticking with our goal this month of using what we have in the house, I found this recipe to make brownies from scratch.

I'm not really a baker. I'm more of a dinner cook, or I use those no-bake recipes for desserts. That's just how I roll.

Plus I don't measure anything. I'm usually thinking "a pinch of this, a splash of that" when I cook.

But these brownies were so awesome! Usually our boxed brownies are kinda over cooked on the edges and under cooked in the middle, no matter which pan I bake them in. These brownies were done to perfection! Moist on the inside, perfect top, and no sticking to the pan! Not too sweet, and delicious with light and cocoa-y goodness.

So here's what I did, other than follow the recipe above.

Some Baking 101 tips for anyone who's not a baker (ahem - me):
-Baking requires that you measure, so be sure to use dry measuring cups & spoons for dry, wet measure for wet.
-Mix all the "like" ingredients together first - i.e. - mix all the dry in a bowl together, and mix all the wet in a separate bowl together. After each are mixed well and blended separately, combine the wet into the dry and mix just until combined.
-brownies are better, lighter, and fluffier if you don't over mix them. Once all the ingredients are mixed, put them in the pan.

I think this has become my favorite way to make brownies! The box kind are pretty easy, but this is incredibly easy as well, and comes out tasting so much better! I never would have thought baking brownies was as easy as this...too many recipes call for melted chocolate (which I burn), and we didn't have any real butter (only tub margarine) in the house. Seriously, I'm not a baker. I burn bread very frequently, and have tried over and over to make bread with yeast and only once have I had relatively good results.

Who knows, maybe this has opened up my cooking world into the realm of baking as well! Not sure this should be happening right before ~~summer time~~ Swimsuit Season.....

New Goal

2011-04-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Most of you know we've been on Dave's plan for a while, but recently we've had a set back. John's truck, which was paid off, broke down. And really, by "broke down", I mean Broke. We knew it was nearing the end of it's life with the faint burning of oil and a little bit of a leak, throw in the strange noises, and the hope that it passes inspection every year, all equated to a recipe for disaster. But because it was paid off, and not worth too much, and we wanted to wait to get a better one until we had a few more things paid off.

Well, thanks to his transmission going out, and in an incapacitating way, we bought him a ~~newer~~ lower mileage truck. But, thanks to selling his old one for parts, and a little extra money we had, we paid a large chunk down in cash to get a lower loan amount. That is something we would have NEVER been able to do before. And even though we went into debt more, it was a necessary thing given that this is how he makes money. No truck = no income. Plain and simple.

So with that, our debt snowball, has turned itself over into a new payment, and is no longer there to add to the minimums. This is pretty depressing for me. It's like we worked our butts off to get stuff paid off, only to end up with payments once again.

But, I have felt convicted lately in our budget. I look on Dave's forums, and there are people who post their full budget out there online for the whole world to see. I'm a little conflicted about doing that step; it does allow others to be challenged by your budget, it challenges you to allow yourself to be open to scrutiny, and allows you to make changes that can affect your future. But that info is very personal, and given that some people don't live in a large city, where a house our size would be under half of what it costs here, where expenses are extremely low compared to ours, sometimes it's not an accurate comparison.

And, I digress. My apologies....off the rabbit trail, and onto the main point.

I noticed on some of these budgets, people's food budget was less than half of ours! HALF! And I use coupons and save a ton of money, and I think we rarely eat out. So I started thinking.

What if, for one month, I cut our food budget down to only buying the weekly must haves (like bread and milk, things that go bad quickly, etc), and eat from our pantry and freezer? We have more than enough food thanks to coupons, and sales, and the fact that my parents live on a farm and bring us fresh beef and deer. Our pantry has tons of food in there, so much to where we have no space for more.

So my goal this month, is to severely cut our food budget, and focus on being better at planning our meals out ahead of time.

My hope is that 1- we can save a lot of money in a short amount of time, 2- We can free up some space in our freezer and pantry 3- we're being more conscious about what we buy 4-We are challenged to look at our budget with a fresh pair of eyes.

I'll let ya know how it goes. I'm expecting great results!

Great Deal at CVS

2011-02-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

Any of you who are on the coupon wagon, know how exciting it is to walk out paying nothing, or close to nothing, and who doesn't love free stuff? So here's what I did today:

Bought:
(4) Dove Deodorants @ $3.49 each
(1) Dove HairSpray @ $3.00 each
(1) CVS Q-tips @3.49

Coupons used:
(2) $2/1 Dove Deodorant
(1) $1.50/2 Dove Deodorants
(1) $1.00 off Dove Hair product
$4 off $20 purchase
$10 ECB from previous purchase

Total Due before tax: $0.00 !! FREE

And I got $5.00 ECB back for a future purchase. So, I made $5.00 today from CVS.

On another encouraging note, the girl at checkout was new, today was her first day, and she said "Wow. I am so motivated by you! You're like those coupon women on TV!"

I felt so good from her sweet words of encouragement, but I forced myself to not think of the hoarder-couponers and only think of how much money I saved.

6 Easy Money Saving Tips

2011-01-25T08:28:00.000-08:00

In the last post, I mentioned a little bit about our goal of paying debts off. Along with that, comes with a few easy to-do money savers I thought I'd share with you, my ~~few~~ lucky readers. :)

1 - Pay your bills on time. This may seem like a "Duh" thing to do, and one many of us do quite frequently, but giving the credit card company one more reason to take $10 from your pocket is not a good way to save money. It helps your credit score, and gives you better leeway with the company in the future. Don't believe me? Check out #2.

2 - Ask for grievances on fees. Maybe you lost the bill, maybe the due date was a few days shorter than it usually is, but for whatever reason, you paid your bill a little late. If you've been a good customer with the company in the past (see #1), they're more likely to work with you to get that fee either removed, or at least keep it from rearing its ugly head again in the future. After all, they want you to continue to use their company, and the best way of doing that is to honor the relationship they have with their truly great customers.

Many companies have a policy in effect for these type situations. The requirements? Usually it's a history of on-time bill pays, paying at least the minimums if not the full total, and of course, being nice can't hurt. You merely need to call the company of choice, explain that you received your statement and noticed the late payment, and would like to see what you can do to get it removed. Make sure you have your pay history handy in case they need verification, and remember, the customer service rep is at the mercy of the company's policy, so be nice to them - don't shoot the messenger.

The first time my husband witnessed this, he laughed about how easy this was. Then he thought back to all those times he opened the bill to see the late fee and would be bitter about paying them their $10.00.

One key note - Do not make it a habit to pay your bills late and then ask for forgiveness. Most companies have a policy they can only remove the fee once within a certain time frame, usually 6 months to a year, but it can be even longer. It is a courtesy they extend to their customers who they see do not make a habit out of this, so don't expect them to break rules, no matter how angry you get.

3 - Ask about promotions and offers for your area. Companies frequently offer special rates to new customers, select areas, or certain plans of service. If any of those are available for your area, ask about how you can take advantage of those offers. Remember from item #2, they want to keep your business, not lose it. If they see you're looking for better rates, they're likely to offer you a discount to keep you there with them.

4 - Ask about lowering your interest rate. Believe it or not, there are policies that exist within credit card companies where you can work out a deal to lower your interest rate. Sometimes it's as easy as asking a question, and sometimes it requires a little deal making on your part. Are you willing to increase your minimum monthly payment by $15.00 if it means you're going from a 25% interest rate to a 8%? You better believe I'm making that deal. If you're on the "Dave Plan" you're probably working on your debt snowball as well, so think about when exactly you need to call those companies. Majority of time, they'll want to get the deal in effect the same day, so if you're not going to be able to make a higher payment for 2 months, hold off and pay off that lower total on the other debts before starting your negotiating.

5 - Don't let your credit cards go over the maximum limit. If you've not paid close attention to #1, or #2, and #4 hasn't seemed to help your interest rate, you may find yourself closer to this than you might think. Those late fees, coupled with the high interest, and the minimum requirement payments could have have you owing much more than you ever spent with them in the first place. Some of these over the limit fees can be close to your minimum monthly payment, making it nearly impossible to pay them off. This may seem like a kick back to #4, but call the company and see what you can do to get a deal that both parties are happy with.

When you are ready for negotiations, have all your payment history handy. Remember they want to get paid their money due, and you want to stop paying them. If they think they're never going to get all their money due, they'll likely work with you to reach a common ground. The basics of credit cards? They want your money, and as much of it as they can get. Their point of charging you over the limit and late fees is to persuade you to pay them more as soon as possible. If that tactic doesn't work and they see over months fees and no increase in your rate of return, they start getting ugly. They'll probably start calling you 3, 4, 5 times a day to harass you into giving them money. It might mean taking money from other budgeted areas, like food or mortgage, but do they care?

6 - When you can, pay off the total on credit card statements. Credit Card companies thrive off interest. They know that people are willing to hang thousands of dollars of debt over their heads every month, owing the company sometimes close to 30% interest can be daunting to anyone, and seem like a never ending mountain to climb. When you can, pay those cards off, and do a victory dance. You'll owe them less money over the long haul, and no longer be enslaved to their high interest evil.

The other benefit of paying off your total? It increases your maximum limit. Now, I'm not recommending you go back in debt with them, but that higher limit means a higher revolving credit on your credit report, which will increase your credit score and save you money on big purchases, like a house. A higher credit score, and you're more likely to get a better interest rate on a mortgage. Ever look at an amortization schedule on a mortgage? That low interest rate can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the typical 30 year fixed rate mortgage.

So no point in hiring a debt relief counselor, when you can do all the work yourself, with just a few calls and knowing your payment history. Put these in effect with your carefully crafted budget, and you'll see a significant difference in no time.

What do you think? Do you have tips not mentioned here? I'd love to hear them, and I'm sure others would love to save money thanks to you as well.

Do unto your kid?

2011-01-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

This might a bit of venting, so this is your fair warning, However - I do think it is something everyone should think about.

Since John and I have been together (5 1/2 yrs counting dating) we have openly discussed everything - money, politics, beliefs, love, hate, sex, etc. As a result of these very open, very honest, and judgement free conversations, we have learned to trust each other to handle more mature situations, and have grown to rely on each other for things that we otherwise would not have been able to do.

One of those things is our finances. In the beginning, one of us never spent anything, and the other lived on credit cards. At various times, one has been the "bread winner" while the other was paid less. Now, over the course of time, we have made what we feel are monumental leaps in this area.

I'll spare you all the number details, but we often are asked if we're on the Dave Ramsey Plan. And our answer is always odd: We were on the Dave Ramsey plan before it was Dave Ramsey - it was called the "Scott Shackleton Pay off Sh*t Plan." Which is essentially the same plan as Dave, with a few modifications.

If you're unfamiliar with this plan, I highly encourage you to check it out. However, my point here today is not to glorify us and our ~~spending~~ frugal ways, or Scott (although we love you dearly), or Dave Ramsey (sorry Dave).

Instead, I'd like you to consider something I came across while perusing the Dave Ramsey site today. It comes via this forum in which the mother of a 16 year old High School Student recounts her son's work habits, income, and her choice to keep half of his paycheck.

I could debate with you that while I think this mother has great intentions, she is doing her son harm. And some could say that since he's earning all this money, he should get to spend it. And then some would say he needs to pay the family since he's living under their roof.   All of which, I could understand (although I may not agree with them all).

But here's what I thought:

All these people are on here, because they've had problems in the past with being in debt - yet all I read, post after post, was "Well, when I was a kid ....."

What the Hell people?

Obviously whatever happened when you were a kid didn't teach you good money management skills! So why are you suggesting, and even placing guilt on this woman into doing the same thing to her child?

Why do we do this? Why do we think the best way was the way we were raised, and often shoot down any and all other options as below us? Can we not look at our own past and learn from it, are we really that ignorant?

Didn't Einstein say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?

Then why do we force our actions on our children.   Do you really want them to pay the same price you did for those same mistakes?

Isn't it time we started teaching our children the things we wished we had learned, and stop pushing our mistakes off onto them.

Couponing Burnout

2010-12-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

I follow this blog to do my couponing, which several people have asked me about over the last year or two. And while I love saving money, I have noticed in the couponing community, there is a fallout point, a "burnout" point if you will.

Then, I saw this post where Jenny talks about how to organize your coupons, and gives a finger point to why there is the burnout.

The Massive Coupon Binder.

Every extreme couponer has it, and everyone who is envious of the extreme deals and steals contemplates getting/making one. I fell victim, and I do mean victim - as this thing stole my time, my sanity, my patience, and left me bitter and mad.

It's just a bit too much, as in, way too much.

If you're unfamiliar with this torture device, I'll give you a rundown of the typical binder. Every coupon is classified into a category of usually around 20 categories. Everything from baked goods, to laundry detergent, to hair care to over the counter medicines. In each category, there are several sheets of baseball card protectors.

Every Sunday, the object of the game is to clip all the coupons from the paper, lay them out by category (usually on my floor since there's so many categories), and then proceed to take each pile, and origami them into ~~works of art~~ coupon chaos.

Unless you're Sir Speedy, or magic with tiny bits of paper into even tinier plastic pockets, it takes for-ev-er. For-Ev-Errrr.

I can't tell you how many hours I've spent cutting and cutting to only get tired before I even organize them. Or I've been sitting on my floor looking down so long, both my neck and rear hurt.

So, I've created my own system. It's a organized enough I can find things quickly by category, but I'm not spending 3 hours on a Sunday afternoon folding ridiculous bits of paper.

I still use a binder and those dividers that I spent so much time on, but I put full sized sheet protectors in between each divider. No more origami!!

Some people use this system with an accordion file system, but one of the reasons I didn't like it, was that I couldn't see in there without digging first, and it didn't have enough categories.

I've also stopped clipping every single coupon. I don't care of buying Depends with my coupon will give me $5.00. I dont need them/want them nor do I have space in my 770 sq foot house to store them til I donate them. Those coupons would just sit and expire anyway, making me work even more taking them out later than just tossing them to begin with.

So, if you've experienced this "couponing burnout" but love the deals and hate the binder, I say create your own system that works for you. Just because it works for one person, doesn't mean it will work for you. I don't care if Susie Q. saves $400 a month using this binder and thinks you will too - if you dont have the time it requires and the patience for that folding mess, you're gonna stop couponing altogether soon, and you'll be more frustrated that you spent money and time on that binder to begin with.

Where you a couponer who burned out on the binder? Have you stopped couponing altogether or have you found your saving grace in another system?

Christmas 2010

2010-11-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

Every year, as Christmas approaches I start to dread the end of December. And part of this goes back to my Thanksgiving Post about the things that speak love me. I dread Christmas because it only has an honest and "good" message when you're at church on the 25th, or at the Christmas play you go and see.

Every year, I have a huge problem coming up with ideas for a Christmas list, because I keep being told "They should be things that you want." Well, not a major newsflash to many of you, but I tend to think I'm kind of a minimalist. I like things organized, and I like there to enough of what we need, but none of what we don't. We didn't even pick out a china pattern, because I thought it was useless - the plates we registered for were inexpensive, sturdy, and basic enough I could dress them up if I really wanted to, but great for everyday dining, and I could put them in the dishwasher. It really doesn't take much "things" to make me happy. Now, that's not to say a thoughtful gift here or there doesn't make a huge impact - I can definitely appreciate someone seeing something that is inexpensive, yet says "That's Dana!" to them and picking it up for me. I like that.

However, Christmas has become about lists, and "who-to-buy-for"s and outdoing last year's gift, or picking out the gift that will be remembered the most.

And I'm exhausted by it all.

We've barely made it halfway through November, and I'm already exhausted by the thought of Christmas.

So this year, I'm doing things differently. I'm starting now to think about how I want those things to change, because I really don't want to stand in a long line to buy a gift that I know will either be accepted with that "Oh...thanks." response that I know really means, "Great, another one of these...." or will tossed into the toy ~~bin~~ binS, as I know that child has more toys than we have bills.

Maybe I'll go the handmade route, and make some of my gifts this year. Maybe I'll try the quality time route, as that seems to be something that we have very little of, but we could all use much more. Or the service route, and do something like volunteer to wash and fold a few loads of laundry or treat a family to dinner with no cooking and no cleaning needed on their part.

Do any of these things sound like something you'd like as a gift, and what things speak love to you?

My love cup is running over.

2010-10-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

The weather is turning cooler, and with November about to start I get a little antsy at the thought of my favorite holiday getting close - Thanksgiving. I really do love this Holiday, and the older I get the more I love it. I love sensory stimulations and so many things are triggered in my mind: the small 2 bedroom, 1 bath house my entirely too big family (40+ people) would cram in to fit, laughter, tons of food in a warm house, kids running everywhere, and finally getting to catch up with family I haven't seen in a year. I smell the turkey cooking in the oven, and the front door is constantly swinging with more people coming in, with arm loads of yummy dishes. Hugs and love are passed around freely to anyone standing too close and all the things on everyone's "To-Do" list are set aside with no hindrances on time. I can remember when my Aunts had heads full of dark brown hair, and of ladies being pregnant, new dads overcome with pride from their newest little one being passed around with "Ooo"s and "Ahh"s at every little expression. I can see people hover over the table as we all wait for the blessing to start this wonderful holiday of food. I see my cousins continue to grow as I once remembered them just old enough to start school, and are now about to drive. I soak this holiday in with every ounce of my being.

This, Thanksgiving, is My Holiday. The one celebratory date on the calendar with which I feel the most at peace. It's My Holiday because I feel I connect with it the most. Food is one of the ways I show love. Nothing gives me more joy than to make a huge, 3 day-prep, over the top, delicious meal for family and friends I hold dear. I feel at peace because of the hand made love in each dish, because of the pure intentions of this meal to see family and spend time with them. No gifts, no presents, no rushing to buy the latest gadget or toy or jewelry or something to satisfy someone's wants.

And this year, as with every year, I am more thankful than the last. I am thankful for a warm house, with a loving husband, with a house that has the opportunity to make a difference in our life. I'm thankful for the wonderful job I've worked at for almost a year, that provides us the ability for John to continue making his business a full time job. I am thankful for my parents, for the distance I have come with them, for the strides in our relationship that have taken me years to make. I am thankful for all of my family, for their ability to show love, patience, support, and help when we needed, regardless of how little, or how big, it was.

My Thanksgiving will be a very joyous one again this year, and I can't wait to eat Turkey and sweet potato pie til I can't move, and see my family to hear how this past year has treated them. And my to-do list will only get longer - but for a brief few days, I wont care about the list, and my heart will be full of enough love to last me until next year, when we do it all over again.

A little job history for ya

2010-07-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

One thing you've probably never heard me talk about on here is my job history. You might have heard parts in passing or could pick up on a few from previous posts, but I'm sure you've never heard my history, or heard of the dreaded first day.

I think most people are excited, nervous, and probably a little anxious over their first day at a new job. And rightfully so. The first day brings about many feelings that you're not quite sure how to process. You're starting in a new company, with possibly new expectations from previous positions, along with new people and new interactions and completely new dynamics everywhere.

I personally, would like to skip forward about 3 weeks and start my "first day" then. Somehow, I haven't mastered the hands-of-time in figuring out how to skip the first day and end up at day 15 yet....bummer.

Here's how my days of getting paid for labor have panned out:

1st job: "Kennel Assistant" at a local to home veterinary hospital. Better known job name - "Pooper Scooper". And that's what I did. First day, we had 4 dogs with extreme cases of Parvo Virus, which translates into a LOT of work for me. I hate this virus, and it's so tough for the pups to handle. Seriously, vaccinate your dogs. Because of said extra hard work, I ended up working an hour late on my first day. Everyone else went home...I had to stay to mop floors.
I cried.

2nd Job: "Receptionist" at a veterinary Hospital in Apex. Old green & black screen computer system and I was pretty much thrown right in to sink or swim with no training what-so-ever. Loved my manager, but the Lead Vet was pretty blunt and told me exactly what he thought of my sinking computer skills.
I cried.

3rd Job: "Receptionist/ Vet Tech" at a veterinary Hospital in Holly Springs. Pretty awesome group of people. First day was pretty calm, with more up to date computer technology. Great job, but first day I was suckered into cleaning (again) for someone, and stayed late.
I cried.

4th Job: "Research Technician" at an area facility in which studies were done on animals. This was my first job out of college, and I realized how much my heart was going to be broken right away in this job. But I was desperate for a job, and those student loan payments were piling up. (Side note: studies are not the same as experiments. Studies merely examine routine behaviors and do not harm the subject)
I cried. A lot.

5th Job: "Cytogenetic Technologist" for a genetics company. First day, realized most of my work would be doing something that made me physically ill. I immediately started looking for another job, but never left until 2 1/2 years, and 3 positions later. Extremely stressful job.
I cried on the first day. And at least 2 times every week for the rest of the 2 1/2 years.

6th and most current Job: "Office Manager/ Sales Assistant" for a HVAC and plumbing systems sales company. Love this job. First day was pretty calm, free lunch, and learning the new job. No one to train me but all the systems and programs I use on a daily basis are very common and easy to use. Plus this job uses my given talents of organizing and talking to people.
First day- I didn't cry. But today, almost 8 months after I started, I want to cry. Extremely busy and with tasks in which I don't even know where to start. I had to make myself take a break so that I could de-stress and ~~talk~~ type a little, even if it's to the blog world, in which my existence is barely known.

Seriously, making it past day 1 without crying has been HUGE. I feel like this is a great fit for me and has been the only job in which I didn't cry on the first day.

Anyone else have any signs that their job isn't going as well as planned?

26 Things about me

2010-07-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

In honor of my 26th Birthday yesterday (7/15 for all you late readers), I'll let you in on 26 Things about me that you may or may not have known. Some of these are pretty well known, others not-so-much.

Alright Here we go:
1. I grew up on a farm. Yes we had chickens, cows, horses, and a huge garden (along with many more species of animals).
2. I am addicted to Dr. Pepper. Dear Dr. Pepper Bottling Company right here in Raleigh...I ~~secretly~~ obsessively love you. And I point you out every time I drive by.
3. My hair is naturally wavy/curly. When I was little, it was so straight it would never take a curl. Ever. Never. Ever.
4. During this time of super straight, lifeless, bodiless, hair, I was picked to act and sing in a play, in which I needed to have super curly, Shirley Temple curls.
5. The curls fell out somewhere around scene 3 I'm sure.
6. I also sang this really annoying whiny song and did a little nervous dance while on stage. yep...pretty sure there's a video floating around out there on that.
7. And I'm praying whoever has it lives in a deep dark cave and has never heard of youtube.
8. I was a the proud (at the time) recipient of 2 perms growing up. Average staying time is about 6 weeks...mine lasted 3. Thank you 80's for the bad pictures.
9. My first kiss was at a horse auction. The boy shall remain anonymous.
10. I'm also addicted to Reese's pieces. In college, I ate an entire family sized bag in a matter of minutes while studying.
11. Also note that this then led to the ~~freshman~~ Sophomore 15 20.
12. I'm also addicted to shoes. Lots of shoes.
13. Obviously, I have a problem. Or maybe lots of them.
14. I love love love kids, but I'm super freaked out by giving birth. Thanks birthing Horror stories.
15. I love dancing. Everything from swing, shag, the waltz, salsa, to hip hop, line dances, and the hand jive.
16. My stress reliever is cooking or cleaning. I also clean if I get mad.
17. When John and I were dating, he would occasionally make me really mad so I'd clean their house. But he'd never admit to that. : )
18. My biggest pet peeve is someone blowing their nose at the dinner table. Completely grosses me out, yet you would be surprised by how many people do this.
19. My great grandmother is 98. Her sister recently passed and was 108. We have some long living ladies in our family.
20. We always kid that my Great great aunt's secrets were: Never get married, never have kids, don't drink, and don't smoke. So far, I'm 2 and 2.
21. Singing loudly is part of my daily shower routine. It's were I have the most confidence, and were my feelings for the day come out.
22. I have a terrible driving record. Really terrible. Two of the wrecks were not my fault, however I'm not telling you how many were my fault.
23. I'm a realist. The running joke in our house is that I'm a pessimist and he's an optimist. However, I say I'm a realist, and he's naive. Take your pick.
24. A family friend once said my husband and I are Yen and Yang. I have never agreed more than I do to that statement.
25. My mom was a swimmer, yet I still hold my nose when I jump in the water.
26. I've never been West of Tennessee, or North of Pennsylvania. I plan to do both as soon as possible, whenever that may be.

I had a great Birthday yesterday. Thanks everyone for my birthday wishes! And thanks for reading!

Confession

2010-06-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

We're trying desperately to get things finished on our house, and I'm getting ~~anxious~~ excited about re-organizing and utilizing our space wisely.

However, I need to confess something...

I am a Clutterer.

Yes, horribly so.

I am guilty of reading a magazine and leaving it on the coffee table because it's convenient and sometimes because I want to think that it makes the house feel "lived in" and warm and inviting.

I like my 6-of-the-same-species-plant-because-it-never-dies all over the house. On bookshelves and side tables, in the kitchen and on dressers. Yeah they're only green and add no other color in my house, and yeah they all came from one main plant, and yes, I have killed several of these "never-die" plants. I'm not the greatest with houseplants, so I overreact when a few of them live (now give me a garden and we'll see some veggies!)

And...

I can't believe I'm actually going to tell you this...

I have been known, ....the kick a pair of shoes....under the bed!

And sometimes a shirt!

Oh geez I'm getting chills telling you that.

Secretly, I hate my Clutterer side. Okay, not secretly - it's pretty public. I can't stand the idea that the blank space on the wall has to be covered by something, but in the back of my mind, I'm drawing art on that wall. Asymmetrical, rich warm toned, boxy and swirly art.

And this battle is forever going on.

I'm constantly seeing cheap deals and thinking "How can I change this into a cute and artsy basket", "How can I store everything for my art supplies in here?", "How can I put everything I need daily for cooking out on the counter without it looking cramped?"

And then the Clean Freak side of me screams. "What? You do not need another BASKET!" "Your art supplies? You can store them by stopping the insanity of buying them constantly" "Everything on the counter? Seriously you haven't used that griddle in 6 months!"

I'm sure you can see the internal battle.

So when it comes time for this house to be organized methodically with nifty "ah-ha!" ideas and creativity, you may see this calm exterior....but remember that internally, the Clutterer side is crying, and the Clean Freak side is laughing an evil laugh.

AND to kick it all off - I'm starting a new blog over at Honey Do - It Yourself .

**Disclaimer...I also might be a little crazy...but you know you are too :)**

Busy Week

2010-05-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

This week is a bit of whirlwind.

Monday night, I was a hair model for a friend's styling classes - takes a while, but they give you a glass of wine and you gossip while you wait. Honestly not much different than my usual girl-time.

John turned 31 yesterday! We went to dinner with some friends and had a nice relaxing evening post dinner.

Tonight, I'm going to babysit our nephew while John goes to Homegroup to listen to our friend Nate teach on Abraham and faith. I'm looking forward to hearing what John learns.

Thursday night, we're going to an NC State Baseball game. I love these things and we're making it John's Birthday Celebration with his family since this week is already so packed with so much else. Really looking forward to this, as it's the only NC State Baseball game I've been to in over a year.

Friday is going to be really crazy. We leave outta Raleigh as soon as I get off work and head down to Charlotte for a Silver show. This weekend we'll be there for the All-Star Race which is becoming a yearly tradition of seeing friends from the other half of the state (as well as some from the southern half of the Carolinas). It involves camping, watching races, good food, and a great time with friends. Very exciting! And I don't even get into the races that much. So, Friday evening will consist of setting up the camp site for the race, dinner, load in at The Evening Muse for the Show, rocking out at the show, and ending up back at the camp site for the night - not necessarily in that order.

Sunday we head it back to Raleigh to get started on next week. It should be a bit more calm.

Also thrown in there this week are laundry, cleaning house, making a week's worth of breakfasts, putting in telephone lines in our house, getting a security system, and packing for the weekend.

I've started only packing my schedule with things I love to do. Part of that involves scheduling a small amount of time for the things I don't like to do (laundry, cleaning, filing paper, etc) so that it doesn't become the "thing" to do for the entire night. And because of that, I am absolutely loving this week, despite it's busy-ness.

What priorities have you changed that allow happiness into your life?

Re-motivation

2010-04-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been almost a month with no posts.

This is bad.

Now that we're in our house, we supposedly have more time on our hands. However, in the last few weeks we have been more busy with more social things and family events than we could imagine. This weekend is looking like we might have time to be at home and get some stuff done, so I'll keep you posted on that.

Also, this blog thing needs help. I'm probably going to be changing the address soon and I have some really really great ideas for some stuff that I think ya'll will really like.

Don't worry, I can't cut out that Southern Charm - the ya'lls, and other southern phrases will stay. ;)

This blog will get a major overhaul. I also will need a new name/new catch phrase/new everything for this new blog coming. Send ideas my way if you have them- I'm open to everything.

Plus, I need to know what you guys think of me. Seriously, try to be nice! haha

What things would you come to me to ask me? What things do you think I'm knowledgeable in (obviously not grammar)? Any topic from a to z, I need to know.

Thanks guys and gals! I'm on the way to a more focused - less venting - blog that I think ya'll will really like...and even if you don't like it, I think it will help me to find a niche within myself.

New House, Old Memories.

2010-03-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

We are finally in our house! We moved in on Friday March 5th, and have been unpacking, cleaning, and still working on the house in our spare time.

A few weeks ago, my parents came up to bring us our stove, refrigerator, and a few other things that have been stashed away at their house for the last little while. In there were 3 boxes of "stuff" that had accumulated at their house since I was twelve. Twelve was the first time we moved, and I'm pretty sure my mom was responsible for packing all my things then, which explains why the pile of stuff from the earlier years were pretty slim pickin's.

But from Twelve til College, we didn't move again, and my "stuff" kept piling up. I'm pretty sentimental, so every single thing that had a memory was kept. Letters from my best friend, little trinkets picked up at roadside tourist traps, girl scout badges....everything.

As I'm unpacking all these things from the 3 boxes, I keep wondering what I'm going to find next. And every single thing that comes out is followed by "Ah! John look at this!", or an "Ohmygosh! I forgot about this!", or an "Oh no. Let's put that back."   And every time I found something that I just HAD to show John, he just looked at me with this Oh. great. face. It actually got pretty amusing.

But as I pulled out my yearbooks from Middle and High school, and flipped through the pages of absolutely horrific pictures, I started reading the little notes that friends from long ago had written. And I was swept back.

Back to the years of braces, and big dorky glasses. Back to big curled bangs and over-sized shirts. Back to purple outfits with matching purple socks...and matching purple Keds.

And then I realized, I'm sitting, in the floor, of my tiny first house, with no window treatments, in downtown Raleigh. The best friend that took up an entire page to write in my year books is still my best friend, even hours apart. I hear my husband banging around outside and come back to the reality that I'm married, I'm in my mid-twenties, and we re-built this place with our hands. We have no kids, yet we have dreams of the bedroom I see down the hall being a nursery one day. He gets a call about work, and I blink a few times to think that he runs his own business, that one day we hope will be enough to sustain us both.

I look back at that girl, with the big dorky glasses, braces, and frizzy hair, and think "I wonder if this is where she thought she would be right now?"

And I don't think so. I think her image of the Dana of today would be something like this: she imagined we* would be living on a ranch, with some outrageous number of horses, with some fairytale job which allowed us* to go horse back riding and camping year-around with no one to call boss, and money seemed to grow on trees. I would be a Veterinarian, but one who somehow never had to be on call and was at home on the farm most of the time. I would be married, and maybe a child, maybe not.

Because after all, babies can't go camping and horseback riding.

Are you where you thought you would be?    Definitely, mildly, completely not in the same universe?

*the us and we here is me, both then and now.

Yummy Potatoes

2010-01-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

So for the past 4-ish weeks, we have been gypsies, bouncing around from house to house and staying where we can, eating anything that someone's willing to make for us and occassionally having enough time to cook for ourselves.

And of the blogs that I follow, one is of The Pioneer Woman who just happens to spend her time doing some awesome cooking, and some really awesome pictures of her cooking (among other things).

A few days ago, she posted this recipe of Potatoes Au Gratin and I have been craving them constantly since then. Combine that with my never-ending craving of homemade mac-n-cheese and it's a carb-fest.

Seriously, I might just have to make a huge plate of these potatoes this weekend. Maybe add a little ham or steak just for protein's sake.

Yum.

New Year's Projects

2010-01-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

I never make New Year's resolutions. And it's not that I don't like making goals, it's that I hate the cliche behind the resolutions that no one ever fulfills them.

Typically the things I am inspired to do instead, are projects that I can focus on for a relatively short amount of time. See, I have this little problem with focusing on doing the same thing for too long. Call it ADD, ADHD, or plain old busy; regardless, it needs to be brief.

With a new tiny house I am completely inspired to find new and creative organization for everything we use. And Yes, I mean use, not just the things we save for a rainy day.

That coming from a Hair-product junkie - Yes, it will be difficult. I think I filled an entire large box with my hair products. You would think I had hair fit for commercials with all those products.

And I love to cook, so I have lots of cookbooks, and utensils, and pots and pans. I have pictures and plants and things to which my heart is greatly attached. And these things will find a way into my small 780 sq ft house.

So, I will be organizing in ways you've never seen before! - or maybe you have, but you thought it was not a great option for you. I plan to completely redefine what you think of as organized, and still be so practical and easy to use, that it could possibly inspire you to tackle those little piles, drawers, or even entire closets.

Soon my friends.

With that, I leave you this:

“Organized people are just too lazy to look for things.”

- Bertrand Russell

Snow??

2009-12-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

We're moving Saturday (as seen in previous post) and what have I heard all week but "It's going to Snow This weekend! You might not get to move!"

And just so we're clear: We're moving - rain, sleet, snow, or shine. end-of-story. period. the. end.

According to WRAL's weather team: "'It doesn’t look all that great for a big snow event in the Triangle,' Fishel said."

And then I started thinking about past years here in the oh-so-winterous city of Raleigh that's so nestled within the south that milk and bread are flying off the shelf in a big fat hurry (even though if there were a big snow, your power would be out and your milk would go bad). And there's not much snow in those memories. Last year we finally got enough snow that it impaired travel abilities and it was 6 inches. INCHES people....inches, not feet, we're not getting much this weekend, and you're getting all hyped up about nothing.

How many times have we heard the weather people say "We MIGHT see a chance of flurries" and everyone starts making travel changes? And how many times has anyone actually seen any sign of snow on those days? Not many.

I also love how in WRAL's weather articles, they already have to state to people that major travel arrangements are not planning to be compromised. Like this:

"The airport will not close and airlines will make decisions individually about flight cancellations.

Travelers are urged to contact their airline before heading to RDU."

As in, get over it, we're not getting much here, if any at all.

Seriously, Raleigh is not located in the best place for snow fall. And those people who freak out when the chance of a flurry is mentioned need to pack it on down to Florida where snow is never a question and where their low today is 54.

Personally I love the snow. I act like a kid and want to be out in it making angels and forts and throwing snow balls. But come on people....seriously - canceling flights for the chance of a FLURRY!?!?

*Sorry for the random vent session...I mean, really. *

Calling all Friends

2009-12-14T08:22:00.000-08:00

So in the last month, Our life has been turned upside down, but in a good way.

After finding out that the cat has caused us to be evicted, we started the search for a new place to live. Primarily, that search was for rental apartments and then rental houses.

Then what happened next was a whirlwind.

As I was searching for a rental house through an online search, the settings defaulted back to searching for a house to buy. Okay so just switch it back and get on with the search. But curiosity was definitely getting the best of me, so I start dreaming and looking through the houses. I put in what I think is a reasonable price for a run down, beat up little house, and up pops this little guy:

A little 780 sq ft house in southeast Raleigh, that needs tons of TLC, but has lots and lots of charm.

So, we bought the house, we're starting renovations, and we're moving out of our apartment. However, our house needs a bit (as in a lot) of work before we can move into the house and our apartment lease ends this coming Saturday. So for the next couple of months, we will be moving our stuff into a POD for temporary storage.

Now, we need your help!!

We are moving this Saturday Dec 19th from 8am to noon. The PODs people will come pick up the POD at noon, so we have to move all of our stuff in the POD by then (you can thank Raleigh DOT for the short time frame).

Here's what you'll get out of it:
1. Helping friends when they need it most
2. Getting your work out in for the week to combat that Christmas dinner coming up soon.
3. Spread some Christmas Cheer
4. It's only 4 hrs - you'll still be out in plenty of time for Christmas shopping and cookie baking
5. You get to spend quality time with old and new friends discussing what you think might be in the Enzor's boxes! (Those boxes labeled miscellaneous always perk the curiosity)
6. FREE LUNCH!

Feel free to bring some friends who might be interested. Let me know if you plan to come so I can plan food accordingly.

Thanks for being involved in our lives and for taking part of this journey we have set out on with our new home.

Hand Painting

2009-11-06T05:48:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this blog today : Cool Pics

And there are some really awesome artists there!

A few of my favs are the turtle, the soccer guys, and Guido's eagle.

And I thought painting my nails was tough!

Breathe

2009-11-02T06:24:00.000-08:00

This weekend was probably one of the most calm weekends we've had in a while. Friday night we ran all of our Halloween errands, so that freed up time on Saturday for random home things.

I slept in, cleaned, and did a little laundry on Saturday before we went out to a Halloween Party (more on that to come with photos!) Seriously best Halloween party we've been to in quite a while! :)

Sunday, I got the chance to go to late service so I slept in yet again! Then I got to cuddle little Teagan and do what I do best, get him to sleep. We got to spend some time with the Smiths at lunch, which was a great treat! I get spoiled when I see them in Football season, and with the last few games being away, I went into withdraws.

I went home and watched some movies, and crazy enough...I didn't even take a nap! This is huge! I always take Sunday naps, and I think I caught up enough with two days of sleeping in (coupled with an extra hr from the time change) that I didn't need one. Awesome!

Finally this weekend, I got to breathe.

A big deep breath.

And one that I'm sure will help us in the next few weeks when we're going to be sprinting through life.

Seriously?

2009-10-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

Wow. This week is shaping up to be a train wreck.

For Monday, see my previous blog post about our apartment.

Last night, I came home to John telling me he broke a tooth. We don't have dental insurance. This morning he was going to go to our dentist...but called to find out that they're on vacation until Monday! He called their emergency number, and hopefully she will be calling us back shortly. We love our dentist, and the fact that he might have to find someone else to handle this emergency is terrifying to John.

I wake up this morning with a terrible headache and this gut feeling something is just not right with today.

I feel like screaming. I heard bad things come in 3's. So Seriously? What's about to happen?

I start thinking through what else could go wrong that's just simmering waiting to hit a rolling boil. My oil is due for a change and has been for about a week, that wretched cat is loosing hair again, and John's truck needs inspecting. Which one is going to go first? Any bets? Why don't they all just take a number and hit us back-to-back.

OH! and we're supposed to have date night on Friday. Our last date night...you remember what happened? I guess we're not supposed to have dates.

Some days I wish I could go back to bed and skip out on life for oh, say the next 6 months.

Update on East Street Living

2009-10-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a day for the books.

John came home to find a note on door that said they found out about our cat. Our place has a no pet policy but we've managed to hide her for the last 12 months. In fact, our lease is ending at the end of October, so we were about to re-sign for another year.

However, despite our on time payments, and our adherence to their many and frequent apartment inspections they do at this apartment place, they have decided to adhere strictly to their no pet policy. Thus, we have to put in our 60 day notice (during which our cat will still be staying in our place...go figure)

Anyway, East Street living is coming to a sad and abrupt halt. We are now looking for a new place to live, hopefully still in downtown since that is where John does most of his work.

We spent most of yesterday afternoon driving around to check out the neighborhoods of a few finds. As crazy as it sounds, washer and dryer hook ups seem to be the problem....downtown has a lot of older houses, which unless they have been remodeled, do not have the hookups.

So, in efforts of being cheesy: If you find the hookups, give us the hookup. :)

(P.S. - Yes we knew this policy going in, but when faced with lying about a cat, or not having a place to live, option 1 looks like a clear and great winner)

Condiments

2009-10-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

Today, as I'm eating my sushi lunch, I had a random thought.

If I were a condiment, I would be wasabi!

Think about it...
My favorite color is green.
A little bit goes a long way.
I spice up everything.
I love sushi.
And I'm feisty.

Yeah, I know I have a weird relationship with food.

What would you be, and why?

CVS

2009-09-28T10:06:00.001-07:00

Totally loving my lunch break today! I went on a shopping spree at CVS and spent a whopping $5. I got 4 bags of tide stain release tabs, 1 bounce dryer bar, 1 bottle of tide detergent, 2 Pantene Hair Sprays, body lotion, 1 gillette razor

Here's how:
I did three transactions.
#1: $9.99 - Gillette Fusion Razor (yeah I'm hoping John will use it) ;)
-$4.00 off coupon
-$4 ECB's
Total: 2.76 after taxes
Got: $5 ECB

#2: (2) $4 Pantene Styling products
$7.99 Vaseline Sheer Infusion Body lotion
-$3 off $15 purchase coupon
-$1.50 off vaseline body lotion
-$1 off pantene coupon
-$1 off pantene coupon
-$5 ECB from purchase #1
Total: $5.50
Got: $9 ECB

#3: (4) $4 Tide stain release tabs
Bounce Dryer Bar
(1) Tide Laundry detergent
-$5 off $25 purchase coupon
-(6) $1 off Proctor and Gamble coupons
-$9 ECB from transaction #2
Total: 7.63
Got: $10 ECB, and a $4 coupon

So, I spent $15.89 ($3.41 of which is tax) out of pocket and I have a $10 credit in ECB's for CVS, along with a $4 coupon on more body lotion.

My savings today were $49.92.

Looks like $49 is going into savings today! :)

I'm going back later this week to stock up on a sale they're having on scotch tape. I'm about to buy $15 of tape for FREE, no out of pocket expense, and still have $5 ECB.

Also, on side note...
According to my CVS coupon, as of 9/25, this is what CVS is looking like for me:
Year to date savings: $59.34
Fall 2009 spending: $8.43

I love it. :)

Savings

2009-09-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

As of the past few weeks, I have been on this saving money kick. We've always tried to save money but, not like this.

I found this great little site (thanks Mandy) that has really helped. I had been using coupons before, and had tried to do what this site says, but there were really no places that broke down the sales and prices that this place does. I could find the coupon, or find the in-store sale, but could never match them up. I would always forget the coupon, or forget the complete deal on the sale when I was at the store....add that on top of walking out of the store and never getting what you came in for (of which I am notorious), and you're talking bout saving only a few dollars.

Today, I went to Target, and spent $6.61, and saved $12.11, of which included getting a bag of cat food for $0.99. And I buy sort of expensive cat food (you can see my posts about my cat which explains why). It also included boxes of cereal, and a couple boxes of pop-tarts.

Last week I went to CVS and spent $5 and saved $20.

Before, my goal when I went grocery shopping was to save more than I spent, and it might happen 1/10 times I went shopping. But that happens every time I shop now, so I've had to re-set my goals.

Now what to do with all that money I'm saving....

I'm thinking that I will transfer that "saved" money to our savings account and just watch it grow. My thoughts: I saved $120 last week, and $12 so far this week...

And it's only Monday.

Seriously I feel a little scandalous when I walk out with a whole bag of free stuff!

P.S.- Anyone get a Sunday paper and hate those coupon inserts? Give them to me!

Seasons

2009-09-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...fall.

Signified by the first football game of the season, First Tailgate, and a Thursday night game.

The sound of popping open a can, a sizzling grill, burgers and dogs, and sides galore. The overlying chatter and excitement in the air, as fans gather for tailgating. A few social games, people hanging out and catching up.

I get wrapped up in the smells, the sounds, and the excitement of all of this.

I love Wolfpack Football.

Date night....or not.

2009-08-31T07:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday was one of the longest days of my life.

John and I planned on a date night Saturday night...which it always seems that when we purposely make time for a date, something tries to ruin our plans.

John asked me to come help him with one of his jobs in Chapel Hill, and told me it would take about 3 hrs. So Saturday morning at about 9am we start off the day. We had to make a little detour to drop off his trailer and pick up my father-in-law's trailer to haul some debris from the job site, which all this is in Buies Creek.

10:30am-We get to Chapel Hill and do our work. The work was as expected, around 3 hrs worth, and we head out of there around 1:30.

On our way back, we stop for a few drinks and gas, everything looking like we're going to make it back for a nice dinner, maybe a movie, and I might even get a little cleaning done before we head out for our date.

Boy, was I wrong.

2pm-As we're driving through Pittsboro on 64, the trailer blows a tire. And I mean, this trailer shred the tire, like a 18-wheeler truck tire...the entire tire came apart, tread and all. Seriously worst flat tire I have ever had.

So, we get out, check the tire to try to read what we're supposed to get, measure the bolt spacing, all that necessary stuff, and un-hook the trailer from the truck to go to a store.

Only problem, is Pittsboro is in the sticks. So, no one is open on a Saturday. We call one place and they say they don't even carry trailer tires but that we should call Lowe's, as they are the only place that might possibly have a tire. So we call, they say they have "some" trailer tires, so off we go.

2:30pm-We get to Lowe's and start looking. The tires on the trailer are 14" tires, the only ones Lowe's has is 13" and 15". After much deliberation and finally just a leap of I'm-tired-lets-get-of-here decision making we go with the 13" tires. We also measure the rims here, as Lowe's only sells the entire wheel, with tire and rim and all, and we have to make sure this fits. And back out to the side of the Hwy we go.

3:00pm-We are back on the side of 64, taking off the bum tire, and line up the new tire, and what do you think happens? The rims don't line up properly. We measure again, everything is measuring like this should be perfect. Ok, try again...nope sorry, not going on.

So John gets this seriously genius idea, and gets out his drill and bores out the holes to widen a few of them to help make the bolts fit. Only problem...the battery on the drill dies. Seriously.

We are both getting pretty upset at this point. The rims are now closer to fitting properly..just not quite there to put the lugs on the bolts and keep this tire on.

We start calling John's family to figure out what is the best thing to do, I start calling my dad who used to sell trailers and knows all about this type problem.

My dad tells me "oh aren't trailer companies smart" and tells me that in order to keep the prices of trailers low, the companies buy the cheapest parts sometimes. Which also means that this rim which is "standard" will not fit on our non-standard trailer. This only upsets us more, because now we know that we were doing correctly and measured everything right, nothing should be happening like this.

John starts hammering the bolts to make them fit into the holes.

4:30pm - FINALLY!!! The tire makes it on the trailer. Now, we're missing a lug. Started off with 5, have 4, and one is somehow stripped and wont tighten, so we're really down to 3 working lugs. Not good for a tire that already has had some pressure put on it with the hammering and drilling. We drive half a mile down the road, and after watching the new tire wiggle and wobble, decide to take a lug from the "good" tire (if you can say that) and put it on the new tire side. This seems to help put the tire on tighter and down the road we go.

5:15pm We finally get to my father-in-laws. By this time, date night has turned into a veg night.

John starts to change over his trailer and realizes that since cleaning up the Chapel hill site, now has more tools than fit in his truck and trailer. So what does that mean? It means Now we have to organize his trailer to fit all the stuff in.

Seriously.

So, we organize his trailer. and I remind him that I have a Rx that we need to pick up in Garner, and that CVS closes probably at 9 or 10. It is 8:00 now and date night is completely cancelled, with a promise to reschedule when we are not as stressed and tired.

8:50pm-We make it to CVS to find out that the pharmacy in CVS is closed. and closed at 6pm. Oh we can buy anything in CVS...just not what we rushed over there to get.

9:20pm-We make it home, we're both ticked and tired and completely wishing that this day was over about 8 hrs before.

I'm still exhausted from Saturday. I need a recovery day from the weekend.

There are just a few things that I am glad about on Saturday:

1-I had the genius idea of hooking the trailer up to the truck before changing the tire. Think few/several hundred pounds all balancing on one tire and a jack....could spell serious issues for 64.

2-We put that extra lug on the bad tire side to help with the wobbling. Seriously saw a premonition of the trailer breaking an axel, causing us to end up in the ditch, possibly flipping over, and some serious injuries.

3-As a result of #2-Thank God for watching over us. I just felt this urgent need to pray for us for our safety.

Thank you God, for being there to keep us safe when we were obviously tired, stressed, seriously ticked-off driving an un-safe trailer.

Changing Job Titles

2009-08-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Last night, John puts in one of the two loads of laundry in our *free* dryer, and our dryer stops working.

It already had the problem of not turning off on its own, but that was why we got it for free. Now it doesn't turn the clothes, so not really doing much good just throwing some heat in there on a big pile of wet clothes.

So I'm changing my title from the "Vacuum Repair Lady" to the "Dryer Repair Lady."

I'm thinking the belt is broken, and I have no idea how to fix the timer thing that was originally wrong.

We'll see...

Also, the vacuum is officially broken. The brushes don't even turn now.

Round 2 on the vacuum (Betty) may commence this weekend as well.

Hmm maybe I need to name this dryer too...I'm pretty sure the surgery on it will get pretty intense...it might need a name. Post some name suggestions if you're feeling creative.

Health

2009-08-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have been really thinking about health today. Here are a few things that are running around in my mind, that maybe you care about too.

1-Is this sunburn on my face going to turn into cancer? Went to the beach this weekend, and put on tons of sunscreen. However, got in the ocean and boogied on a little board, ocean tried to drown me a few times, and washed off my sunscreen. Got to talking it up to some of the ladies and forgot to reapply. Hince my wonderful red face which is now peeling. I'm a fair skinned strawberry blonde, and get burnt pretty easily, and pretty often. I want to go to the Dermatologist to get them to look at my skin under that light thing; that looks pretty cool. Let me know if you've done this...because I want to know all about it. Also, tell me if you've been to the dermatologist and if they told you anything helpful.

2-Is taking vitamins going to help me combat this cold/flu bug John has? I forget to take my vitamins until somebody around me gets sick, and then I start popping them like candy to try to prevent.

3-Do I want to try to eat healthier? I probably don't, but would it really help? I hear all about eating healthier and taking better care of your body, but I don't do any of that, and I always get great reports from the doctor. I try to go once a year to keep an eye on my blood sugar, and there is never anything to report. No high cholesterol, no high or low blood pressure, just boring boring results. Don't get me wrong...I love getting boring results, but will eating healthy do me any good? I mean, what is the point of giving up sodas, caffeine, fried foods, and chocolate if it's not going to give me any better results.

So, I am also a little crazy in that I try to answer my own questions. So here is the dialog back to myself.

1- The sunburn probably will turn into cancer. Apply your "Silver dine burn cream" as Emily calls it, and reapply next time. Not much you can do now. Might be nice once I get health insurance to check out a dermatologist though. Could be cool to see my face all lit up with those lights!

2- Take your vitamins...but they're nasty, and I always forget.
SO!! and this is where I am excited!
I bought the gummy vitamins, FOR ADULTS!!
Yeah they make these now! and you know what? They actually taste pretty good! Not the vitachews or whatever they're called that are in that cardboard box and taste like chocolate...but these taste very similar to the fruit chews you find in the snack isle.

3-In light of #2, no I dont want to eat healthier. I think I eat somewhat healthy. Sure I eat out a couple times a week, and I still drink sodas and I drink some mixy-mixy drinks ;)
but I eat small meals often, we usually eat chicken baked or boiled in some fashion (casseroles, enchiladas with veggies, etc), I always cook veggies and love veggies and tons of fruit. I'm not an unhealthy weight and I try to pick out the healthier things on the menu when we eat out.

I think there is a healthy balance to all of it. You want to be precautious, but not so much that you end up being a worry-wart and make yourself (and everyone around you) have anxiety. You want to be mindful of where you currently stand and what could happen if you stray too far on either side of the "normal" line (if there is one), but it should not change how you think of yourself, nor should it impair your emotional state of being.

What do you think about your health? What things are you concerned about and what things do you refuse to give up?

"&#*$ !" did you say?

2009-08-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

My husband's family has a running joke that if their mom curses while cooking, that it's going to be some good food. You'll hear the inevitable "&#*$" !!! from the kitchen and the chorus of "Oh!?! It's gonna be good!"

Somehow, I think when I signed those marriage papers and took on their last name, this curse (haha-corny I know) has affixed itself to me.

I don't mind the good food part, but it's the incident that causes the "&#*$" that bothers me.

I spilled boiling water once, smoked up the kitchen a couple of times...but I seem to always get burned.

Tonight I burned my thumb and index finger turning the oh-so-hot sheet some chicken was on. So, I'm sitting here, typing this little update, with a huge gauze bandage covering my entire thumb and hitting about every key around the space bar.

But dinner sure was good! :)

And the answer is...

2009-07-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

C.

Yay for those votes that went to C. I cleaned out Betty and started her up to start smelling that burning smell again, and after a few minutes, the smell seemed to subside.

I would like to say however, that Betty has seemed to start to emit that burning smell again this week, so I haven't completely fixed her. Maybe there are some training classes I was supposed to take before becoming the "Vacuum Repair Lady." hmmm...

Thanks for all those votes of confidence! Seriously glad no one voted A. :)

Notes of the Unemployed

2009-07-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

Unemployed, I am.(spoken like Yoda)

And I have to say I like it. I get to do all the things I wish I could have done while I worked. Like go to the grocery store, and go to the Library, and run all those wonderful errands that seemed like too much to do after working a long day.

For example, recently, our vacuum has started emitting this burning smell when you start vacuuming and it only gets worse while you vacuum. It's a little frustrating that I just cleaned the apartment, and start the last step (vacuuming) and now it smells horrible again. If you've ever had this problem, you know how bad it smells.

So what did my unemployed self do? Did I decide to throw it out? Did I take it to a repair shop? Did I just give up on vacuuming?

Nooo to all three of those! :) I decided that I am technically savvy enough to fix it on my own! haha! Yes, me the "Vacuum Repair Lady". I love it.

With all of the following happening, I feel I need to name our vacuum...lets call her "Betty." I really felt like a surgeon at times, and doing surgery on a nameless subject seems pretty morbid.

So, I took Betty apart last night after dinner and checked everything that I thought it could be. According to some online reviews, Betty could've had a loose or worn belt, bad brushes, some clogged hoses, or dust on her motor. I checked all of those things and I have to say that I did not find anything that I said "Ah Ha!" about, but Betty was pretty dusty in general and in need of good bath. So I broke her apart (with a hand-held old-fashioned screw driver), all the way down to the electrical wirings in the heart of Betty. On the way out of surgery, I realized I could call on my assistant who happens to own an electric screwdriver. So John pops down to the truck to retrieve my surgical instrument and we get Betty stitched back together in no time.

My Assistant even felt so relieved he went out to Big Boss for a beer with the guys while I finished my last few stitches.

There were a few things that required deep cleaning, like one of the filters that could be washed, but then needed to air dry, so I let Betty recover over night.

Today, I tested Betty out, and what do you think happened?

I will let you guess one of the following multiple choice answers:

A.) Betty did not work at all. "Vacuum Repair Lady" Dana is fired.

B.) I found several screws missing from Betty: vacuuming resulted in several pops and noises not typical of a vacuum.

C.) The smokey burning smell was present at the beginning of vacuuming but went away shortly after Betty was up and running.

D.) No smokey smell emitted from Betty; an estimated $90 for a vacuum repair man was saved due to the "Vacuum Repair Lady."

Vote now, and I will post the answer in the next couple days. Que Jeopardy music.

Recommendations please

2009-06-25T15:04:00.001-07:00

Today, John and I went to the Verizon store to upgrade our plans. 2 years ago, all we needed was calling and texting...but now some things have changed.

John needs a business friendly phone, one that he can email, check the web, text, and do just about anything with. He found a phone he likes, and has all his wants/needs/fun things.

I need a phone that texts, calls people, and the battery doesn't die every day. End of my "needs/wants/fun things."

So, off to Verizon we go, feeling pretty good, mildly worried about how much all these "needs/wants/fun things" is going to cost, but knowing that at least his stuff can be written off for taxes for his business.

Now, for this part of the story, you have to understand that I consider myself a very patient person. BUT- I am a redhead, through and through. We are typically very patient, but once that scale is tipped, it's fury for all those involved...for good. Ask this to John and he'll completely agree, that it takes a lot to really make me mad, but when I am, it's fury. Fiery, mad fury.

On with the story:
We go into the Verizon store, look at a phone or two, and sign in. Up pops my name on the screen that the whole store can see that we are in need of the "sales" department...and we're the only name on the list. So we continue to browse for some phones. John's pretty set on the one he wants, I don't really know what I want...we're clicking through about 15 mins here.

I look up to the screen and see that my name is still there...still the only one there mind you. And continue to browse some more. A few more minutes go by and I glance up to see that my name is now off the list.

Oh Yay! We're about to get this underway.

Waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting...

Okay, maybe not.
At this point, I'm getting pretty agitated. I contemplate re-signing in. Obviously, they didn't help me the first time, so..signing in again might help? I ask John what's going on, he doesn't know but he's trying to look up a different Verizon location on one of the display phones.

I make eye contact with a sales rep across the store behind a counter not helping anyone.

Okay, then we'll wait some more...

Waiting...

Waiting...

Waiting...

Alright John. Enough. I'm mad. Rudely mad. Mad enough that if someone stops me as I'm walking out the door to try their salesman pitch to keep me there, I'm going to be offensive.

Over 45 minutes at that store, and not ONE person came and talked to us.

Not a one.

I have never worked at Verizon, nor any other cellular phone store, but I think the only way to get business is to talk to someone.

So, this is where you come in. Now, we are thinking about changing providers. We've not been super pleased with Verizon overall, and today might have just tipped that scale to highly displeased.

Verizon is pretty much the only carrier I have used.

For my plan, it will cost $45/mo for the lowest minutes, and basic texting.

John's will cost $100, for mid-range minutes (900), internet, texting.

Pros for Verizon:
-Give you money every 2 yrs to apply towards a new phone.
-Already a customer, no more paperwork to fill out.
-Free in network minutes.

Cons for Verizon:
-Expensive
-See no difference than other carriers
-Poor customer service.

So please, Tell me what carrier you have, what you like/dislike about your carrier, and if it's worth switching. I've heard all the "salesmen-eese", I don't want to hear their input. You use it, you know what the downfalls are and the great things about your service; you know which phones are bad, which ones break constantly, and you know which company will be worth it in the long run. So, Tell me all about it!

June

2009-06-23T11:31:00.001-07:00

So I realized that I haven't posted anything at all yet in June, and it's almost over!

In efforts to post..here's why we've been so busy!:
Palmer's 2yr bday party
Joseph from AHC visiting here
No Doubt concert
Dinner with friends with a new baby! (yay Mullises)
Bunko
Surprise Bday Party for Barry
Regan's 1st Bday Party
Weddings
Father's Day/Parent-in-Law's Anniversary/Bro-in-law's Bday (all in one day!)
Franceses B-day Party
Quitting my job
trying to find a new job

This week, I plan to:
Continue searching for new job
Start training new person to take over my current job
See Transformers 2
Visit new Smith baby boy
Do laundry before our trip next week

Next week:
Work Monday...my last day
Pack on Tuesday
Gone to the beach til Sunday evening
John's going to DC for a show on the 4th.

So, June has been busy for us. This of course does not include the weekly Homegroup meetings and helping John w/ his business most nights, and meetings with various people through the week.

People keep asking me how I feel about July and entering it with no job, and I'm really....happy, relieved, and ready for a break. I also feel confident that God will provide for us. He's done it time and time again when we have needed it, and I know that he will again. Also, I'm probably going to be helping John more through the day so that we're not spending every night doing business stuff.

I would like to see my husband occasionally when it has nothing to do with work.

Soon, I will have more interesting things to post. I promise. This is also why I do not twitter...no one wants to know our day-to-day activities, they are obviously very boring.

Also, shameless plug: If you are going to be in DC for the 4th, you should go see Silver play!! They are so excited and would love to see you there!

Experiment #1 on the cat - Part 2

2009-05-19T19:09:00.001-07:00

So I don't know how well you'll be able to see this:

Can you see? That's HAIR!!! She's growing her hair back! Whoo hooo Experiment #1 is a success.

She doesn't really like the fish oil on her food, but she eats it. It's like a kid eating broccolli:

Aria- "Meow!"for food

Enzors- give cat food with stinky fish oil on it

Aria- sniffs food, give glaring look to evil person with fish oil

Enzors-shrug and walk off

4 hours later...

Aria-reluctantly eats food...slowly

Enzors- "Ha!" admit defeat cat!

I'm looking forward to the day that we have guests over who don't gasp in shock of our furless cat.

On another note, her new nickname is "Fur Leese" after Beathoven's Fur Elise. When said kinda sounds like a fake accent saying Fur less! haha :) I'm a nerd...I know.

East Street Living

2009-05-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful, thoughtful, and incredibly nice friend Wendy gave John a GREAT Birthday gift! Okay, so it wasn't really for his birthday, but we hooked it up on his birthday....

A DRYER!!! a FREE dryer at that!! It only has a slight defect, in that it wont turn off unless you manually open the door, but we can deal with that. Plus I have "Mr. Fix-it" so we can figure it out and BAM, a perfect dryer!

Seriously, you have no idea how happy this makes me.

We were using the washer and dryer units here at the apartment complex, that was across the parking lot. Each load costs $2 to complete ($1 to wash/$1 to dry). A roll of quarters only does 5 loads this way, and considering that we wait until we have no clothes to do all of the clothes, it doesn't go very far. The washer is okay, but the dryers are like those you used in college, you have to keep feeding it quarters because one time through never completely dries the load. So now, we will be able to do 10 loads with a roll of quarters, and our water bill will not go up! (which is key when Wake Co. always has water restrictions in the summer)

A washer may be in the workings later, but for now, this is GREAT!!! I LOVE IT!!

P.S. - Never thought I would be this happy about an appliance that will end up making me work. THANKS WENDY!!!

A sad day for the Waffle House

2009-05-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Ms. Betty has passed away.

This is a sad day indeed, when one of our local celebrities is killed in a fatal car crash, because of a drunk driver.

What NC State or Meredith kid didn't know Ms. Betty? She was THE person to see at 3 am when the club/bar closed and you had a bad case of the munchies. What a sad sad day indeed.

It's amazing the things you learn about people when they're gone. I learned that she drove an 80 minute commute, just to work at the Waffle House. When the inevitable homeless person stopped in for some late night dinner, she would buy them their food, or offer them a place to stay. She had 4 children, and 11 grandchildren.

Ms. Betty, you and your wonderful scattered, smothered, and covered hashbrowns will be missed. The Waffle House will never be the same.

Way to go Ru. Co.

2009-05-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

Rutherford County has it's first case of confirmed Swine Flu! NICE.

Considering this is where I'm from, I probably know the person. Had to call my bestfriend from there to congratulate her on the best title the county has ever had. I'm sure all the rednecks there are freaking out. Considering she's a nurse, I'm sure she's getting pretty upset at the locals right now running to the hospital everytime they cough.

Way to go "Small Town Friendly" got another award under the belt!

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-05T06:39:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, was a very busy and emotional Saturday. Two years ago, John and I were married.

Last year, we celebrated by eating a thawed 1 year old cake. We thought about what all had passed in a year, and most of it was trying to learn more about each other. The first year was us trying to learn "how" to be "us". There were a lot of waves, and for me emotionally that year was big. We took a newly wed class that I absolutely loved, and constantly feel like I need to go back to the Waffles and Spaghetti book to re-read my notes. I really love that book, and I constantly think about ways to use what it has taught us to benefit "us".

Today, at the two year mark, I will hardly get to see my husband. I'm a little bummed. I was supposed to go to the gym this morning, but skipped because I wanted to stay a little longer with him. He is sick right now, and I feel bad waking him up to tell him goodbye as I leave for work. Then when I get home tonight around 7, he will be at band practice until later on in the evening. This is a Tuesday night often occurance, and I love to see my husband play, but I wish our anniversary this year was not on a Tuesday. We planned that when he gets home we will try to go out for a drink somewhere, then I have to get home and in bed by 10 so I can wake up for the gym tomorrow (esp since I skipped both Monday and today). So this year, we're going to celebrate our Anniversary on Friday night with a nice quiet dinner and a little time out downtown afterwards.

I'm excited for Friday. Reflecting on this past year, we have done a lot. John got laid off, and consequently, started a new business. We tried to buy a house this year as well, and things did not work out well. We moved from our First apartment together in Cary, and downtown to a new place. We had a low-key New Year's Party at our new apartment. I was in a best friend's wedding, which has led us closer to some friends in the western part of the state. And John's getting busier by the day with the business. Not sure if it's just spring, or if the economy is turning around, but people are calling daily about new projects. One observation, since we moved downtown, I have started to notice our alcohol consumption has definitely increased, probably due to the proximity we are to the bar, and how everyone calls us when they're out for us to come and meet up with them. However, it's probably more accurate to say that the amount at one time has gone down, we just seem to drink more often. haha

So Friday, when we go to dinner, I will soak up every ounce of precious quiet alone time with him. It comes so rarely these days and I need it so much. It seems that lately when it does get quiet, we both end up falling asleep. Usually I'm excited to get to "do" things with John. We went to see the Nutcracker play one year for Christmas and I loved seeing that with him, and while it might be nice to "do" something, I'm just excited to finally get to spend one on one time with him. That is more precious to me this year than "doing" something.

Despite the overcast skies, and small amount of time I got to see him, this day has still started off pretty well: Work is having a Cinco de Mayo party, and my plate is full of yummy goodness; Tuesdays are generally the slower days at work; and my husband told me I look "really good" this morning....nice.

So Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

And Happy Happy Anniversary Hon, I love you, very much!

Trapped in Hell

2009-04-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

I work in Hell.

I'm not exaggerating. I only think I'm alive, when really, I committed some horrible horrible sin, God struck me dead, and put me in hell.

A sin so horrible that I have no one left on the outside to pray for me. That must be the only way out; to have people...friends...family...anyone, praying for me.

Those who leave must have someone left on the outside who still loves them, and prays for them. Their prayers have been answered, they were brought back to life to try to redeem themselves from the awful sin they first committed.

I've been in hell now for 2 years. 2 incredibly long years. So long I no longer enjoy the rise and fall of the sun- the rise means I must go to work, and the fall means I must sleep, to again, go to work. I am incredibly bitter towards those who enjoy the simple things in life, as I have no energy left to be happy.

Others have been in hell longer, some for 15+ years. I think they were terrorists and killed an entire nation.

I can only pray that I left someone, anyone, on the outside to pray for me. Please pray!

Experiment update (quick)

2009-04-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Good news: Aria is calming down. She hasn't been licking as often, which I'm sure will be promising news for the hair (eventually). She's pretty much staying her loving, rub-on-your-leg self, and she's eating her food.

This cat is seriously finicky. She doesn't eat any actual meat, only what is in the form of cat food. No chicken, no fish, no beef, no nothing. If it's wet food, she'll lick off all the liquid flavoring, and then leave the rest for days, refusing to eat it. Needless to say, it's an accomplishment for her to eat her food with this Fish oil on it.

So far, She has not regrown hair. She has however, stopped licking so much. She still licks more often than necessary, but the recurrence has gone way down. She's pretty calm for the most part, and she hasnt gained any noticable weight.

On the negatives, I kinda wanted to see some hair regrowing by now. I guess I was a little anxious considering it's only been 2 1/2 weeks, but this cat is ugly right now. Also, her breath...STINKS! Horrible! She also is pretty timid about eating the food when it has the Fish oil on it, but eventually, she does eat it.

Overall, I'd say we're on a good path here! I will update at 4 weeks with pics and we can all vote on the outcomes! :)

P.S. - I'm starting to work out now, and my energy levels are great! I actually have a little muscle starting to form in my biceps and my butt is looking great!! :)

Experiment #1 on the cat

2009-04-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

This is what my cat looks like right now:

No, I'm not a Beauty School Drop-Out and I didn't try to cut my cat's hair

She started a stress habit of cleaning herself and ended up licking all her furr off of her stomach, sides, and even most of her tail. She is pitiful. I have tried "Kitty Prozac" and she hates me every time I try to give her a pill. I also talked to a friend who can make this into a trans-dermal form, but requires me to pay again for the Rx. Trans-dermal is absolutely wonderful, but I would like get her to stop this without Rx medication.

Right now, she licks all the time. and I mean all the time. If she's not in my lap, she is cleaning herself or eating or drinking. (Freudian complex, yes I know).

And she has started attacking people. She is usually the cat that likes to rub on your leg and follow you around, but lately, she has been acting bipolar and flips to Psycho Kitty and bites your leg.

After hearing from a friend that her cat had the exact same issue (with the furr) and after a recommendation from a vet, started the cat on Fish oil, her cat grew its hair back in a month. I hadn't heard of this as treatment for stress or depression or anything that kitty prozac targets, but I do know Fish oil helps the hair stay shiny and smooth, and can lead to weight gain. While I don't really want my cat to gain more weight, I could see how the Fish oil could help her coat, even if it doesn't grow back.

So, now I'm playing Dr. Dana on my cat, Aria.

Here is how the experiment goes down:

Subject:
Aria (see horrible pics above)

Expectations:
See hair growth in 4-8 weeks (some sites say to expect hair regrowth in 6-8 weeks, combined with my friend's experience, maybe we'll see some results sooner than those expectations)

Controls:
Same Purina One salmon & tuna flavored food for length of experiment,
same amount of food at each feeding,
1 pump of Fish oil supplement each night at dinner onto dry food,
No changes in environment

Data:
Pics of hair growth and monitoring of cleaning habits. (I know this will only be from how often I see her cleaning herself, which is not an easily controlled data source)

Now, what I consider hair re-growth, is for those patches to be fully covered with furr. Some might consider a few hairs to be "re-growth" but this aint "Rogaine for Men" - a few little hairs aint convincing.

I'm excited! I feel like I'm starting AA for nerds: "Hi, I'm Dana, and I'm a nerd..."

What is this world coming to?

2009-03-19T12:21:00.001-07:00

Dare I even say it..??

I found myself pulling for....THEM ....

What have I done? What am I doing?? why do I have them even winning even 1 game in these brackets?

I caught myself cheering and thinking "Go H**ls!"....yes, that word, when used in that context, is a curse.

Seriously, I am ashamed of myself.

Laundry

2009-03-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

We did laundry on Sunday. About 8 loads of it.

I'm tired of looking at clothes...I'm tired of folding clothes...

And I haven't even started ironing the ones that need to be ironed so I can wear them this week.

Only to have to do this all over again, all too soon.

And I feel like we have really cut down on our laundry amount since we have to pay quarters and walk the hamper across the parking lot. We do things like wear our jeans atleast 3 days (unless they are John's work jeans in which they are disgusting and have to be washed), wash delicate things by hand, Hang at least one load on the drying rack to cut down on money for the dryer.

Doing a load a day is not really an option for us. For 1-I dont get home until late, and by the time I even get dinner done, it's almost 9, which is not a great time to be walking around, downtown, in the dark. 2-We tried, we forgot they were in the washer, and they ended up sitting there for an extra day...yuck.

I know some of you have kids, and have to do a lot more laundry than just John and I, so I felt the need to ask:

What things do you do to cut down on the laundry loads?

Tattoos and permanent body marks

2009-02-25T08:34:00.000-08:00

When John and I met, one of the first things that came up was his tattoos. I noticed one on his shoulder, and it lead to a discussion about whether I had any, if I was offended by them, etc. Obviously, I married him, I'm not offended by them, but I don't have any myself.

From time to time, this discussion comes up from other people and they always ask if I will ever get any.

I think this answer is a two part one, which roots itself into a deeper me, that not many people other than my husband know. All of you probably know that I have a birthmark, of a pretty decent size, on my arm. Everyone can see it, it's not in a place that's easy to hide, especially during the summer. The one good thing about tattoos is that you get to choose what it looks like, and where it goes.
I already have my own sort of tattoo. So, I think one reason people get tattoos is for the fascination of putting a permanent mark on your body.

So now into the deeper me. (breathe..1..2...3...) When I was growing up, people always stared at my birthmark. I could go into a store and actually watch people glance at my face, and then directly to my arm and walk past me, staring the whole time at my arm. I tried out for various teams and roles where I would be looked at, and got turned down for various reasons, but none that made sense. People have been afraid to touch my arm, afraid that it will "hurt" or that they'll get something from a birthmark. Countless times people have said "OH My God! You hurt your arm!!" and continue to point and shout. Even in my wedding pictures, I made a point to tell our photographer (go Amy for putting up with my craziness) to try not to get my birthmark in our photos.

It has affected my self-esteem to a point where few can understand. Most people say they hardly even notice it after they've known me for a while. But if you would've been on the beach with me in college, people didn't stare at me for being the skinny girl in the bikini, they would stare at my arm and think "what happened?" People notice.

When I was a teenager, my mom and I went to a surgeon and talked about options to remove my birthmark. Besides being a huge ugly, hairy thing on my arm, it is also a health issue with cancer. Due to the size and how deep the birthmark goes into my skin, they can not do laser treatment to remove it. I would have to have a large amount of skin graphed onto my arm, or go through a series of surgeries that would take up to 2 years to complete. Obviously, we decided to not go through with it and left the birthmark.

So how does all this relate to tattoos you might ask. Honestly, I don't see a fascination with them, at all. I'm not against them, and I think they're cool if you choose something that you wish to represent the rest of your life, but I've never felt like I want to get inked to remember those times. I still think my husband looks great, it doesnt change because he has tattoos, and because they're an expression of him, I find them pretty hot.

But for me, I've already had people stare at me all my life, I don't think a tattoo will help.

Because of my birthmark, and all the implications, all the under-the-breath comments, all of the things I've tried out for but wasn't chosen because the uniform of choice would be short sleeved (or sleeveless), I am very weary as to what I protray. I choose things importantly and very well thoughtout. When my husband says he wants to get sleeved out, I'm the voice of reason(or the party-pooper) who says that he will one day be judged very harshly for chosing those actions. I also think that if you don't want people to notice it about you, then take a proactive step to either cover it up, or not get it at all.

One day, I might get a tattoo, but I think it will be a huge hurdle for me to conquer emotionally.

Positives

2009-02-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

One of my new year's goals is to be more positive. It's not that I feel like I'm always negative, but I feel like it's easier sometimes to be negative when it's all around you.

Today, Is a GREAT day! And here are all the positives:

1. Our friend Adam, who got laid off a few months back, started a new job today!

2. John found out that one of his projects is actually going to get started soon, so we'll be getting paid very soon!

3. John finished up some much needed work on the existing Oakwood houses and will be getting paid very soon from that.

4. I started working out last night, and I feel the burn today.

5. I finally got the 2 huge stacks of patient charts cleared off my desk today (at work) that have been sitting there for months.

6. There are some promising doors opening for John's Band.

7. After over a hundred dollars at the vet, I have finally isolated the problem with our cat to a behavioral problem. (The problem itself is bad, but now I know what it is...that's the positive.)

Today was a very good day. And it's not even over yet! :)

Stimulus package and homes

2009-02-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

I was reading a friends blog talking about the stimulus package from Obama.

One question Traci posed:
"Do you have thoughts on what WE can do? and/or what the GOVT should do?"

And I started thinking about what I would do if they gave us money...again. And what I would expect other people to do.

First, I think there is enough division in our social class right now that most people can tell a more definite distinction than before our economy got flushed between who is upper, middle, and lower class.

Second, we're going to spend the money we're given in the same way we did the first stimulus package, or probably even more "cautious" than we did the first. We saved ours the first time. But since then, John has lost his job, we changed apartments, winter came and for anyone who knows construction and electrician work, that means business has been slow for us. So we're definitely going to be more frugal. We're going to pay our light bill, or the car payment, or rent. Some where all of our money is already going.

Third, the only way I'm spending money on shopping is if I get a mall gift card as my stimulus package. Ya know the ones, where you can only spend that money in that particular mall. And even then, I would be thinking about how much more I would rather be spending that money at the grocery store, or paying off my car, or paying my student loans.

So in response to the question posed at the beginning: I heard someone say the other day that if we have money to spend, we should spend it. We should pay for our roof to be fixed, or we should buy that TV we've been wanting, etc, because it means that someone is being employed by that money.

John and I have wanted to be done with renting for so long. No one knows just how badly we would love to buy a house right now. The market is a "buyers market"...but no one has money to buy a house. With him starting his own business, I don't see that dream of us buying a house happening for a very, very long time. I'm not talking later in the year, or even next year. I mean not for at least 3 or 4 years. This to me is extremely depressing. I am so tired of throwing money away renting.

If I could spend my stimulus package buying a home, I would. Government, Please give me a $100,000 stimulus package so I can buy a home.

Power and Change

2009-01-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

Today I was reading in the N&O an article on Obama and abortion.

I'd like to tell you first...I am not going to debate abortion with you through a blog. If you would like to hear what I have to say, then we can talk in person.

I felt like blogging about this because with this election, and all of the historic meaning it has, it has brought a lot of press. And with that press, a lot of expectations. So, to win this election, Obama has promised change, and he has not been quiet about making that promise. But now, I think he's realizing how much power he does, and does not have to make change happen.

Just like every other president before him, he will try to take into effect the things that he thinks needs to be fixed. He may fail, he may triumph, but while he has only been our president for only a week, I think he is truly realizing just how much of an impact his choice makes on the American person.

If you read through the article, you'll find where it talks about Obama might reverse a rule that was recently put into effect "that allows medical personnel to withhold service or treatment they deem a violation of conscience." But then goes on to talk about how this rule is considered a standing point for Catholics, in particular Catholic Hospitals. The treatment or service being pinpointed is obviously abortion.

But just how much can our new president change our rules about abortion rights, without there being a consequence of healthcare, and hospital care?

I think it's something we should all think about. Sometimes, it's not just the issue at hand, but all that the issue affects, that we should really consider. Whether you're proabortion, pro-choice, pro-life, or if you choose the path least controversial, you should think about things like this. No matter how much power you might have or might not have, your actions and your beliefs will affect more than just you.

Enter: Ditsy Girl

2009-01-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

Last night, I was watching a show, and they gave the viewers a glimpse of info they're not really supposed to know. Everyone has experienced it. You know, that glimpse of the killer on the other side of the door, and...Oh no, Ditsy Girl (that being her credit name) opens the door to find the killer waiting on her.

I always talk "at" the TV in these instances. I say things like "NO NO NO Ditsy Girl! Don't open that door! He's RIGHT THERE!!!" and things like "WHAT!?!? Are You kidding me!?!??? Don't you SEE him??"

It was at this instant, that I had an epiphany. It's funny that God is that "knowing" viewer in our lives. I could only help but laugh thinking he's saying to me "NO NO NO Dana! Don't open THAT door! There is a better way!" and "WHAT!?!? Don't you SEE me!?? I'm right HERE! "

Sometimes we make mistakes, and we look back and wonder what in the world we were thinking.

Sometimes, we play the part of the Ditsy Girl, and never really think we made a mistake, and go on about our merry way, oblivious to the dangers ahead.

I've played both parts, as I'm sure most people have. And sometimes, although it be very strange, I play them both at the same time. I look back and think, "What was I doing?" and yet, I still am doing those same type things, oblivious to the danger. It's like I wasn't murdered in quite the right Horrific way the first time, that I feel I need to go back and try it again, this time RUNNING to the killer on the other side of the door.

One of my obsessions: Teeth

2009-01-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

I really love going to the Dentist. Or I should say I love going to My Dentist. This is how I feel after I leave my appointment this morning:

I love the scraping sound as they're getting off all that plague that the toothbrush just can't get, and I really really love the polish. I like the squeaky clean feeling of your mouth when you leave.

I guess this weird obsession came when I had braces. I'm guessing maybe one of the two readers I have would know what I'm talking about. Every month or so, you go back to get the wires tightened, and they clean your teeth. You get the colors changed, and they clean your teeth. You go in for a check-up, where they do absolutely nothing... but... clean your teeth. And every time, I loved it. I got used to all the different gadgets sounds and weird functions, to where it doesn't bother me. (Getting cavities filled is a whole different story! I hate that drill!!)

And now, years later, I can tell when the hygienist does a poor job (as in my last dentist) and breezes through and hardly scrapes anything. Some might find that a joy, that they are in and out and maybe "no report is a good report" but not me. If you're cleaning for less than 15 mins, you're doing a poor job, and you're probably missing something big.

I only had 2 bad reports today, both of which I already knew. I grind my teeth, and I brush too hard. I think I like that scrape your teeth off feeling of those metal tools too much, and the toothbrush is a poor substitute. I brush with a vengeance, in all directions, until I "feel" like they're clean. "Feel" meaning that they never feel that dentist clean, but I sure try with the toothbrush, and pretty much wear out every toothbrush within 2 months. The grinding teeth thing is pretty much giving me flat, herbivorous dinosaur teeth.

John and I bought these Crest electric toothbrushes once, and they're supposed to be better for your teeth in that they do all the work for you, you just move it around your mouth. Supposedly, these $5 brushes get into spaces that the "normal" plain Jane non-motorized, $2.00 brush can not. John's lasted 6 months (like it's supposed to), and mine lasted only 2 months because I pushed on the brush too hard, constantly. I never felt like it was cleaning good enough.

So, here's what my teeth will probably look like when I'm older, says my hygienist:

How do you know it's Christmas?

2008-12-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

I heard this on the radio this morning, and it really provoked my thoughts.

How do you know it's Christmas? What has to happen, who do you see, etc, that really says to you "It's Christmas!"

For me, I have to see "How the Grinch stole Christmas", the cartoon version. I saw the Jim Carrey version early in December, and it wasn't quite the same. I remember watching this every year, and knowing parts by heart. The rhyme and song never grow old to me.

So I wondered, what has to happen for others to know that it is Christmas?

Update on East St. living

2008-12-15T10:48:00.001-08:00

So this is going to require a little pre-story, to the story...

There is a couple who live above us, who evidently have a baby (~1 year old) who cries a cry that would curdle your blood. This kid knows how to cry. This is a "wake-you-from-dead-asleep-not-even-my-baby" cry. We hear this kid crying at all odd hours; when we wake up, when we're asleep (hence the title of the cry), when we're chillin watching TV, when we're lounging around the house on a Saturday....any time. And every time, It's an added birth control. I feel for these parents. I truly feel so sorry for them, and I've never even met them, probably because they spend every minute she's not crying to catch a little shut-eye. And I never know what she's crying about, I never hear anything that would should suspicious or make me think she has a reason to cry....but I think she hates nap time,...or she just likes to drive her parents crazy. (both are reasons legit)

So, onto the main reason for the blogging:

SHE FINALLY LAUGHED!! YAY!!! Friday night, as I was lying down and feeling like I was going to die from this constant cold bug, I heard the trampling of little girls feet following by that scream that says "I-wanna-scream-even-though-I'm-not-scared". Here is the narrative as heard from the floor below them:

Father-like voice: "Rooarrrr!!"
Little girls: run and scream and giggle uncontrollably.

Repeat above steps for 20 mins.

Mother-like voice: repremanding the father and unable to make out what exactly was said.
Father-like voice: "I'm Sorry....." continues on in incomprehensable words I cannot make-out.

5 quiet mins later:

Father-like voice: "Rooarrr!!"
Little girls: run and scream and giggle uncontrollably.

This was so much fun, I really wanted to be a fly on the wall in their house. I sat and listened for what seemed like forever until I finally fell asleep (to the help of some Nyquil)

That night, the little girl did not cry.

It is time

2008-11-24T07:19:00.001-08:00

It is time ...for me to let this out.

Most people would never guess this about me, but I have a problem making friends. I'm not talking about acquaintances, hanging out with people, eating dinner with people who know a few things about me. I'm talking about serious, close, heart-to-heart friends. I'm outgoing, and always try to make people feel welcome, but seldom does that lead to a very close, can talk about anything type friendship.

Some would probably say this certainly is not true, that I'm friends with them, but I would argue and say that they don't know anything about me, except they know who I'm married to, or that I went to State, or that I have about 30 "sisters" from my sorority in college. All of which you could figure out with Facebook. Yeah, I have a lot of "Facebook friends."

I have a serious problem with making close friends. And recently (as in the past 5 years) it seems that every time I'm on the verge of making a really close friend, they move. I have one friend who has been there for 12 years. Through thick and thin, little and big, boyfriend after horrible boyfriend until I found my husband. And she lives 4 hrs away, so even talking to her, a single mother with too little time on her hands, is difficult.

Too many times, have friends who I thought were really close, turn out to burn me. One who stole my boyfriend (who I thought I was going to marry) in High school, one who tried to steal my husband when we were engaged, those who think they're making jokes at the expense of people's feelings. Not even my "sisters" in college are that close me, spare one.

And now that I'm married, making friends seems to be even harder, even though I thought it might be easier. Making friends with married women seems to start off easy, because there is someone to keep my other half occupied. But usually sometime shortly after the 10 min "How have you been" conversation, it turns to "Oh I never did THAT" and there I go, putting up the wall and the acquaintance bandit strikes again. Single women seem to always say "Oh but you don't know about that, you're married" like that's the fix-all to every problem. Hate to tell ya, but marriage is just as hard as being single.

Why is it that every time I start to make really close, stick-by-you friends, they move away. Maybe I should just pack up and follow those really close friends. I'll move to Winston-Salem, or to Ohio, although I have a feeling that psychologists would say I'm "running from my problems." And that might be, but it sure would help ease the pain.

Sometimes, I think it would be amusing to list all my emotional problems to a psychologist. The problems would be too long to list in one 1-hr session I'm sure. I could probably keep one employed for a long time, just off my visits. But, I'm sure it would hurt to bring up all the dirt, the baggage, the things I choose to forget, and hopefully never remember; the things no one knows, save my husband and 12-year friend from home.

So, sorry if you came to my blog to get your dose of humor, because it's Monday, and because I'm a person of extremes. It might just be that it's Thanksgiving and I'm thankful that most of these bad situations have come and gone, but it also brings up that I still am dealing with issues that I keep tucked deep deep in the back of my mind. A place no one wants to go.

Let there be HEAT!

2008-11-20T07:39:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday night, we finally turned our heat on. You're thinking "Wasn't Tuesday the day that we had snow flurries??" Yes. It was. That is the defining day that we finally decided that hoodies, layered clothing, and socks were no longer cuttin' it. Half way through November is when we decided to turn on our heat.

I never really noticed just how cold my feet got without heat, until I went to sleep and the sheets around my feet started to freeze. Or John's leg would brush up against my foot and He would immediately gasp at the frigidness. I started taking extra long showers, because stepping out of a hot shower is a thousand times worse when you have no heat.

I've slept the past nights with socks on, and since turning on the heat, I pull off my socks in the middle of the night. Honestly, I never even remember this at all. I wake up, and there are my socks, right beside the alarm clock.

Now, our thermostat is set at 66 degrees. This makes the 72 degree "normal" feel like a sauna.

Glorious wonderful heat. How I missed you. I am so glad you are back in my life!

Sweet Dreams little man

2008-10-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Little Nephew Brayden,

I am your new aunt! I'm here to help coach you through life when you get frustrated at your parents, or just don't want to talk to them (probably when you're a teenager). I plan to be the crazy/cool aunt who lets you eat candy and run around in the puddles outside (shh...we won't tell your Mom and Dad.) I plan to spoil you rotten, and not just a little rotten...a lot...like a week old rotten!

Now this life has a lot to learn. First off, you gotta stop falling asleep when I hold you....you're giving me a bad rap as the "cool" aunt. Second off, just because you have more hair than your Uncle John right now, doesn't mean you can just start off picking on him, although I think he's a push-over for you.

There is so much we can't wait to do with you, and it will all come with time. Just grow, be healthy, and have fun being a little boy. The rest of the world can wait, there's plenty of time to be a responsible adult when you're old (ya know, like 30). So go back to sleep now, and when you come home with Mommy from the hospital, we'll get started on all those fun things in life.

I love you my little man. Sweet dreams.

Aunt Dana

Hip Hip Hooray!

2008-10-10T14:06:00.001-07:00

John and I got our new apartment!!

We found out today that all the paperwork was approved and we go next week to sign the lease! This is such a HUGE stress reliever for us. Honestly, I never knew what it was like to not know where our things and we where we might be in a few weeks. So this was a huge step of faith and trust that we took, and God brought us through.

We never really felt like we were going to be homeless, but there was definitely a time where we did not know where the cats might end up. Thanks to all of our friends for offering up your spare rooms for us to stay. Fortunately (and I mean that for you!) we won't be needing it.

About a year ago, we would have liked to have been buying a house at this time, but circumstances did not allow that to happen. It really has been a roller-coaster the last few months, and I have a better understanding of how things like this happen to the average person, even when they're working.

The apartment we're moving into is downtown, 2 bed/2 bath. Newer place with bigger space. We'll post pics when we move in.

Since John and I are looking to be Uncle and Aunt in about a week to a week and a half, we will be planning to move towards the end of this month, around the 24th/25th. This is my ploy to drag you down with us to help us move. There will be boxes and furniture for those looking for a good workout. I know some of you have been trying to work out more and burn some calories, and what a GREAT way to do that and help out your friends!

See you then! :)

Scary Apartment!

2008-10-08T07:16:00.001-07:00

Here's a replay of last night:

Me: I'm reading my new Nicolas Sparks autographed book.
Bandit: is playing around messing with the door, and some Marshmallow roaster sticks for campfires we had out next to the door.
John: is in the bedroom watching sports.

I ignore bandit as he continues to play, I keep reading.
A few minutes go by, Bandit is still playing, I keep reading.
Finally, I look over and see Bandit batting at the sticks. He keeps batting, batting, bites at the sticks, batting, batting, bites.... (you can see the action I bet.)

As he bites, I notice that whatever he biting at is ON the sticks....and it just moved....IT MOVED!

So I get up thinking, "What is THAT??"

I look at the sticks, and it's a snake! A SNAKE, in our apartment!

I scream.

Of course, I scream. "JOHN!!! SNAKE!!!!!"

My re-enactment is one that is justified only in person, but none-the-less, I will describe what happens next.

John: Swings open bedroom door. Runs out to the living room. Stops, looks around, and says "Where is it??" in a panicked voice.

Me: I point to a place only 2 feet away.

John: "HOLY S***!!! HOW THE H*** DID IT GET IN HERE?!?!"

John then does the manly thing and takes the snake outside, being careful not to get bitten and protects the family.

Upon looking up the snake we find out that it was indeed a "Worm snake" is not venomous, and active primarily at night. I don't like to kill things that are not a harm to me, so I'm glad that it wasn't poisonous.

Needless to say, I hope our new apartment does not have snakes!

Check it out tonight!

2008-09-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Amy Grant and Pinesol

2008-09-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend as I was cleaning our apartment and starting to box stuff up to move, I started to reminisce back to when I was about 10. My memory starts as me and momma cleaning the house. Who knows where the men of the house were, but in this recurring memory they are never there to rain on the parade of girliness. We're sweeping and dusting and back then, Amy Grant was huge, so of course, her CD is blasting on the "boom-box". We end up dancing in the middle of the freshly cleaned hardwoods and singing along with the CD, in never ending blissful femininity.

As I was cleaning our apartment (John was gone with the band), I was singing Amy Grant's "Galileo" in my head. For some reason, every other song on the radio couldn't compare, and the smell of Pinesol instantly brings me back..... every time.

Who knocks to break into your house?

2008-08-27T06:53:00.000-07:00

John had to get up early this morning to go to his Journey group meeting. For some reason they're all a little crazy and want to wake up at 6am on a Wednesday. So this morning, he leaves, I sleep for as long as possible, and then get up and get in the shower for work.

Halfway through my shower, there is a knock on the bathroom door. John usually goes on to work right after his meeting on Wednesday mornings. So who is this knocking at my door??? I scream. I always scream when something scares me. I thought to myself, if this was someone who broke into my house, why are they knocking on the bathroom door.... but I couldnt stop screaming.

Eventually, John opens the door and says he brought me a surprise. On his way home from Panera where the boys met, he stopped by Chic-Fil-A and picked up some Chicken mini's and a Dr. Pepper!

I had a bad day at work yesterday, and this was his wonderfully great loving way of starting my day off nice, with caffeine and Chicken mini's!

My husband is wonderful. Absolutely, amazingly wonderful!

In who's bedroom??

2008-08-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

My coworker comes up to me this morning and says "Your husband was in my bedroom when I left this morning!" and smiles.

Oh the joys of John working for himself!

haha

Disclaimer - For those who dont know, John is doing some side work, including doing some remodeling work in my co-workers house. Incidently, he was there at 8 this morning (in Burlington) and was installing new windows.

I share my husband with other women! Lucky John.

Down with Cat's life #1

2008-07-14T10:28:00.001-07:00

Bandit is driving me crazy. When we first got him, I was sooo excited and happy that he seemed to be well mannered.

After we had him for about 2 weeks, he started peeing on things. At first it wasnt so bad, peeing on things occasionally and on things I could wash (rugs, bath mats, etc), but it was still really annoying. So, I took him to the vet, did some tests, and found out he has a UTI, which is pretty common. Gave him some antibiotics and it seemed to cure it all. Key word being "seemed". This weekend, he peed on our carpet twice! TWICE!!! ON THE CARPET!!!

I cant clean the carpet enough. I put resolve and cat carpet cleaner on the two spots many many times and I still seem to smell it. Cat pee is the absolute worst! It is so strong, and it stains everything and once you get it cleaned, they smell it and come back later to mark it again.

I happen to think I'm pretty patient, and he's testing my limits. John, who is not so patient, is ready to let him out the door and say "So Long!" Seriously, I cant keep cleaning the carpet like this.

So last night, I gave the cat a bath. I can hear you all now..."You gave your CAT a bath!?!??" and yes, i did. He smelled like cat pee, atleast to me (which everything seems to smell like it lately). So I gave him and Aria a bath. I used to give Aria baths when she was little, and it helps with the furr balls, and to keep their coat soft and shiny, so she did great. She stood in the bath tub, knowing that the more she fought, the longer she would be there.

Bandit however......I was just as wet as the cat by the time his bath was over. He freaked out! I knew it was coming, and I trimmed his nails before the bath so he couldn't kill me with the "Talons of Death". I'm pretty sure he about had a heart attack. So Bandit is down 1 less life than before.

And if the bad habits continue he will be down to only 1 life very quickly, and defending it out on his own in the wild craziness of Cary!

Beach Trip!!

2008-06-25T13:15:00.001-07:00

We are going to the beach for a solid 10 days (10 1/2 if you count us getting there tonight), and I'm itching to leave now! Why is it when you have a big trip planned, the day that you have planned to leave takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R.....

I also noticed my patience tolerence is extremely low! I'm so intolerant of little things at work, and every little thing that could possibly go wrong, does. Inevitably, we planned to leave at 7, when I got home from work. But now it's looking more and more like we wont be leaving til closer to 8. And with a 3+ hr drive there, I'm just ready to be at the beach, forgetting about work stress.

I about said some very ugly things at work towards a practice today. John doesnt even know half of what I do, but he has to listen to me vent about all of it when I'm upset about work. Poor John.

I also noticed the last time I posted was when we were going out of town....
Either means:
1 - I'm only excited to post when we're going out of town
or
2 - We're out of town a lot.

TGITh

2008-06-05T14:39:00.001-07:00

I took tomorrow off - yay for me!! There are many many things I need to do that only can happen from 8-5 M-F so I took off Friday.

Seriously, this is very rare. I take days off if we leave town (and I mean on a Thurs night, not a Friday afternoon) and I take days off when there is absolutely no way around it. So I'm kinda feeling a little like I'm cheating work. I'm sure it will be busy there, but there are so many things that I need to do that I really feel like it is way more beneficial to not be at work.

So, tomorrow, I have my To-Do list, and my list of things to pack before we head over the lake to camp out and waterski this weekend, and I have a few meetings lined up (the necessaries that require time off of work), but I'm feeling pretty care free about it.

I don't, however, have plans for lunch....Anyone wanna grab lunch with me since I wont be stuck all the way out in Crappel Hill?

And for humor's sake....

...can someone answer that??

Weekend Getaway

2008-05-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

to Charleston this weekend! I am so excited! I love Charleston! I love the city, and the history (even though I can't remember half of the facts), and the architecture, and just all of it. I love how "southern" it is. The horses is what really just floors me. I grew up on a farm, I know all about some horses. But something about a really beautiful horse pulling a carriage really gets my little heart fluttering.....

Anyhow, back to reality....despite the horrible gas prices, and the fact that we are very close to broke, that bug that says "I need to escape" has hit us both, and so we are planning to spend the weekend with our friends Brent and Jessie. I'm excited to get to spend more time with them, as I feel like John is close to Brent, but with them moving here (mid June) I want to get to know them better. We're both off Monday, so why not spend the wonderfully long (but not long enough) weekend forgetting that we have to be responsible adults again on Tuesday morning....early.

I always have to justify to myself spending more money than I think is necessary... so this how I'm justifying this weekend:
- Free place to stay in CHARLESTON!!! :)
- Gas is only going to get more expensive, so lets go while killer, but not deadly
- Get to really know "The Francese..s.."?
- Get out of Raleigh
- Get to spend an extra day relaxing

So, the way I figure it, a tank of gas down and back is cheap for all the bonuses to weigh it out!

P.S. - Anyone else have this justifying problem? and Bernie, please don't tell me I need to come have a meeting with you about this. haha :)

One year!

2008-05-12T08:54:00.001-07:00

So, it's time again, that I think about the marriage thing. As many of you two readers know, John and I had our first anniversary on May 5th (last Monday). This past year has really been phenomenal.

Recap:
Wonderful Honeymoon! Yay for the Virgin Islands
First time staying in the same tent together
Newly wed class
First time staying together in the same bed at the In-laws & various other family's.
First Holidays as married
First Marrieds weekend at the Beach
First hosting a dating couple at our house for dinner as marrieds.

We've had a lot of "firsts" this year. It's really been so exciting seeing how we each grow with one another to work through things and not want to storm off and be alone.

Our newly wed class helped a lot with things, and I'm interested in when we decide to allow our family to grow, just how all that we've learned will play into things. There were definitely times I thought either he or I was completely insane. There were times I thought he was being a stubborn man, and he thought I was being a hormonal woman.

He's learned when I cry at commercials to not stare at me, or laugh. And in turn, I've learned that when he vegges out on the couch after work to let him be for a half hour show. We no longer do that annoying/ackward thing where we correct each other constantly, but we seem to help finish each others sentences more often.

I've been to so many Silver shows that I have groupie T. I know all their songs, even the ones they've only practiced and never played in public. I'm in the bracket known as "the wives". And I seem to constantly be hanging out with friends that have an equally as interesting counterpart to keep my husband entwined while the girls ramble on.

Yes, this year, we have learned a lot. I heard it was going to be hard, and there were those times, but at the milestone marker, I'm so excited for everything we've accomplished together. I think I'm a better person for all that we've learned together. He understands that sometimes I just need to talk and talk, and having someone there to listen is most of the battle. I understand most of the time he doesnt want to talk, and instead would rather we go watch a game, or wear matching jersies, or go bowling together.

Our anniversary was wonderful! We went out to dinner at this awesome sushi place downtown called Sono, and talked about everything that we've learned in this past year, what great dates we would like to go on, and buying a house in the future. I can honestly say he is my best friend, the person who believes in me the most, and pushes me the hardest; who sees the best in me even when I dont believe it, or see it myself.

So, for the first year, the first notch, that first hash mark, we've done pretty dang great! I'm excited to see what more is in store.

Love you dear.

Future President?

2008-05-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

So, I heard over the news, and verified online that Obama's pastor did indeed state that "The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color. The government lied."

Obama has said repeatedly that he does not necessarily agree with his religious leader on some issues, but I cant help but think that the pastor to Obama, is like that black sheep in everyone's family. The one that no matter how many times you try to talk to them, and you disagree with what they say.

However....
I cant stand how stupid this pastor seems. Really, if the US government created HIV/AIDS to destroy "people of color", then why in the world did it start in Africa!?? Because it's such a widespread disease that continues to grow like wildfire, they put it across the world to start?? If they really meant for it to be a manner of genocide here, they would have started it here.

Great way to show your love a country that You live in, and what a great way to use the power you have over people to show God's love.

Why is it that the people that I see that have genuine love and care for the people and world around them don't have the power to make such a huge difference as this one man who causes so much disappointment? For the fact that Obama is a member of this pastor's church, and is running for president, he gains power, and then, uses that power to completely make the "church" look bad.

Seriously, I'll probably get some ridicule for posting such a controversial topic, and esp when it's about politics, but if you're going to even show concern and care about the HIV/AIDS topic, do something productive about it!

Wanda Sykes

2008-04-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

is my cat's alias human name. When I think of what my cat would say, it always comes out in a Wanda Sykes voice.

"Get your a** to work. You betta feed me 'fore you leave. I'll scratch all your stuff up." "Why EVERY time he gotta eat, he gotta chew! What's wit this chewing!?"
Wanda Sykes

We brought home Bandit on Sunday, and he and Aria have not been the best of friends. We expected this, seeing as our cat has been the only one for all of her life. We keep them separated when we're at work, but when we come home we'll let them out around the apartment together. And every time, I can just hear Aria saying:

"What da hell he think he's doin? Comin in here acting like he owns da place. Well I got news for him!"

Aria is by far the psycho cat, and I'm thinking she'll kick Bandit's butt before it's all over with. He backs down, and runs and hides.

And I can't help but think it's 'cause in cat language she's chewing his butt out!

Missing Ben

2008-04-01T11:34:00.001-07:00

Ben is my Godson. And he turns 4 in a few days. It really breaks my heart that he's so far away in my home town, and I only get to see him briefly when I go visit. The last time I went home was about three months ago, and here he was playing hand held video games and talking up a storm, when the time before that, he was mumbling randomness and not really making coherent thought. He's shy, and so when I go see him I just want to hug him, but he only knows my name and face...so he doesn't really want to come hug me.

So, unfortunately, his birthday party is happening this weekend. His mom says all he wanted to do was have his party at Chuckie Cheese! My little man is growing up, and the time when he can be the most interactive is the time where I'm so busy I cant even go see him.

Sadness.

Bad Mommy

2008-03-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

John and I are pet sitting for a friend (Jessie Moss), and watching Bandit. Some of you know this, but she is moving to a different apartment soon; one that she can't take Bandit. So, we are going to "adopt" bandit when she comes back from her trip. In the meantime, we're going over to her place and feeding him and such while she's away.

John lived with Kim and Shannon when we were engaged and knew Bandit then, and loved him. My husband is not a cat person. Period. And for some reason he's okay with Bandit. There are VAST differences between our current cat (Aria) and Bandit.

Besides the obvious male/female and size differences:

Bandit is cuddly. Aria wants to attack your ankles.

Bandit purrs, loudly. Aria "squeaks" through the window.

Bandit likes to escape and go on "adventures". Aria likes to stick her head out, afraid to actually leave the house.

Bandit eats slowly. Aria eats every last kibble as soon as it hits the bowl.

Bandit plays with a "claws-in" paw. Aria grabs you with her talons.

Bandit purrs when you trim his nails. Aria cries.
Need I continue??.....

Of all these points, It seems my cat is the horribly trained one! I'm so disappointed in this. Aria was hand raised after someone dropped her off at the vet hospital at 2 days old. Thus, I am, and in all raising factors, her mother. I am the one who disciplined her to not bite (yet she does), the one who put her on a diet (even though she continues to gain weight), the one who puts her in her crate when she's bad, opens the window so she can look out while we're away.

If all the biting, scratching, attacking she does is any indication of what happens when I mother, Dear Lord, should we ever have kids??
(rhetorical question, no answer needed, I'm sure our mothers will be the first to shout YES)

I'm also very interested in seeing how they will get along once they're through the "transition" phase of bring Bandit home. I'll keep you posted.

Creative Bone is itchin'

2008-02-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

I'm into painting. A little. and I have ideas, but I'm always unsure about the media that I'm using and about the overall feel this artwork is gonna take.

We have some unfinished artwork in our house, that none of you have probably ever seen, and from the time scheme that it's taking, probably never will see! I don't know if this is simply b/c I'm not feeling motivated lately, or if I'm just too stressed about other things, or that we're too busy, and all of those things combined could partially be it too, but I realized I start about 3 or 4 projects and never finish any of them!

There's some wooden chests (of which the recipients of said chests will remain nameless until said chests are finished and delivered-ahem supposed to be finished 2 yrs ago)
There's the 3 empty canvases that have an idea in my head, but I'm afraid I'll mess it up, so I won't even start.
There's the on-paper-only squares canvas painting.
And there's a Window from our old friends Meredith and Jon Ellis' old house before they moved, which we thought we would put pictures in, but clearly haven't done that, as it sits by our front door!

So...anyone have any ideas of a class or can offer some help in pushing me in the right direction?? like I said: "I'm into painting. A little."

Thoughts on Marriage

2008-02-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

John and I are going to this Newly Weds Class at our church (www.visiodei.org) and it's really been insightful. We're going through a book right now titled "Sacred Marriage," and this past Sunday it really went well with Jeff's message. I'm really interested in the historical aspects of stories and points in the Bible, so this message really stood out to me, but more importantly, it really reflected how our culture views things in much the same way as it happened years and years before. One of the points was, people were coming up to Jesus and posing him with questions on how to get out of marriage. When really, it sounds like they were asking the wrong question. It shouldn't be how do you get out marriage and get a divorce, it should be, How do I honor God with my marriage, and show love to the other person, like God shows it to us. Jeff made a point about how many children of divorce grow up with a distorted view of God's love, because if the ultimate point of marriage is to show that agape love to one person as God shows it us, and growing up you only see that Godly view of love (marriage) fall apart, it's not really showing God's love. I didn't grow up with divorced parents, but Jeff painted a picture of what it was like in his household before his parents got a divorce.

Everyone has an idea of marriage that I think we set up on this pedestal that it is so easy, and carefree and that it just happens to be this way forever. You hear "Marriage is hard" from everyone, and you think when you're engaged, oh that's not us - we're different. And that's just it.....We are different! We are two completely different people with different views on life, different goals, different pasts, different ways to express things, different...everything! Our main principles are the same, we love God, our families and our friends, and we love each other. But God's plan for marriage is to love out his view of love, that agape love, to our spouse, the one person on this earth we get the liberty to CHOOSE to love. We choose the easiest person to love; We pick out a person who seems enough like us to compliment us, but still different enough to challenge us to be holier people; we choose the person that respects us, and listens to us. What about those people that God challenges us to love that are nowhere near that in our eyes? That person that wronged us years ago? That person that we don't even know, on the street, or next door, or at work? We're called to love them too, but in marriage we get the easy way out; we get to pick!
So, by being a Christ follower and showing God's love to everyone, it should start with the most important living being in your life, the one that God ordained as your spouse. That is where we need to show it most. And yeah, while I grew up with a distorted view of marriage, you can't focus on that, because as this class has taught me, if you focus on the one thing that you don't want to be, you lose sight of what you DO want to be, and by default you end up being the inevitable. So while I still feel knots in my stomach sometimes that that could end up being us, we're taking the steps now, to focus on what God sees marriage as: The replica of God's love to us, lived out through a marriage relationship. A never ending, constantly loving (no matter how difficult) relationship where you accept your spouse for who they are, and challenge them to become holier and more Christ like.

After that isn't loving someone you see occasionally (the homeless, the neighbor, the co-worker) seem so much easier?