good or bad?

that is the question that comes to mind with the latest lunch i fed the kid. here's the scenario. i give him some crackers, cheese bits, mango, and some *corn* puffs. he usually likes all of these things, but eats a bit of all of them and begins to push things around the try. during this time of him deliberating eating the food the Lord provided him, i had realized the rejection of cubed mango and decided to puree them with some blueberries i'll have left over after i make a recipe (bonus points to me for being resourceful, in my opinion!). i give a bit to the lil' man and wow! he loves it. i look at the stuff on the tray before him and i... and figure, hmm... it couldn't hurt (and the husband and i have joked about this several times).

here's the step-by-step!


step one: scoop all that was on tray into bowl used for mango/blueberry goodness.


step two: blend (i added some trusty yogurt to make it so it wouldn't be only grains).


step three: feed the kid the food. seriously- this is right after i fed him. now- he ate it all, wondered if there was more (?!) and i chuckled because i really thought he would look at me like i was nuts giving him this. he saw the whole process from his chair- and he's smart. i really think he doesn't like to chew his food. i am blessed with a non-chewing kid. hopefully the Lord will give me the patience to keep working with him and improving his eating skills. wow.

thank goodness for the magic bullet.

and yes, i plan on giving my kid some veggies *sometime* today. seriously. do not worry about the variety. this was a weird *we're running out of food* lunch attempt.

*sidenote* i broke the microwave (well, sort of). i wonder if the man will want a new one? i could care less, but a chipped turntable (glass, obviously) could be dangerous. that, and he's mentioned how he would like a new one, but aren't all microwaves pretty much the same?

things to come?

i'm hoping that this is a sign of things to come. a reader at heart? this kid is obsessed with playing with books. it's cute, but reading the same book over and over is actually kind of showing me that i have about the same attention span as my little dude. i am even praying that the Lord will teach me patience in this sport and wisdom to show owen that when we start a book, how about we finish it instead of grabbing the next one that you see? we rotate the books about every 1 to 2 weeks for variety, but i'm learning pretty much all of them by heart. this is actually extremely rare for me because i never remember things beyond a few days. too bad it is *a to z* or *i love my family* instead of scripture. at least i'm challenging my brain enough to encourage myself that i can do this! definitely a muscle to be trained, for sure.

i have a kiddo with boogies (will this cold season ever END?!) so i'm hoping that i'll be let into my beth moore study today- but if not, maybe i'll be able to borrow the video from the teacher or something. the study is going well, and i'm happy to be a part of something that has added some serious structure to my life. the study i'm doing is *jesus the one and only* and week one passed with me being able to reflect and answer all of the questions full heartedly (maybe minus one). i have a tendency to sit there with a blank on my face (and mind) when it comes to super introspective questions. i am not one who is skilled at looking inward, and observing my life (let alone others!). i tend to be in the moment, which has its pros and cons like anything else. eh?

have a happy wednesday.

growl

so teaching my child what a tiger says has had some interesting impact in our lives. first of all, it is what every animal says now. before, we could ask what a dog or a cow says, and he would respond accurately fairly regularly. now, it's all what a tiger/lion says. he received this polar bear that growls, (or maybe breathes weird) and he loves it to pieces. i seriously thought that he was going to cry when he heard it, but he always says *ooooo* when i hold it up (something he proudly picked up from me).

craziness. soooo- if he growls in your earshot, know that he's not necessarily primitive, but definitely exploring the tiger sound. :)


we put this little doggie on his head frequently, so now he does it to himself. it is so cute and precious! what fun to be had.

no tag backs!

tagged by knittingma to a book-blog-thing. i am always trying to read something, which is crazy because the kiddo takes up a lot of day time, and freelance takes up a lot of the nap and night time. i'm reading two books right now, but one is totally sucking me in more than the other (sorry jane austen!). i rarely read books over and over again, but i have started a couple of books in the past two years thinking it was new to me and then realized after about 2-5 chapters that i have read it. i don't have time to re-read books i've read. the world has so many to offer!

ah, yes- the book i'm reading is "jane eyre" by charlotte brontë, i guess i should have mentioned that a bit earlier. i like this cover better than my cover (but my little man gets a kick of laughing at mine).

per tag request, i am to turn to page 161 of the book (i haven't read this far yet! ak!), and read the 5th sentence. Here we go:
"And will you consent to dispenses with a great many conventional forms and phrases, without thinking that the omission arises from insolence?"

i am curious about this sentence since i'm about 30 pages off from getting to this point, but i'm excited to read more about what is going on. my assumption is that jane is meeting the owner of the house, and is going to be having a discussion. will they fall in love? i have high doubts, but what i read last night made me think "you need a man, girl!"

as knittingma has done, i guess i'll also list some of my favorite books:

• A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
• Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns
• To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• The Chronicles of Narnia Series, by C.S. Lewis
• The Harry Potter Series, by J.K. Rowling
• Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
• Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden *edited to add in- great read*

the first three are books i read in high school and loved it because my teacher was amazing at teaching us about what the book was telling us on the surface and also digging deep. i kind of hated her for it, but it obviously worked because i remember loving these books and would love to be a part of something that would discuss books this way (or more like tell me all the foreshadowing and underlining concepts). i guess that is what book clubs are for, but i guess i will wait till i have a normal schedule before finding one of those (do normal schedules exist after kids? normal = one where you own it and decide what you're doing that evening).


i'm now supposed to tag five people. but i'm not really sure who reads this blog, so i'm going to pass. feel free to feel like i tagged you. obviously, i'm not competitive (except, i will tag someone if we're running around so i can take a break in the free-zone!)

suck that

about a week before baby #1 was born, we decided to buy a new vacuum because we HATED bagless vacuums. we loved the hoover we owned before and decided to bust out the bank money and buy one that is bagged. the carpet dust weapon of choice ended up being "Tempo Widepath Bagged Upright Vacuum" and it has been awesome. I don't vacuum a LOT, but i changed the bag for the FIRST time today. yeah. and i didn't have to vacuum up the area around the canister after pulling out the bag. so yes, shameless advertising for a vacuum- hasn't lost suction at ALL in this time (or at least that i have noticed) and we bought it from amazon.

buy one already if you have a bagless and really don't like it (i don't know if it works with super dog hair or someone who has OCD... but it TOTALLY works for us).

in love

with these two people. i love the big one because i chose to several years back. he's such a huge blessing to me and is definitely a gift from God. he is perfect for me even when i think he is a stinker and i wonder why God gave him to me. i love the little one because God chose him for me. to refine my character, show me the hugest ways that i need God even more than i ever thought. to show me what it is to love without expecting anything back, because people, babies don't know that you want love back from them, too.

i am blessed, and thankful.

owie

last week, the little man got a bad paper cut and bled all over one of his books (until i saw what was bleeding, i was totally freaking out, first paper cut moment). this resulted in my grand idea of placing a band-aid on his finger. his pop bought some *tattoo* ones with little *incredible* characters on them, so i thought these would be perfect (even though he's never watched a movie in his life- let alone this one). talk about a total melt down! owen started to act like he had a broken finger and kept trying to take the band-aid off his finger. above, you'll see the test to see if he can still pick things up. the answer was yes, but he didn't like it one bit.

give you a couple years kid, and you'll be begging me to give you a band-aid. i know it.

little kid…

would you ever suspect that eating is really such a challenge with this kid? he looks so happy! ever since we've been back from my parents, eating has been sort of the worst part of the day (2nd to nap time that is beginning to be non-existent). some milestones in the past week:
• holding the cup on his own
• eating with a spoon (with a little bit of help)
• eating fruit again with his hands (he choked a bit- and threw the one in his hand on the floor- so the feud may be back on. i keep telling the kid to use his MANY teeth and chew- but i think that i still sometimes sound like an adult on the charlie brown show)

i'm pretty proud of him. next step- walking. it could be happening any time now (maybe). he's been experimenting a lot with standing lately, so that's a sure sign.


holy snow-man! there was a lot of snow after the new year. yeah. i'm not kidding. seriously. here's a glimpse of the beauty. owen was not super excited about being in the snow- but there was no crying so that's cool. i think that he is cool with touching it, but would benefit from being able to walk and move. the boots i had him in sort of limited that aspect, and for some reason when we put that coat on him, he sort of becomes a lazy bum and doesn't move. think it might be a bit heavy for him? possibly. at least it keeps him warm.


here's the little man with his pops. a brief introduction to the snow. :) (yummy!)

happy 2008!

a photo of a part of the festivities during our party we had for new years. we tried to use sparklers and create the numbers 2008. i say it went fairly well. :)




a glimpse of some of the handmade Christmas cards i made. with a little bit of the dude. i didn't have enough cards on hand, so i had to make some! next year, i'll just have to make them, which will be easier- i think! we've had several come back. people- if you move, you need to let me know!

hope you all are well. i have been all over ohio and michigan the last few weeks, which is why i haven't written in forever. i'll get back to it more regularly, i promise. (maybe)

mmm....

delicious. i have always been a fan of envelope liners, so i decided to make my own! these are for some new years invites that we sent out inviting a very few amount of people to ring in the new year. hopefully we'll have enough room to house all the kiddos if people do come. i letterpressed parts of those cards as well, and i am fairly pleased with how they turned out. at first i totally didn't like them, but they have grown on me, and i'm happy now. i'll be sure to put them up once i know the people who read this blog have received it from us. don't want to ruin the surprise... ha.

the photo above shows the simple process i went through to make them!

c'est finis!

this is the card prior to putting the little lovely's name on it.

the baby announcements are done! as it turns out, all is well, and they like them a lot! i'm lucky to have such cool clients/friends. here are a couple of shots of the cards. they took some sweat, but nothing that was too bad. hope you like!


this is what it looked like done. the lighting isn't awesome, but oh well!

celebrate!

we had two Christmas parties in one weekend. what's funny is that is all that we have to attend! kind of nice to knock them out all in one time, but also sort of a rush. i was exhausted by sunday. here's a photo from the end festivities on saturday night. the hosts had sparklers left over from a wedding that they attended. i didn't feel comfortable holding one, since i am fairly pregnant, and decided to take photos. i have decided that sparklers are *awesome*.

my passion

i have a passion for using the letterpress. recently, i was able to acquire a project that i'm super duper excited about. it is for the friend that i walked with a couple weeks ago, and i am just over a third one the way done. you can see the first color in the photo. i had to make a LOT, so they were spread all over the basement. hopefully i can push this project out and that they will like it a lot. their new daughter is *beautiful* and i am so thankful to have met her! the wrapping paper in the background is actually what i used to wrap a pair of baby legs that we got them. they are super cute. i can't wait till she is big enough to fit into them.

o Christmas tree

yay! it's up. and done. well, we want to add some tinsel, but that probably won't happen this year. i've been wanting to hit up the sales that are after the holidays to buy some sweet ornaments and Christmas decorations. hopefully this year, i'll remember. i figure since i'll be staying with my parents, and with my super-saving mom on hand, i might remember. we'll see.

one sad note is that the tree's decorations are dominated by my ornaments from growing up. i enjoy this, but it seems weird when you're trying to form a family of your own. i know that the hubby must have ornaments, since i saw at the in-laws over thanksgiving that his twin had several handmade ones on the tree. you know how twins are, there is basically no way that he doesn't have some, too. apparently, since they are in use, i think that his mom is still excited about having them. as for our kid- he has more ornaments up than the dad. oh well. this is where our *super sale ornaments* will come in handy. when does the transition from my life's ornaments dominating the tree to our kids happen? i figure it will be soon enough, but it is quite an interesting thought. my dad has two or three ornaments that are super special from his childhood. you can see how special it is from the look in his eyes. i think that look is fading over the years with the idea of tradition and stuff, but i know that it would be hard if for some reason the mini-harmonica and this other thing were missing.

hope you don't mind that this post's photo will look like my header! :)

phew! the holidays are here!

we got our Christmas tree. it was COLD!! it was fun cutting down the tree- though the tiny man had a bit of trouble with the temperature. started crying. a lot. boy did we feel bad. it worked out, though- and i think that he still loves us. we'll be buying him a snow suit soon for the cold. and because it's snowing!!! (actually i just threw something out and it's practically hail-snowing) oh! and we want him to enjoy outside (learn to walk soon, buddy!).

pictures of the decorated tree as soon as that happens :)

he's better

you ever have one of those days where you're *so* close to getting it all done, but you know you won't? for some reason, that is every day for me. i was super busy all day today- and i got nothing done. i'm embarrassed to tell my husband what i did because i honestly don't really remember being all that productive. eugh. disgusting. i did: finish a book (i apparently only had one chapter left... there was a lot of goof-ball stuff at the end), filed a metal block (i should take a photo of this so it's not weird sounding), took a long nap, made some squash stuff for the kid, went to the grocery to get some needed things (and a bunch of not needed items), played with the kid and made sure i read a couple books to him because i realized i didn't yesterday! what kind of mom is that? i mean- we spent 2 1/2 hours on the road to deliver a meal to a mom with a new kiddo... and then about 3 hours he was at what i'd call essentially day care while i was doing a women's bible study. doesn't leave much time for *learning*, but i didn't take advantage of it. oh well- today there was learning to be had. and it was good. :) so i guess i did a bunch of stuff...


but i still felt like i was running around with my pants halfway falling down. :)

pray...

this lil' guy is pretty sick. it's so sad. he's doing his best, but it sounds like he can't really breathe well at all. his nose is a faucet.

he's sad.


*note* the bruise in this photo is gone :)

baby, it's cold outside

the little dude wants to go outside on a fairly frequent basis. i'd say it's about every day. i try to accommodate, but it is tiring when i'm pregnant, too. :) friday we went for a walk with a friend, and he sort of. um. lost it. it's the second time i think that he has ever been not dressed well for the occasion (cold!). anyway- it was good to be able to have some time with my friend, because she is due in a couple weeks (or a week, actually- and it is *so* exciting!) so i wanted to be able to enjoy her non-mommy status at least one more time. you never know when babies will pop out, you know? she's looking really good. i'm hoping i can keep (start) eating well so i don't blimp.

that's the news- yo

should i?

or shouldn't i... knit this for my hubby. i'm gonna go with no. i think that he would look a little weird. i'm a part of the email list for the lion yarn stuff and this was the pattern a couple weeks back. it sort of surprised me because it was obvious to me that the pattern is not targeted to me. i'm sure that it is something that would work well for many, many other people... but not me. :) (or my hubby) the funniest thing to me is that the background makes it look like a school photo, but the person is wearing something that you'd like, go hunting or something.

he's one!

well, tomorrow he will be. i can't believe that he's actually going to be one year old. it's crazy. i'll be thankful for the day that i know that he's doing *all the things i could hope* for, but i'm guessing that doesn't happen. maybe expectations change? i know that i'll be proud of him no matter what happens. he is God's creation!

lets celebrate!

happy halloween!

we dressed our little man up as a mummy. we went through a lot of different ideas and until the mummy idea came up- we had a golfer idea pretty much set in our minds. i would say that 1/2 of the people's houses we went to knew owen was a mummy and the other 1/2 thought that he was really, really hurt. some of the little tykes out there pointed to him and told their parents that he had a really bad boo boo. cute.

apparently our neighborhood has a special halloween celebration in the main section. it was pretty sweet because we were a block over and people went crazy. there was a mad hatter tea house that was giving away apple cider and some serious candy. they were dressed up like the characters from alice and wonderland and also had a private party going on in their back porch. it was crazy. another house had a carnival thing going and it was a little bit rated too high for the little man so we skipped it. apparently the guillotine isn't too gory for him, though (note photo above). owen touched the hand that is to his right and then kept his hands up like that. too bad he was super tired when the trick o' treating started. he got a 1/2 way second wind on the way back, and that was cute. we met several people on our street, which was nice because we've primarily kind of kept to ourselves this whole year.

our candy loot was completely empty when the end of the evening came, which is good- but we didn't put out our backup bags of candy... which is bad. :) owen got one good thing for halloween that he's actually allowed to enjoy, and it's a mini rubber ducky. it's super cute.

happy halloween, readers.

cider mill

this is our little man at the franklin cider mill. he was super duper tired that day since he didn't take a nap. i think that he still looks fairly handsome, though. aside from attacking his nose (it bled) on the way home, i believe that he had a good time. he was eating our friend's donut out of his hand. it was funny. somehow we managed not to get any bee stings, but they were all over the place! it was a good day to head out there.

new shoes! i'm a big shoe fan, and these are the latest. just got them last weekend. i think that i'll have to get a bigger size. the sales associate assured me that the shoes stretch, but my toesies are sort of struggling. one size up, please!


another note is how we put owen in this 0-3 month snowsuit monday because it was cold. owen was sort of, um, uncomfortable when we put him in, but then adjusted when he realized that it was cold outside. look how cute he is!

clap + video

so this is how much owen claps when he just woke up and is barely awake. kind of hilarious b/c i just showed him the video and he looked (almost) disappointed b/c he didn't clap a lot. he made up for it after watching it just now. he really does it all the time. eating, whenever i encourage him, and for random test runs :)

sooo cute!

applause...

guess who started clapping on saturday? the little man himself. *so* proud of him. he's sooo cute. only time i wish he wouldn't clap? when he's eating. i'll post a video of it all soon-ish.

great, great stuff!

schrute bucks

ooooh man. the office hasn't been my most favorite show this year, but i'm still enjoying it. i also missed last thursday's and i heard very good things about it. i still get a good laugh watching the show. *And* i still give caleb crazy faces when i see/read something that is of not so good behavior. which makes me happy because then i know my heart hasn't hardened too much. these buttons crack me up. big tuna. assistant TO the regional manager. a-ha!…… kevin is disgusting, but during interviews about the show, he seems so endearing. angela actually seems like she could be a cool girl, but only in real life. i think that we would seriously duke it out if she and i came into contact in her tv life. i would be like- you call that a Christian perspective? um... no. not really. poor dwight. he's clueless. jim. bring on the faces any day. pam. awesome. michael- i praise the Lord every show that he does something stupid that he's not my boss. if he were, it wouldn't be long because i would so be out of there. SO out of there. i love how pam is an artist and how jim encourages her.

ok- just a random... non-kid post.

q-t pi

this is the little man himself. he's really growing up super duper fast. i feel like he looks like a handsome fella. he's really growing up. i don't really enjoy this teething phase, but i plan on posting these cute photos every once in a while and enjoying them when i am on my last moment. i need to be able to be a good, patient mom.

see ya! feast on that.

mobile

i am still amazed at my kiddo for figuring out how to crawl with his belly off the floor for long extended periods of time. he has known for a while, but i don't think that he saw and value to using his arms like that. the past two weeks have been precious, and i am trying to document it with photos, but the camera is proving slow. or maybe the camera operator :) either way, owen sees the camera aimed at him and he speeds over to me before i can take a side photo prior to him crawling straight towards me. also, yesterday, he was playing with a car. with caleb's help (he is so good with him!) he showed owen how cool it is to push a car along and crawl next to it. it was super cute. of course, no photos of that, but at least i can hope that blogging this will be good enough for now.

hoping his teeth pop out SOON- the little man isn't sleeping for his naps and he is beating himself up. i'm SURE i can get a photo of that- because his nose is all scraped up from him rubbing his hands (and fingers) around his nose/eye region. so sad! i saw it all happen and i couldn't stop him. i'm just hoping there will be no scars.

pray for patience during the non-napping season. orajel and the like are dulling the pain, i believe, but it's not enough to knock the kid into a good sleep.

birthdays

my kid's *first* birthday is coming up, so i made an invitation. this was more effort than i thought i would have to go into since i had this *incredible* idea in my head. as usual, i had to change things around. :) very typical for any artist, i guess. anyway- i think it turned out well, and knittingma was nice to say good things about the card.

here's a glimpse! (address/phone are blurred for home safety)





* the stamps are from stampin' up (i can hook you up with a seller), and the paper is left over from other projects. the picture was printed at target for super cheap!

simple things...

ok- so i love how owen is playing with this shoe for SO long. it is precious. i think that he played with it for at least 10 minutes... i caught it at the tail end of excitement, but i think that you (the viewer) can still get the gist. isn't it crazy how a kiddo can be so excited about having something so simple? these shoes have been around for about 8 years. i'm about to throw them out because my knee has begun to hurt when i wear them. i'm trying to avoid it because they are my most favorite shoes... i've never had a pair of running shoes this long. just ask my mom. well- i did buy two of the exact same pairs one point in my life. those ones were *awesome* but that was two pairs, and they sure did NOT last 8 years. whoa.

now that my kid likes to play with them, should i keep them? that is the real question.


unfortunately, i think that the answer is… no.

i'm lost

wednesday night tv isn't the same without my *lost* fix. i can survive happily, but it really stinks when i actually have the *time* on wednesday evenings (should anyone really have the time to watch tv? seriously). the thing is- i want to watch it since caleb is in grad school and is busy on wed. evenings. now, if they keep it to the same late time as last 1/2 of the season, it will be *not* cool, b/c i won't be staying up for it anyway. (yay for on-line viewing- makes me wonder why we even have cable)

in joining in with the idea of *seasons,* i bought some pumpkins (+gourds), apples, and flowers at the farmer's market today. most of the prices are really reasonable. and you know that the products are fresher than those of the grocery. the thing is- i want really CHEAP, good looking, big pumpkins (i bought some minis today- soooo cute). i could buy 3 albino pumps for 10 bucks, but only 2 orange pumps for 10. it's so hard to decide what to do. i decided to think about it for another week. do you know if meijer taxes you on pumpkins? if they do, i'm definitely going to buy them at the farmer's market because at meijer, they are 4.99 (i could save a WHOLE cent!!). ha ha. is it silly that i've been thinking about it enough that i could type it out here?

knittingma, no pictures of the babe with the haircut yet. don't really know why. but- dude- he looked really bad before cutting it (as you know). eugh. he has several of long hairs that didn't get cut by the clippers. since he's blond- so you only see it when the sun hits it just the right way. he's so handsome. at first after the haircut, i felt like it looked like he was joining the army. when i uploaded the photos pre-haircut, i realized he looked... a bit like a girl. ever since we've cut his hair- no one has gotten the gender confused. crazy- isn't it? (and i'm still putting him in the random colored tie-dye stuff!)

what's up for tonight? grey's anatomy and the OFFICE. a WHOLE HOUR. i will miss both because of some fun stuff i'm doing tonight (yay! you can be jealous- but i wouldn't waste your time... ;) ha). hopefully caleb will know how to work the vcr. or simply remember turning it on.

blogger, bloggity, blog

i have been glancing at a bunch of my friend's blogs, and a lot of them haven't written in a while. i was getting bummed until i realized that i have no excuse for saying anything to them unless i hold myself to that same standard. right?!

anyway- the weekend was good. i coached my last lacrosse clinic for the month. i love lacrosse. it is such a great sport. love it. i can't believe that i still want to play after 10 years of learning the sport. i just wish it was *ok* for the coach to play with the kids. i think that i tend to shock them with my skills, and then i realize that i'm just annoying them with the idea that they should know how to cradle the ball in their non-dominant hand, etc. etc. oh well, i'm still having fun.

i'm knitting a sweater for owen's first birthday. my friend at kittingma is helping me get this accomplished. she has really shown me a lot in the skills of knitting, a heart for Jesus, a gentle spirit and an all around patient mother. if you look at her blog, you'll see how happy her little man is. you need to know that it's because she's such a great woman. i wish i could draw that kind of patience out for my kiddo. i will try to store up the fruits of the spirit so i can do that on a daily basis. i'll try to take some pictures as i knit the sweater, but i've already hit a snag- i forget how to bind off, so i'll need her help (and she showed me how to do it already- great student am i, eh?).

ok- now i'm allowed to be bummed that i don't have blogging friends. tee hee! (gotta feed the kid now, what a handsome man-- especially since we cut his hair)

h2o

i love water. today i'm thankful for the rain. my garden is *soooo* close to actually producing some vegetables, and i really want it to be fruitful. i have been working on it since mid-may. it hasn't quite been rewarding, but even if i only get about 6 tomatoes and a few green peppers i will be happy. caleb will be happy if the jalapeños grow. salsa maker. the main thing that has grown thus far is green beans. look at the bean color when i made them for owen. it looks like i put it some SERIOUS food coloring in. i promise i didn't- that would be silly! i can NOT believe he liked them... i had my camera ready for a *grossed out* look. surprises around every corner, i suppose.



my little man LOVES water, too. this has been the most exciting thing these days about him. he will crawl straight to the bathroom at any time of day (if i let him) and head to the tub. he'll play around in the tub for a long time in baby standards, and it makes me so excited/proud because i LOVE water. i love swimming, and even though i love water, i'm totally NOT a salt water fan. he is so cute, though. have a look-see!

yippeeee!

i have a new washer. i can't wait to use it. i think that it will be stellar, my clothes will be only slightly damp, and maybe it will last until we move out of this place without a hitch. the technicians, i feel, might be a bit suspicious with the care i give the washer. again- i read the manual. how many people can say that about their washer. what's funny, is that it looks identical to the washer i had before, but it is a new model. i guess that is how i ended up with the same glasses as my sister-in-law even though she bought them several seasons before me (i think). i even tried to steer clear of her pair b/c i really was in love with them. secretly. even though i told her. anyway- oops. good thing we like, never see one another (so sad!), so i can't really bust her style. AND she wears contacts like 95% of the time.

we're back!

we've been gone on a trip since thursday. and i have to admit, i forgot my camera. how disappointing since we went up north. our trip took us to grand rapids, grand haven, to charlevoix. we got to see some beautiful trees, lakes, and friends! our friends, sheri and lance let us stay with them. we hadn't seen them in several months, and so it was a great time to see their place for the first time. ... before they move in a few weeks. their beautiful daughter is so much fun and strong! i think that she will be crawling before they know it, and then walking, too! she's only about 6 months. a fun gal.

after 5 days, i'm very thankful to be home and i think owen is happy to not be playing with girly toys. not that he really knows the difference, but he's never been a stuffed animal dude. actually, lately i have been worried that he may be a biter. he's bitten me twice. not sure what i think about it, but it's definitely NOT good. we'll get it, though, i'm sure. i am thinking it's one part teething, and one part not knowing it's *bad* when it's not toys. i'm actually not a fan of him biting anything, but that's why we're taking the toddler class. i gotta learn! praise God we meet again today!

leaving you with another photo, wish it was from this weekend, but it's not.



a picture of owen, and his buddy, jonah. they look rock'n in their shades, eh?

tomorrow

tomorrow is the 4 year anniversary of caleb proposing to me. what should i do? this is a tough question with regards to our schedules tomorrow. for example, i have to come up with it and complete it today. i will only see him tomorrow morning before work and most likely after 9:20 pm when his class is finished. grad-school is making our lives (his life) busy. i'm thinking that a special note will have to suffice. any other ideas?

-TODAY-
my washer is broken *again* after working well for about 7 loads. i don't mean to be rude, but wow, ge messed up big time on this one. this will be the third service call on our washer in less than a year (still free!). unfortunately, the year ends in 3 months. i'm sure that it would have needed more service if i didn't wait so long the last time. i don't think that i had ever known what this washer could do if it actually worked like it should. anyway- last time it took 3 weeks to repair b/c i let it get so bad. this time- i scheduled immediately because i know what noises it should make (or lack there-of), and how dry the clothes should be. i'm terrified of this warranty running out, but i'm also mystified as to why ge hasn't thought- hunh, we've replaced EVERYTHING but the casing and the person who uses this washer. maybe it is user error (it's not- i've read the manual- and i'm overly conservative), or maybe they have a lemon. do they even have lemon washers?! i wouldn't know.

-LAST NIGHT-
missed MOPS b/c i didn't have a babysitter for owen. i *hate* calling people. i also don't really have anyone to call at this point (this should be solved tonight). a friend told me i should take owen with me. i think everyone would want to pull their ears out if i did that b/c owen's bedtime is right when MOPS starts, and that's *if* he makes it to 7pm. i'm not used to monday/wednesday classes. talk about messing with my mind. oh well. i'll get my act together and get a sitter for next month.

i *can* overcome my hatred of using the phone.

i can.

right?

today i come back

my goodness. it has been a crazy day. i have decided at the request of a friend, heidi, that i will return to blog-land. at first, my defense was that i had nothing to write. i still feel that way, but i'm giving it a shot, since owen has landed a few good stories lately (not that i remember them now, but with this up and running- i might).

today i had my monthly mom's group meeting. it was fun. i didn't go last month because i had someone working on my broken washer (for the 2nd time in 6 months) and my basement was flooding with the tremendous amount of rain all at once. God works in many ways all at once, i suppose.

i volunteered for a chocolate dessert. little did i know at the time that i would be buying a gargantuous thing of rasberries and would have to consider how to use them all up. anyway- i decided to bring rasberry pie and give my baking skills a hit trying to make it. things were not looking good since yesterday i created this horrendous pot of potato soup and my attempt to make a crust fell extremely flat (or shall i say crumbled). this morning i ran to hiller's, grabbed some pre-made pie crust and booked it back to the house to bake. according to the people who ate the pie, i did well. people asked for the recipe. who can believe that?! that really helped with my self esteem since last night was so, so bad.

anyway- here's my first post. take it or leave it. here's my kid recently. he's cute.

who's there?!

me! man- i can't believe how fast time goes. i've been busy. i've been with a kid who is now 8 months old! recently, we went on vacation to seabrook island in south carolina. it was super relaxing. we celebrated my parents 35th anniversary and my sister's whole family was there as well. i'm so glad that my sister and i swung it and put this trip together. i know my parents really enjoyed it, the relaxing and spending time with all of us and their 3 grandkiddos. sooo fun. here's a picture of all of us on the last day with my extremely fogged up camera (the humidity contributed to this photo). makes the photo look dreamy.


back to front: dad, mom, tim, tommy, michelle, mia, me, hubby, owen! (someday the kids might actually look at the camera!)

grr.

so i was able to finally hack in. sheesh. i set up the account and then after doing so with google, i suddenly lost contact with the world of blogger. weird. i couldn't leave comments. couldn't write anything. i know you all miss my words of wisdom. i know it.

ahhh... well... what can you do?

the kid is good. work is long (freelance). husband is looking around for opportunities. we're relying on God for the strength needed for decisions and patience. i've been walking a lot with the kid. fresh air is GOOD. :)

hope it doesn't really dip down to 60º tonight. that would be strange. especially since today was about 88º.

oh right! that's why i got on the computer. silly me!

wow

who new that so much could change in blog-land during a hiatus? apparently a lot. i now have some sort of affiliation with google in order to use this thing. i might get rid of this since i doubt i need access to myspace, facebook, 3 email accounts and this. why do i doooo this to myself? i remember in high school trying to see how many different emails i could get out there. i think that a couple of the sites no longer exist. if you wanted tinychick2, it wasn't available. anywhere. seriously! why tinychick2? someone at work called me that and i sort of took on the name. 2 was added because hotmail wouldn't let me do it any other way.

well. that's it. this may be a good bye. we'll see. who knows? i have a kid now, and he's not going to wait for me if i want to write in this.

speaking of the kid. mom to the rescue!

so tired

who knew that having a baby could be so tiring? i feel so happy that i've been given such a content little boy... but on the days like today when he's trying my patience i realize several things.
1. i'm not really capable of doing the job of *mom* on my own (thank God for the husband)

2. i don't have a lot of patience... but i want to let/teach owen how to eat correctly-- but after 5 minutes of him *bawling* i break down (not after the recommended 15 minutes) and let him cheat. i just keep praying that i'll keep producing the drink he needs so i don't have to worry about/stress feeding him enough.

3. being far away from family doesn't make being a mom any easier. i talk to friends with mom's in the area who are helping them out a lot, and i almost get envious. i know that my parents would be ready and willing to help out with pretty much anything that i needed, and it's hard to come to grips with the fact that i've chosen to be far away from them (though 3 1/2 hours isn't horrendous- so don't take me for complaining at all in the drive-time). i also wish that they felt ok about calling *me* i love them. it's ok if they do, you know? i'll answer :)

ok- baby's crying... AGAIN.

it's a boy!

it's a boy! his name is owen! he was born november 10th, 2006 at 6:28am and weighing in around 5lbs 9oz. he's already beefing up, which is nice :) little wrinkly legs are not what i was thinking i'd see when my kiddo was born a couple weeks early!

check out the kiddo at:
http://www.myspace.com/kristin_woodby

okay! i have GOT to take a nap :) the mommy job is taking its toll on me today :) (not complaining b/c the kiddo IS a really complacent guy)

the kid in my belly

something you should know (maybe?) about the kid in my belly. yeah.. i call it a kid. anyway- as it turns out i read something about how to tell what body parts are when they are pressing against the side of the belly. who knows if i know what i am talking about b/c i am a skimmer, but hey- this is what i'm thinking.

the kid is trying to MOON everyone. i'm serious. just a minute ago i'm chillin' in my cube (yes, at work) and i feel pressure and it's a solid bump for a few square inches or so. yep. watch out for what the kid will be like when i pop it out.

also.. it feels like i have a weird massage chair thing in my belly. crazy. if you're wondering if you're ready to be preggo- think about that. do you want a massage chair in your belly? probably not (ha).

okay- that would most likely be one of the weirder posts... but that's cool with me.

and. i'm. out.

oops

i got distracted with myspace over the past few months. i don't really update on myspace except in the photo area these days, but i figure that's ok. things are going well. i've been keeping busy at work and enjoying the cooler weather. being preggo has made me an inferno and thus has changed my comfortable temperatures a bit. it has usually been good at work b/c they keep it so cold here. unfortunately i'm comfortable now at work and kinda cold outside. the coats don't really fit at the moment... :) ha

people are having kids and getting preggo all around me. it's kind of bizarre because i'm still the first to be married out of my high school crew (none of those will get married till this coming may-- as i KNOW of) and then 1/2 of my college crew. the ones that i lived with are not married (till october 28th when i finally get to see ashley walk down the isle! yay! oh- and minus beth.)

crazy stuff. the cruise was a grand one. lotsa money, lotsa relaxing & a lot of fun. definitely a smart thing to do before i get into motherhood.

hot deal

this video is pretty cool. i have definitely enjoyed seeing this come to life over the past few months..... :)

wow

who knew that it's weird to be getting a bigger belly? i sure didn't. i think that i thought that since i'm always around during the growth, that i would be comfortable with it. apparently it is growing way faster than i thought that it would. i'm still behind in the way other 5 month old preggo people look- but i'm okay with that b/c i think that there is gonna be some serious exponential growth soon. i feel like within the past week has seen a lot of growth. crazy.

aside from that- i think that i just realized that i won't be seeing the husband at all this weekend. i'm such a dork, but it's ok- at least i'll be able to relax and enjoy my time here instead of on the road. i need to save the traveling for next week. we'll be going all over!

happy father's day!

can you believe that father's day is here and going?! i got to talk to my pop today for quite some time. it was a pleasent conversation (minus the part when a beach umbrella fell on him!). i really have a good time talking to him. hopefully he doesn't think that i'm ADD b/c i have a hard time staying on one topic :)

oh well!

any father's who read this (which i have no idea who would be one) - i wish you the best day!


i've been able to chill and enjoy my day. husband went to a nascar event (he won it during a drawing at work!) with a bunch of dudes. i think/hope they had fun. they left a bit early b/c of the rain- but hey- they got a round of golf in yesterday that came with steak! rock on! :)

aaaand i'm out

new things

end up having new —things!—

i'm pregnant and should be having the kid around thanksgiving. i'm pretty excited, nervous, happy, sad, estatic, erratic, complacent, surprised, and other emotions that are all mixed into one bowl. thought that i should share this publically now that many people know now. :)

yay- now YOU know!

this week

....

has been a good one. i have enjoyed being able to relax and have fun. i think that i added some photos as a trial run earlier. that was fun. i have been inducted into the land of *myspace* which is cool and confusing at the same time. i don't have many friends b/c i keep denying the weird people and i don't seem to invite many people. what can you do?! haha... i'm lazy. i need to do a lot this weekend

i am hoping to get my sister's site almost done so she'll be a happy camper. we'll see, though. i sort of finished it around Christmas and haven't done much with it since althought she has given me a lot of edits (simple stuff, but time consuming). i know... lazy again!

ha

talk-a to you later-a

image

DSCN0516
Originally uploaded by strawberry_frog.

just seeing how this works....

i have joined

the rhelm of lost. for real. today.

i'm looking at the thehansofoundation.org today and i am still clueless, but also hunting around like crazy to figure out the hidden meanings behind things with the show. i cannot believe how difficult things are. i don't understand anything, but i'm hoping that i'll be able to have assistance from another co-worker. seriously we are finding weird things all OVER this site, but since i'm new to the whole decoding thing i'm feeling pretty useless. and i'm laughing at how serious i'm taking the whole thing. we'll see what happens, though. we'll see.

i just hope i'll be able to watch it tonight!


(ps. i know that this whole post is confusing and weird, but i am feeling that way right now)

exhaustion settles in....

well.. this weekend was great! i was able to stay up late and be a part of my dear friend, christy's and my bro-in-law's wedding! it was really good to be able to see family, get to know a bit more about their indian culture, and have fun. i was really glad to be able to see some people and get to chat- like julia and her hubby peter! (it was my frist time of meeting peter so i'm glad i got to chat with them!) nikki who gets my tax dollars since she works for the gov't in michigan! :) ha ha.. i for some reason didn't talk to her much, and i totally missed out on talking to the wendorfs and the finks. i thought i'd be able to see the finks at the reception, but i didn't. the wendorfs were no where to be seen when i was given a free minute that i believed was real (i kept thinking the toast was going to happen so i glued my butt to the chair needlessly).

in the end- i'm really glad to have been part of the wedding. what an honor.

the only minor negative was how tired i was after driving back from ohio to michigan. i went to bed by 9pm and woke up at 7am.... and i slept like the WHOLE time (and i'm still tired). crazy...

as dr. oeschger signs off…
more later

wedding

soo i just went to wedding #2 of 4 in 5 weeks. beth manzi put on a good time. i was curious about step 3 in partying/celebrating her marriage, but it was super cool! she had it at a bar and provided GREAT food (well, you know- the food i like....) wings, cheese sticks, curly fries and it was great.

beth and ben HANISIAN :) hope you know that you have the woodby's who got your back. we are excited for you both and hope to see some fantastic photos of your wedding/honeymoon.

congrats


wedding #3 is probably going to have me spent by the end- but i'm excited. i'm gonna have a new sister-in-law! who's my friend already! (i'm so lucky) hope i'm a good bridesmaid.

sigh

i love days like this. sunny, warm, and we're having people over for dinner. what a joy. we're grilling and going to eat some yummy food. hopefully.

oh man

this is definitely not the season that was meant for me. i love spring and the growth in plants (hence my past desire to become a plant genetics guru)... but the plants seem to be planning my demise. it's quite unfortunate. i am sneezing so much that my co-workers are beginning to hint to me that i should *maybe* go home. too bad i'm a weirdo and never skip stuff. though if i can't con my doctor into perscribing me some allergy meds tomorrow, i may just not show up. we'll see, though. take one thing at a time, i say.

other than that- things are going well. i plan on going shopping during lunch today and buying myself something cute for the wedding i will be attending this weekend. this is wedding number two (out of 4 in 5 weeks) and it is elizabeth manzi... and her name will be different this time next week. i'm excited to see her in her radiance. i hope that she will enjoy the day since she's known what she's wanted since before i got married. she's such a planner, though- i bet everything will be inCREDIBLE. i'm very excited.

annnnd back 2 work

yeeeha

a *princess* or *red rose* has been born! congrats to katie and tom. suri is a um... unique name. :) you have an opportunity to shower love to this little chicka... good luck.

aside from that silliness....
allergies are demolishing me this season. i have had to resort to rubbing my eyes frantically and sneezing. hopefully the allergy pills will have some impact on the situation. we'll see!

hugs!

good things on

wednesday, april 12th.

- still warm even though it's raining.

- finding a brownie before someone picked each one up for inspection (dude- it's a brownie, pick one up and eat it!)

- eating at the mall

- eating jumbalaya that was leftover from last night... yummmm

- going to eat macaroni and cheese tonight (spirals!)

- sleeeping tonight

- lost?

that's all i can think of

random paragraphs for one entry

"everyday is the worst day of my life"

we watched office space last night before headin' to bed. it is a funny movie. not my favorite, but definitely funny. i definitely don't think that this is the worst day of my life, but today is definitely a day where my bed is calling my name. i have been hearing the bed calling me on a more frequent basis as time continues on the same track.

my parents went to florida last week during my mom's spring break. apparently the email she sent out telling us how to contact in case of emergencies was a *reminder*. i sure don't remember hearing of this trip. ever. needless to say- it is very good that my mom sent the Email, but i would have panicked. also- the two messages that i left my parents indicated that they could call me *any* time they wanted to when they got back. apparently they don't want to talk to me. ha. oh well.

i have been the hungriest person in the world these days. if i don't eat, i get horrendous cramps and then i have to lay down. not cool. i seriously need to figure out how to satisfy my appetite with healthy things and not things like cheetos, popcorn, etc. etc. i'm sure that i can come up with something, but i'm not really sure. never been great about eating healthy. something to work on, though.

it looks like everyone at work is pretty much in a meeting and it looks like they've been gone about the same about of time (40 min). i apparently do not know about a meeting, or have been a wee bit neglected. i hope that it is the latter b/c i do not want to miss an important meeting.

no sir.

hello

happy april! it is the beginning of the season where i will not be around michigan for many weekends. i have weddings and showers galore. crazy, i tell you- crazy. i think that the groups of people just get married in a unit. it should be a good season, though. april and may are where most of the weddings occur.
April 22nd is my aunts. (i've been invited to a baby shower this weekend which i cannot attend)
April 29th is my friend beth. (i've been invited to a wedding shower in which i cannot attend)
May 6th is Josh and Christy's
May 20th is Chris and Tessa's.
Maybe four isn't too many, but they all are in Ohio. with at least a 3 hour drive. whine, whine. :)
I pray that the Lord will bless all their weddings and that they know they have someone to go to during the tough times.

i must do some work today.

so i've got to jet.

hey

just so anyone who reads this knows.... (aka u 3 people!)....


i do wedding invites now (stationery, any type of announcements, etc).

i have done 2 wedding invites, and i have heard some great things. i'm pretty pumped about them, so hopefully i will be able to have a side business of doing them. i learned a lot about time and stuff like that- so i think that it will be better for the next few people that i work with. i loved it! :) yay! :)


and...

kel- i have to Email you sometime soon. time is going by way too quickly.

can u believe that...

i've been at work for 11 1/2 hours on sunday (now on to early monday morning) and i'm not even really sure when i'll be able to go. shouldn't complain though b/c there is rumor that we might not have to come in tomorrow (today). we'll see, though. i might have a really busy tuesday if i don't come in, and i have to decide if i want that or not. i'm thinking yes.

if you haven't, you should check out theneverything.com and lovelybysurprise.com

i worked on those things. they are pretty cool. i like the idea of the project, but it has been quite a challenge to work on. hopefully the public will enjoy it and have fun with it. it's a little not *family friendly* but looks like it will be a bit light in comedy.

things i had planned on doing today...
1. laundry
2. dishes from lunch
3. cleaning master bath
4. picking up stuff from michael's to make some cool magnets. yeah. i know you're jealous.


that was about it, though. i thought that i had a lot of important things on the schedule, but it looks like it was gonna be low key and apparently could be axed. i'm glad that i could manage to not do it.

hope my lunch will still be in the refidgerator on tuesday... it's been there since friday and they sometimes spontaneously purge the fridge. say a prayer.

oh wait- the husband will be in court tomorrow (today) for evicting the tenant who hasn't paid all of january nor since.... for the condo we own. say a prayer that we don't have some crazy judge that thinks the chick is hot (she's 52 and not hot- but you never know) and rules in favour of her even though she hasn't held up her end of the bargin. also pray that the husband keeps his cool the whole time.

thanks

oh yeah

so i was speaking with one of my friends and she asked me how the bad meeting went. it didn't go so hot. but....

i was de-invited. yeah... how does *that* happen? sheesh! ha ha... anyway i've been workin' like crazy and trying to get things done so it doesn't happen again.

okay! and i've got to get to work

i'm exhausted

every tell a bunch of people you can do something? well it ended me in a serious state of being tired* at this point.

1. told beth and christy that i will do their wedding invites.
2. did beth's invites (still working on christy's-- but she's so calm i'm not too worried about 'em).
3. working a LOT at work/work and i am soooo tired. and apparently i'm going to be getting in trouble tomorrow. yay. (not really)

and that's why the old lady is tired....

that and b/c of the stress i desire really unhealthy food. smart. (not really)

i enjoy the people that i work closely with, and so that is pretty nice.

i need to close my wallet and not let anything come from it for like 3 weeks or something

that's the next goal. only buy gas and groceries for 3 weeks. starting now (i bought lunch and a starbucks... i STINK!)

*edit: i wrote tried before, but i meant tired (though tried could work... but not for what i'm talkin' about!).

eugh

do you ever feel like everything happens at once? you're trekin' along and doing your normal thing and get blindsided with craziness. let me list it out to you:

1. work is getting crazy busy (or so they say- i think people are being nice and protecting me b/c of #2)
2. i get sick and i'm SO clogged up i can barely hear people- this is bad b/c i don't really remember this ever happening before.
3. i have toooons of wedding invites. beth's are 90% done, and they are taking longer than i thought they would, so that makes me sad- but they look *so* good, so i don't care (i have a new set-- christy and josh's to do this wknd).
4. we're evicting our tenant- and i'm wondering if she even really realizes we're doing that. she hasn't called or anything lately, and so i hope that she hasn't disappeared off the face of the earth b/c then we're royally screwed :( i doubt the FBI/CIA cares about this kind of stuff so i think that we'd end up being SOL.
5. every one of the other designers got their computers updated yesterday, but b/c the tech guy found out that i was going home sick, he left my computer w/o updating it b/c he didn't want my germies. this i understand, but i'm worried i'll be left behind! augh!

okay- after listing this stuff out, it's not really sounding as bad as i thought.
ha

i guess there are good things to typing them out.

answer...

the questions and form a list. i have decided to do something for a *get to know me*


Four Jobs I've Had

1. ice cream scooper
2. fun center leader (aka. day camp leader)
3. design lab techy
4. digital graphic designer at yr.com

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over

1. 10 things i hate about you
2. empire records
3. brokedown palace
4. two weeks notice

Four Places I Have Lived

1. worthington, OH (columbus)
2. athens, OH
3. broadview heights, OH (cleveland)
4. northville, MI (detroit)

Four Shows I Like to Watch

1. lost
2. that 70's show
3. how i met your mother
4. the office

Four Foods I Like

1. popcorn
2. burritos
3. pizza hut
4. milk

Four Websites I Visit Daily

1. www.yahoo.com
2. www.lobenrock.com
3. meganjerse.blogspot.com
4. www.commarts.com (for the site of the week)

Four Things I Want to Do Before I Die

1. run (or swim) till i die
2. eating healthy b/c i *want* to
3. have a couple kids
4. get a house that has some hardwood floors so i can dance/slide around which makes me a happy lil' chick

work has been kind of pleasent. i've been pretty busy, but sometimes it slows to a hault and i try to enjoy it a bit (lately i've been sneaking in a couple shows of lost here and there.... gotta catch up on last season!).

valentines day was good. the husband got me a coupon for a professional massage. aside from the fact that i get pretty nervous about people touching me, i'm pretty excited! i hope that i'll be able to pick a *good* day to have one. i don't wanna go in and then the following day ruin it by partying or working out like crazy. unfortunately, that will probably happen.

this weekend i'll be going to phili to celebrate my nephew's 1st birthday! his birthday isn't for a few more days- but it worked out well with my parents so my sis decided to have it this saturday. i'm really excited to see my family this weekend. i haven't seen them since Christmas, and that is really long. i never thought that i would miss being in the same room with my family. the only problem is, i can still only handle a day or so before my cup is full and unfortunately running over with westbrook-isms. :) anwyay-- i'm trying to prove that i'm a cool aunt by only bringing toys. hopefully the little guy will think they are cool and keep his hands out of the trash ;) (mich told me that is his new wonder).

talk to you all later

underdog

once again, the underdog prevails! good job steelers. way to steal your way to victory.

i was afraid that the game would be a bust, and that i would be watching a team leave the other in the dust. just my luck- it was a fairly close game overall. it is nice to be able to watch games that are fun. i think that i'm sticking with the fact that i like college football, though. i like their amateur ways.

i have been having trouble sleeping. it is unfortunate b/c i normally sleep very well. i enjoy to sleep and i fall asleep fairly quickly. it is not helping with productivity, and i can hardly wait till i have some time to sleep again. sleep is like a drug, you can never have enough.

your love

is better than ice cream...

i feel like my life is turning into a soundtrack. i am constantly hearing music when things are happening around me and i think that it is making my life seem a bit surreal.

for example: i was falling asleep on the couch tuesday night and i was hearing an iron & wine song. this is a little crazy b/c no music was on, and i think that i was hearing it because i was tired and his music is often so comforting in the tune.

even during lunch i am thinking of songs. during meetings at work. bible study i realize that i'm almost *dancing* to the music i'm hearing. embarrassing, no doubt.

maybe we should not have the sharing ability at work set up for itunes. this could be 1/2 of my problem.

this and that

today has been a good day. i think that i'm going to have a sinus cold soon, but my spirits are pretty lifted high. i am glad that the sun is out, its a mild winter, and the husband's truck is working well. unfortunately- it looks like each trip to-fro work guzzles up about a 1/4 tank of gas. it is highly annoying and worrysome because i doubt that i'll get home without getting a fill-up (and it's not new jersey so i'll be pumpin' my own gas, thank you!).

this weekend should be a good time. i'm a little nervouse- but i'll be doing a skiing race with my co-workers for kids with special needs. i think that one of them should be on our team, and i think that will be cool. it sounds like it will be a time of laughter and getting to know one another. team building, i suppose :) that's always fun. i'm also an alternate- but one of the guys on the team who insists that he is coming, doesn't work for us anymore (he found a different job). i just hope that he does come b/c i don't want to race. ha.

today we might be able to watch a movie at work and eat (free!) pizza. maybe there will even be coke. coke is quite a lovely thing, and i wish that it wasn't bad for you. maybe in heaven. j.k. i think that i would rather have something better than that.. eugh.

hypocrite

i keep wanting people to write something in their blog- even if it were something short and sweet. i just need to have my palette wet or something. who knows. anyway- i figured that i should hold my end of the bargin.

things have been pretty busy here. work is a bit slow, but almost every evening i do some sort of event with church or friends. this week is the most busy. last night was bible study, tonight is hanging out with the girls from bible study, tomorrow is youth group, thursday is hanging out with my h.s. friend lindsay one.last.time., and friday is hanging out with becky! i am hoping to make her help me with my quilt :) hee hee, i'm so bad. currently from my point of view i am doing some sort of ski thing in brighton, mi for special needs children on saturday- but i'm not sure if i was bumped from the team. i am kind of hoping that i was, but who knows. i am thinking that i might get a cold on saturday, and be too sick to come into work on monday. apparently we're allowed to take 2 sick days a month. i can take a day off every two weeks. that is HOT- but not appropriate to be used for *fun* days. i dunno- i keep saying that i'll use a sick day- but i know that i'm too scared to.

last night i did the save the dates for my brother-in-law and future sister-in-law. i think that they look pretty good. i hope that she is happy with the way they turned out b/c they are already in the mail! :) the husband helped by putting the stamps on the envelopes. he's so great! he even offered to help do way more- but i think that what he did instead was more appealing to him anyway (playing x-box with our neighbor below).

and i'm out.

fitness

in honor of martin luther king day- i went to work out at the gym at 9:30am instead of pm. it was nice to have the day off work. little did i know that the class called "50/50" means kick your butt. i went into the class thinking it would be a cardio kickboxing class that i could handle. when i saw a pregnant lady, i figured that it may be a little bit easy since i have been running 5 miles at least once a week (2 or more miles other days).

i must have gotten confused.

i think that most women think that they are not strong or whatever, but i think that i'm in decent shape. the ladies in this class were a-freaking-amazing. they were totally doing all the moves (knowing what to do when i was still standing there the 3rd time the lady was 1/2 explaining it) at 100%. i was gasping for air and dashing to my waterbottle for refreshment. apparently i wasn't the only one that was looking like i was going to pass out b/c the instructor decided to bring it down a notch. i grabed 12lbs for some weight lifting thinking *i'll grab something a little bit less weight so i can catch my breath* halfway through the lifting i had to return the weight and get one that was 8 lbs and it was still kind of heavy. the pregnant lady went back to return hers and i thought- i must have made it seem okay to swap out for a less weight when i realized that she was getting MORE weight. eugh. i think that i was trying to make it in a super-mom world or training for super-mom's :)

needless to say- from the back of my knees to my sholders are in serious pain today- and i think that it may be here to stay.

dude

i totally dig my husband. he can be really cool. i think that the reason why he can be so cool is that he makes me get out of my little shell and open my eyes. he is the spontaneous one, and that is really important to me.

i think that i'll keep him.

things have been pretty busy lately. i am getting the blessing of designing two wedding invitations, and i think that it will be a GRAND time to do them. i am really excited. really. i just hope that i make them look SO cool that other people will want me to do them for them- and then i will actually charge 'em. ha ha

talk to you later.

college

minus one. here are the roomies reunited. kelly couldn't make it b/c she was in oregon. it was good to see tas and ashley. (ashley has a NICE rock!).

hugs to kelly who couldn't be there

testing

one, two, three!


cool star lamps i got for Christmas...

my parents Christmas tree....

stones

the family stone wasn't what i thought it would be about. i thought it would be your normal hopeless romantic, and instead it was about the world and more about it. i just think that as my relationship with Christ cultivates the older i get, the more sensitive i am to the situations that i see on the screen. i don't mind most of what i saw: the gay couple, i'm okay with- and if you want to know in what way i'm okay with it- ask me and i'll tell. bringing home a girl that you don't love for your family to basically ridicule? that is wrong. i know that he was trying to make things *right* and *fix* the situation, but man, not the reason to bring someone home. i think that i am really sensitive to love for many reasons that i don't know, but i really have something inside me that yearns for true love. i place that yearning of mine in the characters i see on the screen, and it is so hard to see how it isn't satisfied on that dreaded screen. i wish that people knew, the same things that i know.

i wish that people knew that there really is true love for them, and it waits for them to accept it full heartedly. i know that it has changed my life from the inside out, and still does. i know that it is hard to think that you can be so imperfect, yet still receive the most pure, strongest bond of love possible. i think that it's the only thing that will help me continue day by day.

God has totally changed my life. i am talking about the great *I AM* the One who is everywhere at the same time that He's in me, watching me, and listening to only me. The One that we began saying Merry Christmas to one another for, and the person we celebrate their birthday by giving -other- people gifts. the One who loves me like no one else can, and will never let me down. not even my husband can love me as much as He does, and that is simply crazy amazing.

i wish that people knew, and believed the same things that i know.

thanks

well. this past weekend was packed. went to the in-laws and partied the thanksgiving holiday away. we went shopping a lot for a wedding i'm going to be in, and that was cool. i think that i like the dress that she chose. many other ones were knocked down almost immediately when emily and i walked out of the dressing room with the same dress on and it looking completely different on both of us. once we broke out in tears. it was crazy. i chose a dress that i have to eat a bit healthier over the next couple months to fit a wee bit more comfortably in it. i think that i can do it. i actually lost 3 pounds over the holiday. lets hope this trend will stay till i lose the next 17 (yes, the pounds are extra ones, so they need to go).

i can't believe how quickly time is going. tonight will be a busy one b/c i have to work out, shop for a dress that i will be wearing tomorrow night at the husband's work Christmas party, and get groceries for the young couples Christmas party through our church on saturday. i have to do several things that need some time to congeal (make jell-o and deviled eggs).

no good stories yet.

maybe next year!