Names

So, I think I need a new name for the blog. It appears that "I was an old maid" may have caught the attention of some not so savory characters. I'm currently being followed by someone who follows some blogs that have not so nice names...the name thing is about all I can figure out. So, if you have suggestions you're certainly welcome to post them in the comments section.

In other news, we're just sitting here waiting for (as one of our friends from church has been calling it) "Snowpocalypse 2009". The weathermen here have been forecasting "record snow fall" and freely using the word "blizzard". In Oklahoma. Seriously? I suppose that, technically, what's going on in western OK could be classified as a blizzard according to the definition I found here. But seriously, they're all doom and gloom and I'm just not a believer. I guess time will tell if we're stranded in the house for the weekend but I'm betting we won't be.

So, for now, I'm going to go catch up on some TV shows and scratch the puppy's ears. Hope everyone stays warm!

Thursday Night at Our House

So, nothing really new to report here. I'm still working, doing taxes, and I really REALLY enjoy it. Also still doing Arbonne part time. The house is OK - we have good days and bad. We're currently planning things to do to our backyard to make it more usable. We also recently painted the kitchen purple. Well, it's more of an eggplant color but whatever.

This post is also to let you all know that I did NOT create all of the previous posts in two days. I transferred my blog over here from the other site and had to do it manually so they are showing up as being posted on the date I transferred, not the date I originally posted. Oh well. Please note I did NOT transfer the comments so if you have something important that you think should be on here, you'll have to comment again. :)

With that, I'm off to bed.

Randomness

I’ve got lots of thoughts today. And lots of time to get them documented. I’m sitting at the allergy doctor’s office getting three shots every 15-30 minutes for the rest of the day. Yippee. My friend Lana was sweet enough to come along and keep me company (and make sure I get home safely). So we’re sitting here utilizing the free wi-fi, watching Frasier re-runs, and drinking coffee.

First of all, a couple of updates. The doctors decided to take my cousin’s baby a month ago. As soon as they did she got better. Garrett is still hanging in there. He had surgery to close an artery on Sunday but he’s doing exceptionally well, all things considered. Continued prayers are appreciated of course. My sister-in-law is doing well also. She’s having to go to PT five days a week and it doesn’t seem to be coming quite as easily but she’s doing really well. We think she’ll be having the radiation surgery sometime in March but I think they’ll be confirming that this week or next.

Now, this is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time and I’m sure it will come out all wrong but I’m going to make a stab at it. And let me just say right up front that this is in no way intended to be sacreligious.

I recently read the Twilight series. When I finished, something made me have this thought that it could kind of be compared to our lives as Christians. Just hang with me here. First, Bella is a human. When she meets Edward, after a short while, she wants nothing more than to be a vampire and be immortal with him. As Christians, that’s what we should want - to be with Christ forever (although I personally struggle with wanting to stay here longer because I have a good life and there are things that I want to do before I die). Second, when Bella is dying, it’s Edward’s venom (he doesn’t have blood) that saves her. When she wakes up, she can see more clearly than she could as a human - she says that colors are brighter and she had no idea what she was missing before. I fully believe that we cannot even imagine what heaven will be like, and that we’ll see colors brighter and things more beautiful that we ever thought possible. Bella, as a vampire, never has to sleep - she never gets tired. Isaiah 40:31 tells us that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar up on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (emphasis mine). I guess what I’m saying is that it’s hard for my human mind to fathom what things will be like but for some reason, reading those books kind of helped me imagine (in very human terms) just a little bit what it could be like in heaven - no pain or suffering, no tears, no being tired, everything is beautiful, and we get to be with the One we love for eternity!

I think the allergy drugs are making it hard for me to articulate today but does anyone else see at all what I’m talking about or am I completely outside my mind???

With that, I’m signing off. Comments always welcome but please check your attitude at the door.

Some Random Thoughts, Not Intended to Offend

I changed my mind. I’m not going to get ready for work just yet. I have a few things on my mind. I’m watching the news and the following things are going through my head:

1. What is with the love fest between the media and the new President? I’m not making a secret about the fact that I didn’t vote for him because I have STRONG RESERVATIONS about many of his plans and his position on several topics including, but not limited to, abortion and equal rights for homosexuals.
2. I see some huge inconsistencies in the way he is being treated vs. the way previous Presidents (Democrat OR Republican) were treated. One example that is evident today is President Obama’s nomination for Treasury Secretary. The guy who would be charged with “fixing” the nation’s current economic crisis somehow “forgot” to pay HIS OWN personal income taxes. But is this a problem? Doesn’t appear to be since they’re going ahead with the confirmation process. If you look back to 1993, President Clinton’s nominee for AG, Zoe Baird, withdrew after it came to light that Baird had hired illegal immigrants as household employees and did not pay SS taxes on them. This was a HUGE deal. In 2001, President Bush’s nominee for Labor Secretary withdrew after it was revealed that she had given housing and financial assistance to an illegal immigrant, but the FBI found that she had not committed any crimes.

Here’s the problem though. I have many friends who were constantly disparaging President Bush while he was in office. My response to them was that,while they didn’t have to like him personally or even his policies, you have to respect the office that he holds. So, I have to do the same for President Obama. One other thing I feel compelled to do, as a Christian, is to pray for him. I was listening to the local Christian station on inauguration day and the DJ made the point that even if we are concerned for where this country is headed and for the things this President might do, we are still called to pray for him. He used the illustration of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednigo and their prayers for King Nebuchadnezzar, a man who was 180 degrees from God but because of the prayers of those men, he came to believe. Please note that I am NOT saying that I believe the President is 180 degrees from God - I don’t know that and it’s not for me to say. He may be, or he may be a very devoted Christian (although his views on many subjects compared to what the Bible says would make me wonder about that, but again, not my place to judge). So, I will pray for him, and I will respect the office, and I hope that our country will thrive during his time in office.

I know that some of you reading this will completely disagree with me on these issues and that I may not have presented my thoughts in the most clear and concise manner. And that’s fine. I just wanted to vent a little and see if anyone else had any thoughts on these matters.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

…it’s off to work I go! Just a quick update on a couple of things.

First, I started my new job yesterday! I already love it. Yesterday was slow and it probably will be for a couple of weeks but once I get settled in, I’ll be able to set my own schedule and I really like all the people I work with. I’ll be doing taxes which I’ve never done before so that’ll be a challenge but I’m up for it! Still doing Arbonne on the side too - I can’t give that up.

In other news, thanks to our new alarm system I’m sleeping much better at night.

I also need to update on my sister-in-law, Kimberly. For those who don’t know (or forgot) she is 22, had a stroke last summer and was in ICU for 27 days, then inpatient rehab for another week or two. She has been doing great. Last week she had an embolization of some of the vessels of the AVM in preparation for a radiation surgery in a couple of months. The radiation causes the vessels to become weaker and thus increases the chances of it re-bleeding, causing another stroke. The embolization is supposed to make the vessels stronger so that the chances of re-bleeding stayed low. Everything went smoothly but then a couple hours after the procedure Kimberly started losing use of her left side again (she had pretty much regained everything she lost). At this point, she can move her left leg pretty well, her left arm a little bit, but has lost all of her fine motor skills on her left side. She is understandably frustrated because she has been doing physical and occupational therapy three times a week since August of last year and now she’s about back where she started, and it’s very possible that she’ll go through the same thing again after the radiation. So, PLEASE keep her and Jacob in your prayers. If you’d like to read more, she and Jacob both update this blog so that friends and family can keep up.

I think that’s about it for now. I’ve got to go dig up some summer clothes for work because it’s supposed to be 77 degrees today! Of course tomorrow it’ll be back in the 3o’s…love that Oklahoma weather.

She Did What?????

So, I’m sitting here, about to go down to the basement and do some laundry, and I’ve got the TV on. The Drs. is on right now. Not my fave show ever, but occasionally they have something interesting on. Today, I just hadn’t gotten around to changing the channel or turning it off and I hear them say something about a woman who was addicted to injections of collagen to the point that when her dr. started refusing to inject her any more (or provide the collagen for her to do it on her own which she had been doing under his care previously) she went home and injected her face WITH COOKING OIL.

It turns out she had body dsymorphic syndrome (or something like that - one of my dr. friends correct me if I’m wrong here) but basically she didn’t have a realistic idea of what she looked like (I think this is what a lot of people with eating disorders have).

This just made me think - sure, I’m not super happy with my current weight (or it’s distribution) HOWEVER, I look around at all of these super skinny kids (and adults) running around and I’m pretty happy with myself, blemishes, curves and all. I certainly can’t imagine ever being to the point where I would inject anything, much less cooking oil, into any part of my body!

Before we moved I was running regularly and was enjoying it but the move kind of threw me off my schedule. Now I’d like to get started again but I’d like to run with someone. The problem with that is, I don’t know anyone who runs at the same pace or even close to what I run - most people I know who run have been running for a long time and run long distances at a pretty quick pace. Anyone have any ideas? Hopefully I can get back into that routine soon.

Just some random, not very well phrased, thoughts for those who are interested (or just really bored).

Peace out.

When it Rains

The hits just keep on coming. I went to the chiropractor this morning and was out of the house for less than an hour. When I came home, the first thing I noticed was our DVD player in the floor and the box it had been sitting on (WT, I know) was turned over. I figured Kona had knocked it over playing with his toys. I couldn’t find Kona anywhere though. I searched the downstairs of the house and finally discovered him cowering between the toilet and the trash can in the downstairs bathroom, standing in a puddle of pee, shaking. I just thought “Oh, he scared himself to death, poor puppy.” I started cleaning up and picked up the rug to take it down to the basement and that’s when I saw it.

Our back door had been kicked in.

I was on the phone with Nathan at the time so I told him I thought our house had been broken into, I wasn’t sure if they were still in the house, and to please come home immediately, I was calling 911. I headed out the front door, alone. I forgot Kona. I’m a bad mom. I stood out there and both Nathan AND my uncle beat the cops here by a good five minutes.

All they got was our brand new Wii (had it less than a week) and my jewelry roll which didn’t have anything terribly valuable (some silver jewelry and costume jewelry) but did have some sentimental items in it. I suppose we got off lucky but I feel violated. And our back door frame is in shambles. We will be getting an alarm system PDQ and joining the neighborhood patrol association as well. And maybe looking for a big brother for Kona. I’m really concerned that they may have kicked him because I’m quite sure he tried to take a bit out of their ankles…

I’m thankful that everyone is safe but I feel violated.

What Just Happened?

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks. We went home for Christmas, and I had finally gotten myself excited about spending time with the family and not worrying about anything else….and then I started not feeling well. It started the morning we left (Christmas Eve). I thought it was just the food I ate but it passed, sort of, and I went on about my business. It was back, and stronger on Christmas morning but again, I attributed it to my coffee. Boy was I wrong. And no, I’m not pregnant.

Before I go on, just an aside. I am not going to say these words again “I’m not pregnant”. Let this just serve as notice to anyone reading that you will know when I am. In the meantime, it would be much appreciated if inquiries as to when that might happen (however well intentioned) are left unvoiced. I’m already feeling old, and the whole “biological clock ticking” thing, however, we JUST got married, not even 2 years ago, and before we did, we didn’t get to live in the same place. I am trying SO hard to be content and to balance enjoying time with just my sweet husband and I, because I know that if and when we do have kids, it is going to turn things upside down. I’m not saying I don’t want kids, I’m just saying, give us some time. Muchas gracias! *stepping down off of soapbox*

So, it turns out that SOMEHOW, even though I never leave the house, I came into contact with someone that gave me a lovely Christmas gift…a nasty stomach bug. A great big thanks to whoever that was. Shortly after lunch on Christmas Day I had seconds (and I don’t mean in the good way) and then encores every couple of hours for the next 12. Nathan was unbelieveable. Somehow, thankfully, I don’t have a good memory of a lot of the last few days but evidently after the first time I hurled (in a bowl I might add, because not once did I make it to the bathroom) he came to take it from me and I put my hand over it and shook my head no like I wasn’t going to let him take it. Not sure what I thought I was going to do with it but whatever. Anyway, he was so good to come in and take my bowl every time and wash it (with soap and hot water even!) and bring it back, ask me if I needed anything, he was even brave enough to sleep in the same bed with me because he didn’t think I should be left alone (which was probably right). Anyway, without grossing anyone out any further, I’ll just say, I didn’t eat real food until 2 days after Christmas and really, not a lot is sounding good to me right now, especially sweets which is odd because that’s what I normally LOVE. I’m still drinking gallons and gallons of Lemon-Lime Gatorade. Yum!

What I’ve ALSO done in the last couple of weeks is get to visit with my cousin that lives in Kentucky - we had some yummy sushi the night we picked her up from the airport, and we had a lovely visit. I also went and got myself a job. There’s nothing in writing at this point however I have accepted a position with a small CPA firm here in the city and I’ll be working on an hourly basis, pretty much deciding how many hours I want to work. This firm has an EXCELLENT reputation for treating their employees well, and respecting the “work/life” balance that so many companies talk about but when it comes down to it they just can’t support it. I already knew three of the people working there - two that I worked with at a previous job and one that we go to church with. I’m really excited about it because I’ve missed crunching numbers (if you can believe that). I’ll be doing taxes most of the time, potentially SOX in the off season, depending on how much work I want. I’ll probably be starting that in the next month or so!

In other really good news, we had our THIRD plumber come out to the house today and they ran their machine all the way to the main, cleared some clogs, and called it good. They said the sewer line will have to be replaced at some point but not today, thank goodness. Now Nathan and I get to go do some Christmas shopping for each other!

Well, I think that’s all the news I have for now. I have to finish getting ready because we’re going to dinner at the Wedge (really yummy pizza place) with some friends to do Christmas with them. Hopefully I can eat some of the good pizza!

Is it Really Christmas?

Well, it seems that this year I’m getting a reminder of what Christmas is really about. Due to circumstances beyond our control, Nathan and I are not getting to do Christmas for each other this year (well, unless you count a new sewer line), and our spending on other people has been significantly limited. I don’t like this because I usually have fun shopping for gifts - I like finding things that I think my friends and family will enjoy. I like searching for some new strange book that I think Nathan will enjoy reading to me while I’m trying to read something else. I like to see my sisters’ faces when they open their “real” gift, then find a gag gift inside or attached or whatever. I like finding something unusual for my mom and of course I LOVE spoiling my nieces completely rotten by purchasing whatever toys, books, clothes, princess items, etc. I can get my hands on.

I understand, that this is not the point of Christmas. Christmas is supposed to be the time of year when we remember that it’s NOT all about material things, that because of what happened on that night in Bethlehem, this stuff we have here does not matter one single bit because someday, we’ll be living in a place that is SO much better where there’s no heartburn, no sewer problems in your new house, no incurable cancer in young people (or anyone else for that matter), no heart conditions, back pain, arthritis, none of that. Just happiness and joy.

So why am I still sad about Christmas this year? I have way more than I will ever need, I have a (mostly) warm house to live in (and more blankets than I can count for when the house is NOT warm), a pantry full of food, two cars to drive around, and husband and lots of family that love me. I guess I need to do some serious work on my attitude.

Brilliant

So, here’s what one college degree, one advanced degree, and two professional certifications will get you:

A shortage of brain cells sufficient to prevent you from noticing (for sixteen hours) that your undies are on inside out.

Running Up That Hill

So, ran the 5k this morning. Time was right at 39 minutes.

After the race

Course was EXTREMELY hilly (Steph told me 2 hills beforehand but I know I counted at least 60 of them - shoot, the entire last 1.5k were uphill). I was pretty proud of my time. My best time up to now was 36 min. and some seconds…so I wasn’t too disappointed by my time. What disappointed me was the fact that I got beat by this guy:

Overall guy

And him:

Five year old

Whatever.

Some other highlights:

Running - about 2k in

Finish line

Sisters

What we paid for gas!!!

New Moon on Monday

I chose the song title (it’s by Duran Duran if anyone was wondering) first of all, because the story that follows happened last night (Monday night). A second reason is that I actually noticed that it’s a new moon right now. The one and only reason I noticed is because Kdog was chasing his tail this morning and he has been known to engage in that particular activity frequently during a full moon so I had to look at the atomic clock and see if there was one…there was not.

So, I woke up to a BIZARRE dream this morning. I generally don’t dream (because I don’t sleep hard enough/long enough for that to happen) so when I do, I most always remember them. Here’s the thing though - when they are particularly weird, 99.9999% of the time, I can trace them back to what I ate the day before. Peanut products. Usually it’s peanut butter. When I was in college, my friend Jama and I were somehow discussing weird dreams (probably something we were talking about on a train in Europe while we weren’t sleeping) and she mentioned that she thought she had read somewhere that peanut butter caused people to have strange dreams. I thought that was interesting and when I thought about it, I kind of agreed based on my personal experience. The 10 years since that time have only served to make me agree even more. Sometimes it’s peanut butter that I ate on a piece of toast or with an apple but it can be as little as a handful of peanut butter M&Ms that will cause it. This most recent case is no exception. At first I couldn’t place it because I’ve been out of peanut butter for about a week now so I didn’t know what the deal was and thought maybe this was just an anomaly. But no. Last night when I had some girls over I had snacks: brownies, Triscuits and cheese and olives, and a snack mix of candy corn and….PEANUTS. I had a couple of handfuls of that right before bedtime. My bad.

Anyway, just thought I’d throw that out there and see if anyone else has had similar experiences. Feel free to tell me I’m crazy - I won’t be offended.

Ain't Got No Home Part 2

***** Update: So, my husband e-mailed the seller’s realtor to ask if anything happened with the other deal that she contact us first. He received a reply that said she had called and left THREE messages for our realtor and never heard back from him. I’m sorry - there is no way that five voicemails got lost in cyberspace. Whatever. She said we’d be her first call if anything happened. But we’re going to look at three houses tonight. We have a new realtor. His name is Nathan. He set up shop at Panera last night while I was having a jewelry party at the house (he flees the property a minimum of 15 minutes before guests are supposed to arrive for these things) and he looked at houses online and set up three appointments for us for tonight. They all look like great houses so here’s hoping!*****

So, since I last wrote, here’s what’s been going on.

Last Sunday (over a week ago now) we were going to the grocery store and Nathan wanted to try and find the neighborhood where a couple of his co-workers live so we were just driving around (an expensive past time these days!). We did not find the neighborhood where they lived BUT we did find this really great neighborhood that’s not far from where we currently live! We liked it so much, we drove through every single street and wrote down every house w/a for sale sign in the yard and then came home and looked them up. After some research we found that the neighborhood has a really strong neighborhood association (which is a good thing) AND has one of only FOUR elementary schools in the metro that you’d actually want your kids to go to! No house in the neighborhood is like another one, most were built in the ’30s, and have great character.

So, we came home, looked them up online, and of the ones that were in our price range, found a couple to look at but we noticed there was one that we had really liked that wasn’t on the MLS (multiple listing service for the real estate neophytes out there). We kept an eye on the MLS for the next couple of days and on Tuesday, the house showed up. We called our realtor immediately, told him we wanted to see it and we got in to see it on Wed. at lunch. (I promise I’m going somewhere with all of this.)

When we got in to see the house we REALLY liked it. Hardwood floors original to the house, real crystal chandelier in the dining room original to the house, huge living/dining area, redone kitchen, HUGE back yard, 2 car garage (which is really rare in older homes), and great curb appeal (nice front porch with a porch swing, weeping willow in front, etc.). PLUS, it is on the main street in the neighborhood which is SO CUTE.

So, as we’re looking at the house, our realtor says they’ve already got one offer on it and it’s only been on the market 2 days. So, we decided to make an offer. The following day (Thursday) we got a call from the realtor telling us that the seller was going to let us and the other people make one final offer and then they’d decide. We decided not to change our offer and the realtor called us back at 11:00. He said that if we’d come up $2k the seller would rather go with our offer. He said to discuss it with Nathan and get back to him. Nathan was at a lunch meeting so I texted him and finally was able to talk to him and we agreed that we wanted to do this. I called the realtor at 1:00 and left a message saying that we wanted the house and to call me. Nathan e-mailed him at 1:30 and then called him and left a voicemail at 4:00. Nathan called again another time or two. Finally at 9:00, Nathan called him again and when he answered the phone, he said “So I guess you guys decided not to do that house,” to which Nathan replied “Um, no.” So the realtor made a mad dash to call the seller’s realtor and of course they had already accepted the other people’s offer. So we lost the house.

I was FURIOUS at first. Now I’m just really sad and disappointed. We have contacted the seller’s realtor to ask that if something happens w/the other people and the deal falls through that they please contact us. We looked at another house in the neighborhood and we didn’t like it as much so as of right now, we’re pretty much back to square one.

Ain't Got No Home

So, I realize it’s been a while since I last posted. I’ve been busy. Here’s what has been going on. I’ve passed the third part of the CPA exam - one more to go!!! We went to the state fair (see pics below). I’ve had a sinus infection for over a week (but nothing that 2 weeks of antibiotics, 2 nose sprays and an antihistamine can’t fix…I hope). I’ve started a running program with my sisters. And, the thing that’s been taking up most of our time…we’re looking for a house to buy.

I don’t know why I didn’t have this much trouble last time I was buying a house. I suppose not having to conisider school districts probably makes it more difficult. We want to stay close to Nathan’s work (he currently puts about 7 miles a day on the car and that’s including a trip home for lunch). But we live in an HP neighborhood (Historic Preservation) and it is NOT cheap to buy a house in this neighborhood, unless you find one that needs to be stripped down to the studs and redone and then it’s still expensive. Evidently there are only three elementary schools in this city that you’d want your kids at and we can’t afford a house in any of them. So the next (sort of) logical thing to think is well, maybe we get something we can afford in a neighborhood we like that’s not too far from work and then start saving to send the kids (if and when we have them) to private school. But then it’s hard to decide which neighborhoods are safe, etc. I’m pretty sure our realtor just wants to be done with us because we’ve changed areas that we’re looking about four times now.

Then there’s what I’m doing with my time lately. I study and do other random stuff but after the test, I was thinking it might be fun (and helpful to our bank account) if I got a part time accounting job somewhere. Problem is, I have no idea how to go about finding a part time job that would compensate me like I want to be compensated AND that would only be for a couple of years at most…having been on the other end of trying to hire, train, and retain good employees, I’d feel bad about taking a job with no intention of staying longer than a year or two.

But I digress…

So, we’re hunting for a house. My aunt has been gracious enough to provide advice and information and give us insight based on her extensive knowledge of the area, neighborhoods, and home renovation and that has already been VERY helpful. Hopefully we’ll find something before we drive her crazy with all the questions.

I know this hasn’t been very exciting - I guess I just needed to clear my mind. And now, without further ado, the state fair pics.

Nathan and me

Cinnamon Rolls!

Here Comes the Rain Again

So, the title actually has nothing to do with the content of this post, other than the fact that it’s gloomy and rainy and cold out (thank you Hurricane Gustav). I just checked B’s blog and realized I’d been “tagged”. I figure, sure, I’m game. I can at least make an effort to play along…I can’t promise this will be super interesting though…so here goes.

The tagging rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you’re tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

I’m not really sure I can come up with six random things but here’s my attempt:

(1) I am somewhat OCD. Yes, I have a type A, a place for everything and everything in it’s place mentality (although I’m pretty sure my husband would disagree and show you a picture of the chair in our room covered with clothes to prove it). But here’s the thing - if I eat M&Ms, Skittles, anything like that where there are multiple colors, I eat them two at a time, and only eat the same colors together (i.e. two yellows, two reds, etc.). If there are odd men out, I make Nathan eat them.

(2) I am a sucker for hot dogs at sporting events…hot links at OSU football games and a DP…can’t beat it!

(3) I’m stealing this idea from one of B’s random things but this is true: ever since a business trip to Boston a few years ago, I’ve wanted to be a tugboat captain. I realize it’s hard and potentially dangerous work, but I’m always up for a challenge and I just like the ocean air. Plus, I’m amazed that those teeny tiny little boats can move a ginormous ship out of a channel or port to open sea.

(4) I wake up every night at least once, between 2 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. (usually right around 3:30). I don’t know why, but it’s highly annoying.

(5) I hate summer, love fall and winter. I love cold weather and love sleeping with the windows open (even though I’m not technically supposed to because of the whole allergy thing…). I love to snuggle up on the couch with a blanket and some hot chocolate or tea, things that aren’t really as much fun when it’s topping 100 degrees outside and our a/c can’t keep up!

(6) I worry that people think I’m lazy or don’t have any drive because I don’t have a “real job” (meaning an 8-5 job). I have 2 degrees and one and a half professional certifications, but quite honestly, the thought of going back to the corporate rat race is enough to make me literally sick to my stomach. Some women have that “I’m going all the way to the top of this company no matter who I have to step on to get there” mentality and that’s just not me. I personally don’t see anything wrong with wanting to stay home with kids (which, granted, I don’t actually have yet, but that’s not the point), but there have been MANY people who have asked me “so, when you get your CPA, where are you going to look for a job?” as if anything less than an 80 hour work week is a sign of someone who is lazy and unmotivated. Those same people I suppose don’t understand that I’m trying to finish this CPA certification for my own personal satisfaction - to say that I did it and if, down the road somewhere, I decide to put it to use, then that’s fine. I just don’t know why it’s absolutely necessary that I get a “real job” unless that’s what we decide is best for us. (Stepping down off of my soapbox…)

So, I apologize if those weren’t the most exciting random things…that’s what I can come up with right now, not having had any caffeine this morning. Now, I tag…

Lana, Kim Wallace, Sara Langum (and yes, I realize that’s only 3 but off the top of my head, they’re the only people I know that have blogs!).

Song of Confusion

I was just reviewing a practice test and reading an explanation for the right answer that I correctly chose (yay me!). For giggles, I decided to read the explanations for the incorrect answers that were choices and here’s what I found:

Choice “c” is incorrect. It is unclear what a digit verification check actually is. A Google search failed to turn up anything, as did reference to several of the texts that the examiners have provided as references in the IT area. Perhaps the examiners are making up good sounding combinations of words for some of the wrong answers.

Really? They Googled that term? And these are the people I’m paying to help me pass this test???? I’m not saying I disagree with them but the fact that they’d put that in their explanation is somewhat amusing (and a little disturbing) to me.

Back to studying…

Wave on Wave

When I worked on the ropes course at OSU, I had a friend named Josh. He was from Washington State and always had some interesting insight into things he was seeing in Oklahoma. One particular day as we were sitting around on our lunch break, he explained to us the finer points of waving at someone on a country road in Oklahoma.

The appropriate way to wave at a person that you pass on the road is this: First, your left arm is ALWAYS resting on the door beside (elbow hanging out the open window) you so you will always wave with your right hand which of course is resting atop the steering wheel. Second, you don’t wave with your whole hand because you need to maintain control of the vehicle HOWEVER you certainly don’t want to wave with only one finger because it could be mistaken as being the “wrong” finger so, you raise your index and middle fingers in tandem as a “howdy partener” type of greeting, while leaving the thumb and other two fingers to control the vehicle. Failure to acknowledge the people you pass on such roads will immediately identify you as “stuck up city folk”.

Now you know.

Smell My Feet

*** Update: I finally found it - to read the story, click here. ***

Are you kidding me with this?

I was watching the Early Show this morning and they did a story about this “study” that’s been done that shows that women who are taking the birth control pill can “choose the wrong mate” because the pill messes up their sense of smell. Basically, what this lady said was that if you’re on the pill while you’re looking for a mate, once you get ready to have kids and get off of the pill or if you change methods of birth control, your mate may not smell good to you any more. Then the anchor (who prior to this I had really liked) said “Yeah, I hear of women who, when their marriage is over, say ‘I just don’t like the way he smells anymore’.” That’s got to be the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. Really, if this were grounds for divorce, every time a husband came in from mowing the yard (or playing a marathon round of golf in 100 degree weather), women would be serving them with divorce papers. If people are believing this garbage, it’s no wonder our families are in such sad shape.

I’m not saying that the pill doesn’t mess up your sense of smell - that’s not my area of expertise. I just think that for this woman to get on TV and presume to tell women that they need to not be on the pill when they’re choosing a mate because they may “choose the wrong one” is ridiculous.

The link to the story/video is not on the Early Show website yet but when it is, I’ll post it here so you can see for yourself. Maybe I misunderstood but we’ll see…

Life is Hard

So this is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. It’s not a funny subject like some of those I’ve posted before, but I’m interested to know what others think about this.

In my extended family, there has been a string of incidents happen lately. Some would call them bad luck, some tragedies, some just life. Whatever you call them, they’re not fun. Beyond just my family, I’ve noticed (on the few occasions when I can bring myself to watch the news) that there seem to be more bad things going on in general - kidnappings, murders, other unspeakable evils.

My question is this: what is the problem??? I can think of at least three possible scenarios:

(1) This world really is going to (if you’ll pardon the expression) “hell in a handbasket” - society is getting so far away from the Truth that mankind in general is just saying “to hell with it” not realizing that that’s EXACTLY what they’re in for?

(2) a. There has always been this number of horrible things going on, it’s just that I was so sheltered (read “ostrich with my head in the sand”) that I didn’t realize it OR b. The media has shifted from covering “newsworthy” items to just covering anything and everything that’s bad news (for example, when gas prices were going up, it was on the news EVERY STINKING DAY about how people couldn’t eat because they were having to spend their entire paychecks putting fuel in their vehicles, which is another subject entirely BUT now that gas prices are on the way down, I have seen it on the news ONE time and on that occasion, whatever news anchor it was said “don’t expect the decline in price to last, it’ll be on the way back up in no time”).

Or is it something else entirely? Any thoughts?

Listen to the Music

Here’s something to think about. I was talking with a friend the other night on the way to the scrapbook store. Somehow the topic of church came up (who knows how we got there - we cover so many topics every time we talk there’s no telling). We attend the same church, which is where we met. We just started attending there about a year ago, and around the same time, the church hired a “music minister” who is probably in his early to mid-twenties. Super nice guy, good voice, loves to lead worship. Back in the fall, there was an announcement that they were going to have a meeting to discuss putting together a “praise team” (I forget the terminology he used but you get the idea). I asked her if she’d heard anything about that recently and apparently, many of the older members were not OK w/that degree of change. I’m not sure what I think about that but that particular discussion led us to the following two points.

When she told me the older members had vetoed the praise team, I was reminded of the place I attended growing up. My dad (who, in my humble but honest opinion, is the most Godly man I know) tried singing some of the “contemporary” songs. I think he actually did it once and many of the older members didn’t like that. While we were discussing it, I mentioned to her that, now that I think about it, I honestly don’t understand why they were so hung up on not singing those songs and only singing the ones out of the song book (a la Fannie J. Crosby). Many of these “newer” songs ( you know all the ones you learn at church camp) are written so that they are just verbatim scripture set to music! Can that really be bad? My friend’s reply was as follows:

I like to sing things I can understand. Seek ye first, Oh God You are my God; I mean, “Here I raise my Ebeneezer”? Come on! I don’t even know what that is. What if I’m singing something like “Here I raise my middle finger”? I know that’s not what it means but as much as I know about that word, I could be singing something like that and never know it. (We both know that’s not what it means but she’s using hyperbole for the sake of making a point…)

I guess my issue here is that I don’t understand why the opposition to these songs. I don’t believe that we need to NOT sing the old traditional hymns - there is absolutely a place for those songs in worship, and with a little effort, we can understand what they mean. HOWEVER, I also believe there’s a place for the newer songs in worship too. I am familiar with MANY more scriptures now that I think I would be otherwise, because of contemporary worship songs that I’ve learned over the years. (I should also note here that I’m not advocating abandoning study of the Bible on one’s own, but just that singing something almost ALWAYS helps with memorization - how many songs off the radio do you know because they get continuous air time?)

Coincidentally, we actually sang “O Thou Fount of Every Blessing” on Sunday night at church and “Here I raise my Ebeneezer” is not the only antiquated phrase in the song.

The other issue we discussed was instrumental music. It’s a hot topic in our area because a congregation in our brotherhood (I recently learned we are not technically a “denomination”) has instituted a second Sunday a.m. service that uses instrumental music in worship. My stand on this topic has always been that I don’t think it’s a salvation issue. I don’t think that the instruments keep God from hearing and seeing our voices and hearts in worship and I certainly don’t think that the use (or lack of use) of instruments in worship is what’s going to determine whether a person goes to Heaven. That being said, my personal preference is a capella singing ONLY because I prefer to hear the different parts which you typically don’t hear in an instrumental service because the vast majority of people sing the melody which is totally fine - God doesn’t care! We could be singing a totally different tune and if our hearts are in it, that’s what matters.

But my friend brought up another point though that I had never thought about. She said that she thinks that it would be wrong to deny those people playing the instruments the opportunity to use their talent. I really hadn’t ever thought about it that way but she’s right. Many people have wonderful gifts of being able to play various musical instruments and want to use that gift (that God gave them!) to worship their Heavenly Father. Is that really so wrong???

So, there are your deep thoughts for the day. I’d be interested to know what anyone else thinks on these subjects.

Piggy

So, I was having lunch with a friend today and for some reason was reminded of something that happened to me in the fifth grade. If you tend toward being squeamish, you might want to skip this one.

Since my lovely hometown is also home to JC Potter’s sausage, we took a fifth grade field trip to see the plant one morning. We were exposed to, among other things, the fact that they have a machine that will skin a whole pig in 7 seconds flat. I don’t recall whether or not we actually witnessed such a thing, if we did I have (thankfully) managed to erase that particular memory from my mind. We also got to taste some of the spices they use in the sausage (which is good stuff, but not good enough to get me past the 7 second thing at that particular point in time). We get back to school just in time for cafeteria lunch which was….and I know you won’t believe this but it’s true…pigs in the blanket. I was so nauseous I ended up in the teacher’s lounge eating my teacher’s yogurt that she’d brought to have with her lunch (thank you Mrs. Taylor). Seriously though, is that kind of field trip really appropriate ESPECIALLY when the school menu (which, I might mention, is printed at least a week in advance) clearly states that there will be pigs in the blanket upon our return?

Oh well. I survived, but I still have flashbacks every once in a while…

Other memorable field trips from that year include the Omniplex in OKC and the Skate Place (where I “couples skated” with Jason Stewart), and the elementary school track meet which I had to sit out because I had broken my toe when I ran into the back of my sister’s foot. Good times.

Everyboyd Was Kung Foo Fighting

So, I had seen this before (thanks to my sister) but was just reminded of it again by another friend. Chuck Norris has become this…well…for lack of a better word, pop culture icon. He’s a joke, he’s the coolest guy ever, he’s all over the place. Anyhoo, there’s this website that has these crazy “facts” about Chuck Norris. Here’s just a sampling:

• Remember the Soviet Union? They decided to quit after watching a DeltaForce marathon on Satellite TV.
• The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.
• Chuck Norris doesn’t read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
• Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.
• There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.
• Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.
• Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
• There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
• Chuck Norris is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.
• When Chuck Norris looks in the mirror nothing appears. There can never be a second Chuck Norris.
• Einstein’s original Theory of Relativity was; if Chuck Norris kicks you, your relatives will feel it.
• Chuck Norris doesn’t breathe, he holds air hostage.
• Chuck Norris once played 18 holes of golf using a 12 inch strip of rebar and a sun dried tomato. He shot a 54.

Those are some of the ones that were “picked by the man himself”. For more (there are about nine pages of these) click here. Enjoy.

Peaches

So, it’s been a busy week or so. We’ve spent more of our time in Big D than anywhere else. We are FINALLY home and intend to stay here for a few weeks, Lord willing. In our “spare time” yesterday and today we went to the Edmond Farmer’s Market and bought some squash, cantaloupe, jelly, honey, and other stuff I can’t remember, and peaches, and then made a peach cobbler from scratch. It was our first attempt, and in my humble (but honest) opinion, it rocked. We used Nathan’s Grandmother’s “Never Fail Pie Crust” recipe and then also her recipe for the innards of the cobbler. Here’s how it went:

We forgot to put the butter in but didn’t realize it until we’d all already eaten ours so we didn’t miss it and it probably saved us a few hundred calories. And Benj obviously approves (see last pic).

Dancing With Myself

This is an entertaining video. Here’s the extent of what I know about this (pieced together from Internet and word of mouth). This guy basically quit his job to travel the world (on a limited budget). His traveling companion was filming him once and said something to the effect of “Hey Matt, do that dance you always do” which he did and then he started doing it everywhere and made a video in 2005. For the 2006 version, he accepted sponsorship from Stride gum. Learn more about him here.

We Didn't Start the Fire

OK. So maybe we did.

First, a little background. We do not currently own a residence. We are renting a duplex from my aunt and uncle. It’s a really nice place in a really nice neighborhood. They did a lot of work to renovate this place and make it nice - wood floors, new kitchen and bathroom, etc. I’m not saying that to brag, but it’ll become important shortly. Also important to this story - we have been using the dishes that we got as wedding gifts (the ones we picked out for “every day use”) every day, in the microwave, dishwasher, etc. for a year now.

So here’s what happened. A few weeks ago, on a Saturday, we decided to have breakfast for lunch. We put the bacon on a plate in the microwave, just like always. With about 4 seconds left on it, the plate EXPLODED. Scared me half to death. My husband got the remains out of the microwave, put some bacon on a Pyrex plate (which I KNOW is microwave safe), got it started, and then got on the phone to call the place where we got our dishes to see if they were not actually microwave safe like we believed. I had returned to the living room to study and while he was on hold I suddenly hear him say (quite calmly I might add) “Um, we have a fire”. I basically threw the laptop onto the love seat and went running for the kitchen where, sure enough, there were flames in the microwave.

We both stood there for a couple of seconds staring at it wondering what to do. I couldn’t think straight. My first thought was to unplug the microwave, which we did. But then what? There’s bacon grease in there so water isn’t an option and I couldn’t even begin to think what the appropriate course of action would have been in this situation.

Let me just interject here - what follows are not the actions of two rational people with four degrees and two professional certifications between them. It’s common knowledge though that sometimes book smarts don’t necessarily leave room for street smarts, here’s the proof:

At this point, all I can do is stand there and picture my aunt and uncle’s duplex burning to the ground. I literally have the mental picture in my head. So my answer to that problem is to get the microwave out of the house. I asked him if it was hot and if he could carry it. His response was “You get the door”. I bolted down our EXTREMELY steep stairs and opened the doors. As he was carrying the microwave out it started smoking out the sides. We got it out on the driveway and just stood there staring at it. I saw that my aunt was downstairs so I went and knocked on her door. When she answered, I asked if she had a fire extinguisher to which she replied “Uh, no…WHY???” I explained what was going on, she said we needed to smother it - dirt was the closest thing. She tracked down a spade and one spade full of dirt was enough to extinguish it. Of course the microwave (along with the Pyrex plate) was a total loss. As we were standing there surveying the damage, here comes my uncle. After hearing what had happened, all he did was shake his head.

Later that afternoon I was on my way out to do a presentation and when we got onto our back porch there was a fire extinguisher (commercial grade) sitting outside our door. Apparently my oh-so-funny uncle dropped it off and wanted to leave a cookbook as well but he couldn’t find one quickly enough. So that’s the story of how me almost burned down the house.

P.S. As it turns out, there was a miscommunication and our dishes are NOT microwaveable. Something that would have been good to know a year ago. Oh well. We had to go to Wal-Mart to purchase some “every day use” dishes that WERE microwave safe. After all this mess, we get the new ones home and they DIDN’T FIT IN THE DISHWASHER. I didn’t ever even consider that this might be a problem. Apparently our dishwasher is a little on the small side. The old dishes were square, the new are round and apparently there’s enough of a difference in the large dinner plates that they won’t fit so we have to hand wash them.

Flood

So, we went to see my parents this weekend. We arrived late Saturday evening and agreed to go pick up dinner for my dad’s office staff who had spent all day moving into a new building. We went by to collect the orders and headed off for the local Italian (pronounced “EYE-tal-ee-an” for those not from SE OK) joint. As we started driving, it started raining. To say it was raining hard would DEFINITELY be an understatement. What would have normally been a 4 1/2 minute drive across town was a minimum of 10 minutes. When my husband dropped me off at the curb (to minimize the “drowned rat” appearance I was sure to get after stepping out into the deluge) I stepped out of the car into ankle deep water. Fine, no big deal, I always wear flip-flops from March to October so not a huge problem. No. The problem came when I left the restaurant (carrying a tomato box with 10 people’s orders in it) to find THIS:

I think the look on my face pretty much says it all. That’s right. In the space of about 10 minutes, Main Street had turned into a river. The water was up over the curb (which I’m standing directly in front of in the above picture) and was only a couple feet from the doors of the businesses along the street. We manage to get the food all in the car without incident (for the most part) and head back across town. We decided to go down Main because Washington always floods. Turns out so does Main. It was so bad that we were completely unable to turn OFF of Main St. because the water on the sides was so deep it would have flooded our car. As we’re driving the following coversation takes place between me and my husband:

Husband: I feel like Noah driving the Ark here.

Me: Pretty sure if God hadn’t promised that he wouldn’t flood the earth again, I’d say we have more water than Noah did.

Husband: Oh, it’s not that bad (as we’re driving 15 blocks out of our way DOWN THE LEFT TURN LANE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET because there’s water two feet deep in both lanes on either side).

Me: Oh, OK.

Husband (as we hear a disturbing squeaking noise): Um, is that OUR car???

The good news is, we made it back to the new building (looking like this) with the food still warm (mostly) and today the car still runs so I guess it wasn’t as bad as I thought…

New Game

So, after absolutely no consideration whatsoever, I’ve decided to start titling my blog posts after songs. If you care to guess the artist be my guest, but I’m not giving out prizes, unless I think it’s something really obscure that deserves a reward for guessing it. Also, I reserve the right to terminate this exercise at any time. Enjoy!

Forgiveness

This is not so much a post for purposes of entertainment but more for me to solicit opinions from people I trust and who I think can understand where I’m coming from and reasonably respond.

Saturday night I had dinner with an “old” friend (old meaning friend since 2nd grade, not old meaning old age-wise). We hadn’t seen each other in quite sometime, although we’ve kept up sporadically through e-mail and occasional phone calls. I had a really enjoyable time and look forward to doing it again. It was good to catch up and remember old times and get “reacquainted”. She’s always been around, and I know without a doubt if I ever need anything I can call her up.

In sharp contrast to that, a while back I had something happen that rocked my world. Someone who has been a really good friend for many years did something that normally I would have been appalled at anyway but the timing of the thing was so wrong that to this day, I’m still shocked. At the time I was literally shocked speechless, and even now I still have a hard time finding the words to express my feelings on the matter. Since then, this individual has carried on as though it never happened even though it very nearly ruined the most important day of my life up to this point, not to mention making me feel weird around this person and their family (although they’d never know it from my behavior, I don’t think).

My struggle is this: I know I need to forgive this person. I know I can’t control the actions of others so there was nothing I could do about this except to forget it and move on. But here’s the problem. While I want things to be the way they used to, whenever I see this person all I can think about is what happened. I try not to, but it’s always there in the back of my mind and I feel like I’ve been asked to keep this enormous secret and I really might explode at any moment. I want to grab and shake this individual and say “Do you understand the impact of what you did? Your timing was horrible! What made you think that was OK?” But if I do that, will it only be to make me feel better? And will I feel better or will it just make me and everyone else feel worse and ruin any fragment that’s left? One thing I’ve come to realize through this is that this person is more selfish and self-centered and self-absorbed than I ever imagined. I’m not saying that to malign this individual or be hateful, but I suppose I’m just wondering if that same relationship (where I was blissfully unaware of these characteristics) is ever possible again. Or do I just maintain a polite distance or do I just cut my losses and move on? Any thoughts/advice, etc. from people more removed from the situation than I would be appreciated.

This has also made me appreciate my other “old” friends even more. I know that even though we may not communicate as much as we used to (and I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been bad for the last year or two about keeping in touch but in my defense, that’s what happens right before and after you get married and it just so happens that none of us got married at the same time so we may have lost touch for a while). But, if/when we get together I have no doubt we’ll have plenty to catch up on and reminisce about and I know that those individuals, like my “old” friend mentioned above, are just a phone call away if I need them. So, to all of my “old” and not quite so “old” friends, thanks for being my friend and I hope you all know that just as I know you’d be a phone call away, it works the other direction too.

The Luckiest Girl in the World!

I am arguably the luckiest girl in the world. First, and most important, we have the fact that my husband was still available and interested when I finally decided to settle down and quit goofing off all the time. Second, I have always been in situations at the “right” time (jobs, semester abroad, selling my house, etc.). It usually seems that I make my exit at just the right time and there’s always something better waiting for me on the other side of it. No question God has smiled on me. But, there is something else that supposedly makes me lucky. So, without further ado, (no pun intended) the Bird Poop Story. This is for you Nikki.

First of all, the luck thing. I am a huge fan of The Sports Guy. He’s a HUGE Boston Red Sox fan and a few years ago when they were in the hunt for and finally won the World Series, (or it may have been one of the years prior when they got close but then got beat by the Yankees I can’t remember and of course can’t find that article at the moment) anyhoo, he got pooped on by a bird and the Sox won and so he kept wearing the shirt w/out washing it because someone had told him it was lucky. He actually went so far as to hide the dirty shirt from the Sports Gal (his wife) so that she couldn’t jinx things by washing it. So, if it really is lucky, then when you read what follows, you’ll understand why I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

Incident #1: Flash back to 1998ish. I’m a student at OCU. If you’re familiar at all with the campus you know where the forum is - across from the student union and full of stinky trees (in hindsight, I think they’re Bradford Pears - beautiful, but quite smelly when in bloom). I had just eaten in the cafeteria one night for dinner and was headed back across campus to my apartment. As I walked across the road between the forum and the student union, a friend drove by and I leaned over to see into the car and talk to her. After a couple of minutes I stand up and splat. Bird poop on my shirt. Fine. D thinks it’s funny, I’m grossed out but admit it’s pretty amusing and that I’m lucky it didn’t get in my hair.

Incident #2: Flash back to 2005ish. I’m in San Antonio on a girls weekend getaway with a friend and her extended family. We’re at Market Square for lunch and shopping. If you’re familiar with San Antonio, Market Square is another place that’s full of trees so clearly I should have been on the alert. I should also note that at this time it’s June in South Texas and I’m wearing short sleeves. We had all congregated outside to decide what our plan of attack was. For some reason, no one saw what happened next. I was minding my own business, trying to decide what I was getting for lunch at Mi Tierra when SPLAT. Right on my bare arm. I was decidedly less calm this time. Lucky for me, the friend I was with also had her 18 month old in tow so she had baby wipes. I ran over and said “A, I need a baby wipe right now”. She looked at me as she started digging and asked why. I said “I’ll explain in a minute, just hurry.” Meanwhile, I’m imagining all the nasty bird diseases seeping through my skin into my bloodstream. I finally get the wipe and she watches as I clean it off and then she proceeds to dissolve into hysterics because she can’t believe I was so calm about getting bird poop on me. It’s just a good thing she was so quick on the draw with the baby wipes or there might have been a very different outcome.

Incident #3: Flash back about a month. I’m in San Antonio again. This time, on a trip with my husband to celebrate our first anniversary. Now, we’ve already visited Market Square and the ENTIRE time we were there I was on my guard, careful not to spend too much time out in the walkway under the trees where incident #2 occurred. But then I let my guard down. We were at the zoo on our last day in town. I was wearing a tank top so we’re talking lots of square inches of uncovered skin for the birds to paint a target on. We had walked waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the zoo (far away from any bathrooms) to see the elephants. I was standing there, not even under a tree I might add, watching the elephants. Suddenly, SPLAT!!!!! You guessed it. Dadgum bird pooped right on my chest, just below my neck. I actually thought at first that a large bug (think locust like) had flown into me at top speed because it actually hurt. But it only takes a split second for me to realize that no, it just happened again. Seriously? Is that even possible? I mean, not only have I just been pooped on by a bird for the third time in 10 years, but now it’s happened twice in a city that I was only VISITING. Now sure, I will admit that I’ve visited the fine city of San Antonio a disproportionate number of times but still…I digress. My sweet husband, who I love with all my heart but who unfortunately does not carry baby wipes on his person, looks at me and starts to laugh. I say “get it off”. He continues to laugh, a little harder now. “Please get it off NOW” , imagining again all the nasty bird diseases seeping through my skin. He uses our zoo map (which luckily we have not lost or thrown away) to scrape the majority of it off but then we have to make the long trek back to the main area to find a bathroom to get a wet paper towel to remove the remainder. Meanwhile, dear husband is trying to say something to me but by this point he’s laughing so hard that I can’t understand a single word he’s saying, I mean, the harder he tries to tell me, the harder he’s laughing. Red face, tears running down. This of course only irritates me further. It’s funny now though. I should note that he was nice enough to go into the men’s room (which did NOT have a mile long line of elementary school children waiting like the women’s room did) and get me a wet and a dry paper towel to clean up the mess.

Now, if that’s not lucky, I don’t know what is.

First Things First

So, I’m laying (or is it lying?) in bed the other night, unable to sleep, due largely in part to the GINORMOUS McDonald’s iced coffee I had consumed in my Becker class a few hours prior. While the beverage in question did serve its purpose of keeping me awake through a 3.5 hour lecture over S Corporation Taxation and Business Ethics, it continued to keep me awake long after I wanted to be. While I was laying (lying) there tossing and turning, I thought about a million things, almost none of which are related. My old friend, we’ll call her B, just recently started a blog and it seems like something that might be entertaining (and possibly therapeutic), as well as a way for me to document the crazy things that happen to me and save me the trouble of explaining or retelling them more than once (or twice). So here we are. I suppose it’s quite narcissistic of me to assume that people want to read about my life but I do actually have a lot of comical things happen to me. I also have three nieces who are sources of never ending entertainment and if I don’t get their stories in print quickly I’ll forget them and that would just be sad. So, if you don’t want to read this, then don’t!

As for the name, well, I was one. I have been married for a year but in my part of the country was considered WELL past my prime when I finally tied the knot (at a young 30 years of age). One of my younger sisters got married six years before me and at the time I had so many people ask me “doesn’t it bother you that your little sister is getting married before you?” that I had to practice some SERIOUS self-restraint to not respond with a very inappropriate answer. Here’s the thing. I attended a four year Christian university, and the only date I managed to have during that time was with a guy who later ended up becoming my brother-in-law (married to the aforementioned younger sister). This in itself was unusual since said university is a place where women are know to go just to get their “MRS” degree. I guess I was just more into school - I’m a math geek. But still, not even a date…that, coupled with the fact that where I’m from you marry your high school sweetheart right after high school graduation and start popping out babies almost immediately and I was an anomaly. People didn’t know what to do with me. Some friends tried to set me up with their husbands friends (which did not work out AT all), some just looked at me and shook their heads while wondering what was “wrong” with me, but I frequently was the recipient of the “bless your heart” look/head shake from the elderly folks in town.

BUT

There was a guy who I’d been friends with since Jr. High. Went to church together, always kept in touch, always pretty good friends. In fact, on more than one occasion, I said to my sisters “he’d be perfect. He’s so cute, and so sweet, and I love his family, and he knew Pepa (my grandfather who passed away 10 years ago), and everyone in the family already likes him so we know that’d be OK” (we have a large extended family which will likely be the topic of a later post but just to give you an idea, the fam actually voted on the guy who my cousin was dating and subsequently married…everyone has to approve!). But I digress…anyway, we kept in touch and somehow ended up on our first date which neither of us actually went into thinking was a date. Eleven months later we were engaged and three months and three days after that we were married and here we are. And it’s wonderful! He’s just as sweet as I knew he was, and more fun than I know what to do with. And he loves me and loves my family, and loves my dog (now our dog) too. But most importantly he loves God which I suspect is why he’s able to love me and my family and the dog the way he does.

So, that’s why I “WAS” and old maid. But I’m not anymore.

NOTE: I realize that my friends, for the most part, had no problem with my single status. I was set up by a few friends, yes, but when I said that people didn’t know what to do with me, I generally meant the “grown ups” in my life - adult family, people at church, etc. The vast majority of my friends kept telling me that I’d find the right one when it was time…and of course they were right. So thanks for your support, all of you. And I’m being totally serious.