What Should I Do with My Wedding Dress...

Per my mom's suggestion, I decided to write about my wedding dress. Currently it is tightly sealed in a very large box up in our guest bedroom. After I said "I do," I thought about selling it, but was quickly dissuaded by my sister. "Don't you remember looking at mom's dress when we were little?" I do recall these moments. I enjoyed the time spent with my mom and siblings, but I was always very glad when my mom said "Don't feel like you have to wear this dress!" So, for sentimental reasons I kept my dress. I'm beginning to have second thoughts. I may be able to get a pretty chunk of cash for my dress...and the longer I wait....the less likely I will be able to sell it. It's BEAUTIFUL. I LOVED wearing it, but I was also very glad when it was time to take it off (sheesh...those dresses aren't made for comfort). So, readers....what should I do? Keep it or sell it? What have you (or your wife) done with your dress?

Which Books Have You Read?

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.

Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES.
Bold those books you've read in their entirety.
Italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read only an excerpt.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8  1984-George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott-read to me...that counts..right?
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia- CS Lewis
34 Emma-Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi- Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck~
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville Think I read this in Highschool--HATED IT!
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson BurnettRead to me
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray-read 600 pages and couldn't get any further
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazu Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo


Read-31
Started-7...now what does that say about me? :)

That Makes Me Cry....

Sometimes I'm really dismayed at the number of silly things that make me cry. The inevitable tears seem to pop up at the most unwanted of times. Sometimes I'm lucky, and just happen to be sitting on the couch watching an episode of glee (yes, I said GLEE)and the tears just start popping. As I sit there crying over the most unbelievable show ever made, I think how silly I am. I mean seriously, I shouldn't be crying over such a fictitious tv episode. I'm sure that my (almost) year of experience at work has made me much stronger in this regard (my co-workers could probably tell you that) Yet, if one of my foreign exchange students in sunday school say something touching and my eyes fill with tears, I feel really embarrassed. This makes me wonder why it is so shameful to cry? Okay, so I get that it's not cool to break down at work, but why shouldn't I be moved emotionally when others share their heart or difficulties. It seems weird that when others are telling me about the problems in their life, I'm worrying about holding back the tears. And that's my thought of the day. Have you ever had someone cry with you during a hard time? Were you glad that they did?

What Now?

Ever since Joel finished his EDD, we've been asked a lot of questions. First of all, everyone wants to know what he plans on doing with his doctorate. THEN, everyone asks the big family planning question. "Are you going to have a baby soon?" I think this is such a funny inquiry.. I mean, what if I were already pregnant? How would I answer that? If I said "yes" it would take all the fun out of announcing it later. If I replied "no" I'd be lying (No, I'm really not pregnant right now..this is a what-if scenario I'm trying to work through) I think it's even weirder when people ask us if "we are trying or planning on trying soon" Next time I'm asked this, I'm going to play dumb and say "Trying what?" :)

Anyway, since this blog post is titled "What Now" I'm gonna give you a few highlights of the past couple months.

1. We stayed at Joels parents house while he passed his dissertation.
2. We stayed at the Tides Inn....AMAZING!
3. We traveled to SkyLand Drive.
4. I found an amazing sweater at Anne Taylor Loft for $8.
5. I ate the most amazing blueberry cobbler.
6. I learned what a springform pan is.
7. Norfolk Christian won state in Football. Go Ambassadors!
8. We bought an i-Pad. LOOOOOVE it!

Baking

There's something about baking that makes a gal realize how much she still needs her mom. I've preformed CPR, called medical response teams and faced the scariest of neurosurgeons, but throw a pumpkin cheesecake recipe at me....and I call my mom. Springform cake pans and crunchy apples (see earlier blog) can really throw a 20 something year old gal for a loop.

My mom warned me as a teenager that I'd wish I knew how to cook when I was older, but I rolled my eyes and said "I'll marry a man who will do that for me." Fortunately, we were both right. Joel does do all the cooking, but usually the baking is considered my area of expertise. I'm so lucky to have a mom that will pick up her phone and answer obscure questions about the latest food I've tried to bake. Who else would put up with three phone calls about cheesecake?
I love you and miss you VERY much, mom!!! Thanks for answering all my crazy, frantic calls about the latest concoction I've been cooking up. I hope I can be as patient of a mother as you are someday!!

Yawn......

Before Joel defended his dissertation, I came up with a list of hobbies Joel and I were going to start post-doctorate. I somehow thought we would be bored after the big defense. Well, I was wrong. We're both exhausted. Hence, my lack of blogging. Maybe someday I'll be like my sister-in-law, Liz, and blog everyday....but it will probably be awhile!

Just Call Him Doctor

As many of you know, my really smart hubby just passed his dissertation this weekend! He has a few minor revisions to make and then he will be done with school forever! I'm so proud of him.

I Miss The Internet!

I haven't posted for a while because our computer died:(  I have read half of Anna Karenina, though.  Maybe not having the Internet is a good thing!  We're hoping to get a new iPad soon.  I will post more then!  We have lots to share with you all!

Denial

You know you are in denial about gaining weight when...

1.  You attribute your jean tightness to the fact that you "just washed and dried them"

2.  You believe those extra pounds on the scale are from "all that muscle your building."

3. You think your scale is suddenly inaccurate.

4.  The doctors office scale "always weighs heavy anyway."

Computer CRASH!

Computer crash.  That pretty much sums up why I have not been on facebook, blog or e-mail. 

Who Says Norfolk is Ghetto??

Joel took me on a date to Botanical Gardens.  Here are some of my favorite flowers.

I pretended to be a highschool senior.  The rock just screamed highschool senior pic.

Joel striking a pose for me!  It took me 15 tries to get the lighting right

Apparently, if you walk around this entire pond holding hands with your friend-you'll be friends for life.  Joel and I skipped this tradition...we already know we'll be friends for life!!  Hope you had as good of a holiday weekend as we did!

My Little Family

Aren't they they cutest?  I love how fuzzy Maddie is in this pic.

I Want Them ALL!

Check out the bags my friend from church makes!! She's really good at sewing!  Barefoot Bags.

I Wish I Knew You Then!

Chicago Marathon, 2005

Last night after a long day at work, I noticed an old photo of me on our kitchen table.  I was gathering my race gear for the Chicago Marathon.  On the back Joel wrote "I wish I knew you then!"  Isn't Joel the sweetest?!    Anyway, here I am after 26.2 miles of running...(I tore a ligament in my foot at mile 19...hence the pain in my expression :)  Maybe if Joel had been in the picture then, I would've stretched after I ran or something healthy like that:)

All Time High!

Yesterday, Virginia REALLY is For Lovers!!,  received a record number of hits.  I am rather surprised,  since it was only about an Olan Mills picture of my parents and I.  I truly thought the photo of the family on the tree branch was much funnier!  The overwhelmingly positive response to the picture posts has thus caused me to think about adding picture posts to our blog more often.  Anybody have any funny pictures of Joel out there? I'd love to see them...and apparently so would the rest of the world!!

What I Do On My Days Off.....

As my readers know...I'm not the most organized chica on the block.  I've really been working on this problem over the past 2 years though.  Today, I organized our coat closet.  I took a pocket shoe holder and labeled each pocket in alphabetical order.  (This used to be for Joel's shoes...but these pocket organizers definitely were not made for men's shoes...WAY tooo small).  Here's the final product.  I'm actually kind of proud of myself.  Now I'll always know where my flashlight/matches/chapstick and ect are.

Why I hope Our Future Kids Look Like Joel :)

Do you like my side french braid? I felt really pretty before this picture. I took the time to pick out a necklace and I even discarded my rusty, trusty black hair band that I wore to school every day. Thank you Olan Mills, for documenting what everyone in the church family looked like. If only you could have made us look good! I think there should be a website dedicated to you! Anyone else out there have some ugly pictures from church directories?

Which Would You CHOOSE?

I came across an interesting poll today. Swag bucks gives out points for voting daily. The question they asked today was "If you had to choose one (and only ONE) of these modern day conveniences, which would you choose.

a) Running Water
b) Electricity
c) Internet
d) Phone

I chose electricity. I can't make it very long with out heat. Joel chose running water. I think both of these are logical answers, but 24% of people chose Internet? Yikes, we have some people with mixed up priorities in this world. Which would you choose and why?

Working OT

This past month I decided to pick up some extra hours at work. I gleefully calculated all of the extra income I'd be providing for Joel and I. I imagined paying off school debt twice as fast and taking glorious trips over seas. I was almost excited to get up at 5 am and get ready for work. That was week one. Fast forward two weeks. Working 6 out of 8 days (12 hour shifts mind you) really takes a toll on a person. I've had the last two days off and pretty much slept through most of day one. I feel a little better today (says the girl who took a nap at 8:00 am), but am still exhausted. I guess there is a reason they pay people time and a half to work those extra hours. I'm trying to find a balance between working, keeping my house organized, spending time with Joel, and being social. I think I'm doing pretty well on the first three....but very badly on that last one. Ughhh...maybe someday I'll find that perfect balance!

Summer Reading

I remember summer reading assignments when I was a K-12 student. Sitting still and inside was definitely not what I wanted to do, unless it meant watching sports on TV. The change I've seen in myself is yet another indication of old age. There is something especially comforting about a good book.

I've read 4 "pretty good" books this summer: Telegraph Days (McMurtry), Soccernomics (Kuper & Szymanski), the Alchemist (Coehlo), and Open (Agassi). Each different and well-written in its own right. Then I read Peace like a River (Enger). Since the onset of my newfound love of reading, I cannot remember a book so well written. For a person who never reads a book twice, I could read this book again. Have you ever read a book that was so good, that you couldn't bring yourself to return it to the used bookstore? Instead, you want to share the experience with others? Have you ever delayed the start of another book because you want to dwell on the characters as if you really knew or cared about them? My guess is you have and that these are your favorite books.

It's hard to find a good book these days. What criteria can one use to know what to read? Referrals from friends, bestseller lists, and familiar authors are what I use to decide, but these methods often fail me. So, when I picked this book up, after having read another of Enger's books, I was mildly anticipating the book. What a pleasant surprise it was. The reviews were actually true! The prose was as captivating as advertised. So, with reluctance, I begin Three Cups of Tea (Mortenson & Relin), and leave you with this recommendation, hoping you can escape to this almost-real world as I did.

Crunchy Apples..

he other day I decided to make a pie for our dinner guests...Not just ANY pie...but a caramel apple pie from SCRATCH. After about an hour and a 1/2 into the project, I realized that I was in a little above my head. I frantically called my mom. (This is what I always do when I'm having baking troubles). I had told her earlier that day that I was going to attempt to make a pie, so I figured I could just jump right into the phone conversation with my baking calamity question.

I frantically spat out, "Mom, are the apples supposed to be crunchy?"

She replied, "Yes, apples are crunchy."

Exasperated since I needed an answer immediately (my apples were boiling on the stove after all) "I mean the apples in my pie. Are they supposed to be crunchy?"

Her response, "What?"

I shouted a little louder, "I'm making a pie. Are the apples supposed to be crunchy?"

"OOOooooh...you're making a pie."

"Yes, I'm baking a pie and I need an answer NOW!"

"Well, have you baked the pie yet?"

Feeling a little sheepish, I answered "Oh...I didn't read that far ahead. Thanks for your help. I gotta get these apples off of the stove."

I finally finished my pie. It actually turned out wonderful. I just think it's funny my mom thought I called her to ask her if plain old apples are supposed to be crunchy....

The final product

OBX Highlights

We really had a great vacation this last week. Here are the highlights.

1. Swimming in the Ocean...just glad Abbey and I survived the rip tide! (I swear we got caught in one)

2. Watching Abbey and Alexia TRY to get out of the Ocean....I'm sure I would have laughed if I saw myself attempting to get out. Those last few waves will get ya...and the shells will scrape the heck out of your legs!

3. Riding beach cruisers.

4. My BFF from college was able to get to know my wonderful husband! I'm sure she'll never know how much this meant to me! I love you Abbey! You deserve about 5 vacations for seeing me through all my guy drama in college! (Maybe even 6 for the broken tooth brush incident:)

5. Playing games. Josh comes up with some pretty witty answers! Glad I was able to get to know my in-laws a little better.

6. Food. HOLY MOLY. We ate....a LOT! I've decided that nothing motivates me to exercise more than a long vacation with too much food. Bring on Insanity and P90X.

7. Cute kids. I looked forwared to Hope's goodnight kisses every evening and watching the ever-so-imaginative Kate play.

The Tannest I've EVER Been...

Or Ever WILL BE....Joel is just his natural photographic, tan self!

We Went to OBX..

This past week we went to the OBX with Abbey and the Uecker Diary Crew. We spent a lot of time laying in the sun, sleeping, playing games and EATING. Holy Moly we ate a lot of food. I can't wait to start consuming raw vegetables and exercising again. We really did have a fabulous time though. It was so great to spend time with my college friend and laugh at all of Josh's funny jokes! (Whenever I see my brother-in-law, I will always think "I like big teeth and I can not lie.") Unfortunately, it's time to get back to the Nitty Gritty again. I'm glad to be back with Maddie, though! I missed my little guard dog!

Get to Know Joel

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, that it was "get to know Joel and Caron" month. Therefore, I thought I'd write a post exclusively about my hubby. Isn't he handsome?

1. Joel is an amazing writer. He proof-read all my nursing papers for me and was a GREAT APA source. He knew it better than my instructors.

2. He's really good with names. I'm TERRIBLE at remembering names. I have to look at my nursing cheat sheet before I go into all of my patients rooms. If you asked me at the end of the day what all of my patients names were...I wouldn't be able to tell you. (I think this is a blessing. It makes it much easier for me NOT to violate HIPA rules). Anyway, if Joel were a nurse (ha ha...that's a funny image), he'd probably know every one's name on the floor by the end of the day...and he'd remember those names for months.

3. He grocery shops. My hubby is quite the cook and grocery shopper. His parents did an amazing job raising him! I'm not sure all husbands would do these things for their wives.

4. He's never changed a diaper. He refuses to do this chore until he has a child. I guess this is okay, as long as he changes a few dirty drawers when he becomes a father.

5. He's a sports trivia wizard.

6. My hubby LOVES Mexican food.

7. Joel knew I was the girl for him the first time we talked. Okay, this is a lie...but I thought it would be fun to add to the list:) It took me a few months to win him over (8 months).

Well, that's all for now folks. Do any of my readers know something about Joel that I don't? I would love to hear your stories!

People Say the Darndest Things!

I am often amused by peoples comments when they meet me. Is it just me, or does everyone receive these interesting tid-bits of peoples thoughts when they meet new people? Here they are.

1. Apparently I look like a cow girl. I've been told this a couple of times by different people. Not quite sure where they get this idea. I don't even know how to ride a horse. I own no cow girl accessories, either.

2. I also look Turkish, Brazilian, European and VERY American? Hmmm.....

3. Apparently I play multiple sports...Soccer, Volley-ball, Squash (okay, so I've never been told I look like a squash player, but I'm sure I'll get this comment one day). I also look like a runner (I've run a marathon, so I guess this comment is valid!) Dancer has been tossed out there a few times, too.

4. Age. I don't think anyone will ever get my age right. I like the fact that I look like I'm in highschool, even though I'm almost 30. My friends in their 40's don't appreciate being asked if I'm their daughter though. I guess this makes them feel old:)

5. I also have a very common look. I seem to look like everyones sister or friend they went to highschool with.

6. Barbara Streishand and I are twins.

So, if we mix this all together, I am a multi-ethnic Barbara S. cowgirl still in high school, who plays every sport in the book, but manages to look like everyone's sister. Hmmm...I must have quite the look

Fourth of July Forgetfulness...

This is the second Independence Day Joel and I have celebrated as a married couple. Earlier this week I asked him how we had celebrated this american holiday last year. We blankly stared at each other and came to the conclusion that we could not remember. It took me a couple of hours before I finally recalled that yard work had filled a majority of our day. This year was much more fun, but I wanted to write it down so Joel and I would not have the same conversation next year:)

1). We celebrated the fact that Joel passed all of his comp. exams!!
2). We watched fireworks at the ball park with our friends Brandon and Dawn.
3). We hung out at Chicks beach with Holly, Bryan and Kalen.
4). I searched for sea glass.
5). Joel watched lots of soccer and tennis.

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Maybe next year we will spend it with you!:)

To The Old Men That DareTo Wear Speedos

Dear Old Men Wearing the Speedos,

I see you almost every time I go to the beach. Usually you are overweight with leathery tanned skin. Sometimes, you are thin, but definitely too old to be wearing a Speedo (although, I don't think there is a good age for ANYONE to be wearing one). Usually, you are sitting on the shoreline alone...and I think I may be able to explain your solo phenomena to you-It's THE SPEEDO!

Did you know that everyone who is around you is telling their friends to discretely look at your outfit (or lack of outfit)? It doesn't help that your choice of speedo color is usually neon. Really, NEON?!? Did you also know that everyone can still see you pick your wedgie? Hmmm...this probably also adds to your beach loneliness.

Just thought I'd give you something to think about as you lie on the beach, baking your skin like a potato!

Love,
All the people who wonder why old men wear speedos

Who Am I?

1. I like shiny things.

2. I put all of my shiny things in glass bottles.

3. It's useless for me to write in a planner, because I always forget to look in it anyway. I often attempt to write things down so I can be more organized like the "routine machine," but my efforts are usually futile.

4. Slap stick humor makes me laugh so hard I cry.

5. I get up early to search for sea glass.

6. I often try to make money off of Craigs list by trying to sell all of the "routine machine" things...this works well until I suggest we sell the "routine machine's" golf clubs :)

Who am I?

Routine Machine

So, I've decided that July is going to be "Get to Know Caron and Joel" month. I know that it is not quite July, but I'll be working ALL day tomorrow. THUS, it will be impossible for me to write a blog.

I thought I'd write a list of qualities (or habits) that this person in our little family possesses. Can you guess who it is?

1. I plan a specific time each week to write in my planner (pretty much I plan to plan). If I don't write it down...I won't do it.

2. I ALWAYS unpack as soon as I come home. I can not relax until everything is put away.

3. I can not go to bed without checking all of the doors, turning on the fan and thoroughly flossing my teeth.

4. I schedule time to watch sports.

5. I definitely brush my teeth for the full two minutes I'm supposed to.

Can you guess who this is?? :)

Just Waiting For Shoulder Pads and Stirrup Pants....

Last year I thought I'd seen it all when I saw kids sporting leggings, colored jeans and neon high tops. That was until yesterday. Much to my dismay, I saw an article in Real Simple about how to pin your jeans. WHAT?!? Are they going to start teaching us how to tease our bangs, too? I now understand why my mom was never excited about clothes I liked when I was growing up. She'd always say "We wore that when I was very young...or hmmm..those look like work boots....or...that's straight from the 70's." I associate 80's with ugly....but I guess it's all part of the fashion cycle...Bring on the shoulder pads and stirrup pants!!

Introvertastic.

Introvert. It's a label I've been fighting since I learned the meaning of the word. Who wants to be the shy girl sitting at home getting re-charged through reading, organizing and staying away from people?:) Not THIS girl. As a teenager, I cringed whenever anyone flippantly threw this diagnostic reference of my personality into my face. I tried to move on and embrace it during my first few years of college, but here I am, 28, (yikes...am I really almost 30 already?)and wishing I were on the other side of the fence. Fortunately, I married a man who is quite the opposite of me. He seems to know people wherever we go...Boston, Shenandoah, Panera...you name it. You may be wondering why I named the title of this post, Introvertastic. Well, even though there are many things I wish I could change about my personality, there REALLY are some advantages to being an introvert. Here they are...

1). I know what I'm feeling. I guess I've had time to think about my emotions while I'm not with people! This is sometimes helpful when you are in a relationship.

2). I let other people talk. Okay, so I know not ALL extroverts talk too much, and I know that not all introverts are quiet...but I have been in large groups of extroverts and lets just say there was NO WAY I would've been able to get a word in edgewise unless I shouted....

3). Apparently, my wonderful husband is attracted to my introverted personality....who would have guessed that opposites attract? :)

4). I keep the conversation going at home. That's right. I talk more than my husband does when we aren't out with groups of people. I'm not quite sure why, yet. I guess his presence recharges me too!

Do you have any introverted friends? What do you like about them?

Would You Rather??

Here's a would you rather question that is very applicable to most households. Would you rather cook or do the dishes?? I'd rather do the dishes. I think it's faster than cooking and the less time spent in the kitchen is better in my book! That's why Joel and I are a good fit. He'd rather cook and I'd rather clean up! Plus, every time I tell people that my husband makes me breakfast, packs my lunches and cooks my dinners, they are VERY impressed! (I am too of course...yeah, for an AMAZING husband!!) Now if only I could get him to write a couple of blog posts......

I Thought WE We're The ONLY ONES!!

This weekend Joel and I helped his brother and our sister-in-law move. I learned a few things while we were preforming this arduous task! (It was hot and the furniture was heavy!) Apparently, we aren't the only Ueckers that dance and sing silly songs....Of course, the TX Ueckers have a baby...but still...now I know we aren't the only ones! We're glad to have you closer, TX Ueckers! Maybe we'll learn more about all the silly things the other Uecker families do;)

Preta...Paige...Holly...I mean Caron..I mean____________?"

I used to think it was slightly odd when my mom could not call me the right name (She used to call me all of my sisters' names at least three times before she got it right:). I may have even been slightly bothered by this....until this weekend. I'm pretty sure I called my niece, Annie, by my dogs name at least 5 times! She's so cute and looks NOTHING like Maddie, but there is something about using a baby voice that makes me want to call everything by my dogs name. Hmm...sorry, Annie!!

Fiber One Bars Are My Friends.....

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Fiber One bars. They taste like Snicker Bars. I can't get over how great they taste. I once made the mistake of eating 3 (yes, I said THREE) Fiber One Bars in one day. (This was when I was a student and thought one would be great for each meal...or I'm just a little piggy). WHOOAAA....that was a huge mistake. That was 27 grams of fiber floatin' around in my little system. I was as bloated as my dead gold fish named Tammy was when I found her the fish bowel the morning after I got her. Yikes...not a pretty picture. Anyway, I look forward to munching away my job stresses with these fibery goodies in hand EVERY day (no, I'm not getting paid to advertise for Fiber One...I just can't get over how great these bars taste). I'm sooo obsessed with these things! Almost as obsessed as I am with Swag bucks...not quite though:)

Sometimes I Get the Baby Itch.....

It seems that after one has been married for a year, people expect you to start popping out babies. I'll admit it. I DO get the baby itch sometimes, but we just aren't at that point in our lives (unless God intervenes, of course!) There's just a few things about seeing other kids, or babysitting other children that makes me want to have one of my own. Here they are.

1). Seeing little kids at church. They THINK they are whispering, but really you can hear them 7 rows back. This is the cutest.

2). Hearing stories about things Joel did as a kid. It makes me want to have a little boy JUST like him. He told me last week that every time workers came over to fix up the house, he'd put on his tool belt and copy them. (He was about 4 or 5 at the time). I can't get over how cute he must have been.

3). Listening to kids conversations. Yesterday, I baby-sat a boy who was obsessed with the type of car I had and the tires on it. He even wanted to show me the new tire on his mini-van. He was only 4, but obviously cars were very important to him. This is SOOO different from the all girl world I've grown up in.

4. Baby hugs. I love it when they wrap their little arms around my neck and lay their heads on my shoulder. I think this is the HARDEST itch NOT to scratch.

Yet, when I want to itch this scratch I remember......

1). Vacations without babies. Heavenly.
2). Lying on the beach without chasing a crazy kid eating sand.
3). Sleeping through the entire night.
4). Going on dates with my hubby without searching for a baby-sitter.
Yep...I guess there's positive aspects to EVERY stage of life!

Funny Quirks

Funny Quirks I've noticed lately

1) I think it's odd that people put "private property" signs on their front doors. Granted, these signs are usually posted all over homes in the rougher areas of town. I find this to be odd. For one, who really wants to trespass on these properties. I usually don't pass these front yards in my car and think "Wow, that would be a great place to have my next front porch party?" I also don't think these signs would deter most robbers....but whatever.

2) I think it's extremely odd when people ask if Joel and I are trying to get pregnant. It is sometimes okay to ask this type of question if you are family. Even then the question should be worded in a way that does not include "trying."

3. Shoes on the side of the road. This has boggled me since I was at the U of MN. I mean, SERIOUSLY, why are there so many shoes on the side of the road???

We Had a Heck of a Trek!

Today we decided to go strawberry picking with our friends Seth and Heather (They really like to wear matching outfits btw!) After a WaWa picnic in the park....we headed torwards the strawberry fields! Apparently, the Pungo Strawberry Festival was going on this weekend. Therefore, we sat in traffic in the middle of nowhere! Apparently, everyone who owns a fence made out of old tires and names their children Gracie Lou and Lacie Sue decided to show up. Thus, it took forever to get to the field! When we got there, it started raining and we learned that all of the good strawberries had all ready been picked (I guess Gracie Lou and Lacy Sue made a few pies to make a little extra money at the festival). That did not deter us!! We still managed to pick over a pound of strawberries each..in the mud and rain! What a fun day. Here are the pictures.

yum yum!




Here's the fruits of our labor!

What a great day!

Our Little Guard Dog is Better Than Your Cat

As many of you know, Joel brought me home a surprise miniature snauzer about a year ago. I ADORE my little snauzer. When we first got her, she was VERY anxious...just like me at the time;) (Who wouldn't be anxious during the last year of nursing school?) Over the year, we've both grown out of our anxious ways...especially Maddie. She's become our feirce little guard dog. She barks at every passer by and even scared a police man away from our house (We heard this from our neighbor...apparently she was barking in the middle of the night?) She also tries to keep us safe from little baby birds that fall out of their nests. The other day I heard a weird yelping outside. I thought she'd got stuck in our fence or something...but no...she was staring down a poor terrified baby bird. At least she didn't kill it! I bet that's more than you can say for your cat!

Why Am I Using Swag Dollars?

So, (I do believe this is my FAVORITE word to start a post with) some may have been wondering why I am so into swag dollars. I guess I just get really excited about winning free money to stores that I love (Target, Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, Macy's....ect). I thought it might be a scam when I started, but since all I had to do was use their search engine instead of googles, I decided that winning a "few useless" swag dollars could not harm me. I NOW qualify for Barnes and Noble and Starbucks gift cards...but I'm holding out for the $20 Target card. When most of your money is budgeted towards school bills and mortgage payments..it's kind of exciting to earn a little extra "gift" that you get to spend on whatever you please. This is WHY I'm doing Swag Bucks. Just be thankful I turned off the facebook notification that let everyone know every time I won (I was informed that all of my winnings were being constantly broadcasted all over facebook by the TX Ueckers :) Anywho, I'm done promoting. Go get your swag on!

Is That A Federal Crime??

Today Joel and I received a support letter in the mail. I joked about peeling off the stamp and using it in the future to save a little extra money. The stamp HAD NEVER been used. It came fully intact INSIDE of the original mailing envelope. Joel emphatically stated that my idea was a federal crime. According to my hubby, it is illegal to peel a stamp off of an envelope at any time. He even thinks it is a crime to pull off a mistakenly placed stamp and reapply it to the correct location on an envelope. I find this REALLY hard to believe. My ever inquiring mind set out to find the answer to this VERY pertinent question:) Unfortunately, I'm not sure that my source, Happy Texas Momma, really knows what she's talking about. Thus, I decided to ask my brilliant readers what they think. So, readers...Is it illegal to use a stamp that has been attached to an envelope, but never actually used for mailing purposes? Let me know what you think..

PS..I'm TOTALLY NOT making fun of support letter in this blog! This unused stamp just happened to come along with the support letter

Don't Make That Face...It May Freeze Like That Forever.

I'm going to make a list of things that I've been told as a child that I just can't seem to shake. I'm sure everyone has been warned that their face could freeze "like that forever" when making ugly, cross-eyed expressions. Here's a few things that I've been told that I just can't seem to forget!

1. Never wear your necklace to bed...you might choke to death. (Apparently, one of my friend's mom's friend died like this??) I was told this as a young teenager. As a result, I can't EVER sleep with a necklace on.

2. Never eat mayonnaise at Subway. I won't tell you WHY I was told this, because it is a rather gross story. Let's just say I don't even eat mayonnaise at all anymore.

3. Never run with scissors. (This is Joel's contribution to the list) This is actually good advice, although I rarely have the urge to run when I'm holding a pair of scissors.

4. Never ask someone if they are pregnant. I would think this would be an obvious social norm. Since I've started my nursing career, I've learned that "obvious social norms" aren't so obvious to some.

5. Never sleep with your bedroom door open. There might be a fire. I was told this as a child. None-the-less, it was a bit difficult for me to sleep when I first married my husband. He had to keep the door open because it was better for the "flow of the air conditioning." I decided my fear of fires every night was a bit irrational.

What are some "pearls of wisdom" you were told as a child, that you just can't seem to shake?

Sunburns and Good Food

Writers Block. That's the only explanation I have for the lack of new posts. I asked Joel what we should share about our lives and he replied "good question." Ha...that was NOT helpful. It is not like our life together isn't busy...but I'm pretty sure that no one wants to hear about the sunburn I got at the track meet on Saturday, or the yummy cupcakes that Mrs. P gave us last weekend. It's normal to be tired and overworked...so I won't complain about that either! As my brother-in-law, Mark, would say "LIFE IS GOOD." Unfortunately, even though my life is GOOD...I have nothing interesting to write about at this time! I almost WISH another bird would poop on one of us...just so I would have something out of the ordinary to report!!! Until then, just know that Joel and I are doing great! We'll write again soon!

Organizationally Challenged

I've been organizationally challenged my entire life. When I cleaned my room as a child, I would just throw everything under my bed, in my drawers, the hamper (even if my clothes were clean), and any nook and cranny I could find. As a CHILD, I didn't care if I was organized or not. Then I married Joel. Suddenly, my priorities changed. My mother-in-law is UBER organized and I suddenly saw how much I really wanted to change. I started having the motivation to change...but I didn't know where to start. I've been checking out books on this topic from the library like a crazy woman. I've found one that is ESPECIALLY helpful. It's called "Sink Reflections" It's written by Marla Cilley-The FlyLady. It is SOOO helpful. She doesn't just tell you to buy lots of different types of organizing bins and throw away everything you don't "need." She explains where to start in great detail! It's been very helpful! I love it. I REALLY need a step-by-step explanation on how to organize my home-and she's written them out...step-by-baby-step!

I'm Swaggin It!

So, I'm sure that many of my facebook friends have noticed that I've become a little Swagger Crazy. I can't help it! I want gift cards! It's sooo easy! I just used swagbucks as my search engine and I win points! I already have 654 points and I've only been Swaggin' it for about a week! You should ALL try swaggin' it...Heck, getting gift cards from Target, Barnes and Noble and Starbucks for searching on the Internet (which is something I already do) sounds fabulous to me!

How Do You Save/Make a Little Extra Money?

I think the topic of this post is something that is on everybody's minds these days. I see this question posted on people's status update on facebook. I'm sure there are about a million blogs dedicated to this topic alone. I also know that my husband and I talk about this ALL the time! Here's the ideas that what we've come up with so far.

1). We shop at Costco and Walmart. I know, I know...Wal-Mart makes me want to tear my hair out too, but we found a Wal-Mart that is ONLY a grocery store. It actually has great produce, a lot of selection and the lines aren't very long. I feel like I'm typing an oxy-moron when I say the lines at Wal-Mart aren't very long..but it seems to be true at this store. (I think it's called The Market?..it's just a branch of Wal-Mart.)

2). I iron ALL of Joel's shirts. I hate this job. I LOATHE this task...but I guess the extra one hundred bucks a month is worth it.

3). I sell items on Craigslist. We always seem to be accumulating stuff we don't actually need...this is a great way to make a few extra bucks.

4). We try not to eat out much. It's impossible to NEVER go out to eat. One might seem a bit anti-social if they NEVER went out...but we do pack our lunches every day with PB&J.

5). We work out at home. This not only saves money, but also time. No more trips to the gym! That cuts about 40 minutes of traveling time from our day.

6). We share a car. I'll admit that sometimes this can REALLY be a pain. It really saves money though...plus we get to spend a lot of time in the car together.

7). I make my own daily shower cleaner. It's easy and it's cheap!

How do you save/earn extra money? I'd love to hear your tips. I know some people make their own laundry soap any other creative ideas out there?

my first and probably only purchase from the TV

I purchased P90X. Chances are you've heard of this home exercise regimen; their marketing efforts have been significant. I actually didn't learn of it on TV; rather, I had a friend who followed the program and lost a good amount of weight. Caron and I were thinking what money we would ultimately save by building a home gym in our garage and we really needed a change of pace. So..

We purchased some dumbells, fitness bands, a yoga mat and block, a pull-up bar, and a tv/dvd.

As an exercise physiology major in college, I recommend P90x because it is real exercise. It's not a gimmick. Each routine is hard work and there is sufficient recovery time between routines to avoid overtraining. There's a nice balance of cardio, strength training, and stretching. All of the variety in the workouts has really allowed my muscles to respond and I've made significant strength gains (I started at 2 pull ups and now can do 12).

I have 1 week of the 90 day program left and have lost 7 lbs. I've probably lost more than this, considering the muscle I've put on. And, consider that I haven't done the plyometrics, abs, core, legs, or kenpo workouts as scheduled. Basically, I've done half of P90x, with a very healthy diet (no starches after lunch) and gotten great results. I hope to get my core injury rehabilitated soon so I can add the abs and leg workouts for even better results. It's been fun to work out together on occasion and to see visible results of exercise-joel

I'm Makin' My OWN Storage

Lately, I've been reading a lot about organization. Apparently, in order to have an orderly household, one needs numerous shapes and sizes of storage bins. Easy Sneezy, Right? I thought so too..until I saw the price tags on all these nifty "life-savers." So, I decided to make my own. Now, it's not as beautiful as the ones that you may see in the gleaming pages of your newest Pottery Barn magazine, but it is MUCH prettier than using plain old cardboard boxes. Here's what I did.
1) Found an old cereal box (it was a heavy duty one from Costco).
2) Ripped apart the material from my old hamper (it was ripping anyway)
3) Had my husband fetch his staple gun
4) Wrapped the box like a present
5) Put one staple on the bottom and one on the side
6) Hot glued the rest of the sides together.
The picture above is the end result. You could always use more exciting mat'l, but this is what I had on hand. I would have tried sewing the mat'l to the box...but I don't even a needle or thread. (My mom is probably astounded by this)
So, there you go folks. I just saved myself about $15.

Probability of a Bird Pooping on You.

Today, Joel and I decided to sit outside while he enjoyed a nice cup of ice cream from Costco. I felt a light tap on my shoulder and figured he was flicking a bug off of my sleeve. BUT NO....I was wrong. A bird POOPED on my shirt. This is the SECOND time I've endured the embarrassment/disgustingness of this type of situation. I mean seriously...how is it that I've been pooped on twice by a wild bird and JOEL has NEVER been victim of the free-falling defecation of our feathered friends?
I'm just wondering if anyone knows how to figure out the probability of this happening? I tried to research it on google..but found nothing. I did learn that birds have bm's every 15 minutes. Yikes...can you imagine?? I'm glad I'm not a bird!

VA REALLY IS for LOVERS!!

I finally decided to change the name of "our" blog to "VA REALLY is for LOVERS!" I decided that this was a great name (thanks to the TX Ueckers!) Since Joel and I met here and have spent the first 2 (well, almost 2) years of our marriage together...I thought I'd reflect that in the name of our blog. Don't worry...our blogs won't ALL be about how much in love we are!

Elite Seats..

Joel thought it would be funny to take a picture of the outhouses Kalen and I had to use when we went to a Christmas activity. BELIEVE me...these were anything but ELITE!!

20 Percent? REALLY?

I just discovered that not only supposed to tip my server 20 percent, but my hair dresser and dog groomer, too?!? (I knew about the server part..just not the other two) What? That's craziness? No offense to all you dog groomers and hair dressers out there...but that seems like pure ridiculousness to me! It just doesn't seem fair that someone who fixes my hair should make as MUCH an hour if not MORE per hour as I do! I'm out there saving lives! I don't get tips?!? I pick up poo..I get it on my face...if that doesn't deserve a tip...I don't know what does!I mean seriously, a $20 tip just to get my hair highlighted seems very unfair. I'm boycotting.

Me and My Honey.

So, since I've decided to make this blog more of a "family" one, I decided to write a post about me and my honey:) (BTW...thanks to all who suggested new names for my blog..er umm...OUR blog. I'm still carefully considering the different names!) Anyway, back to me and my honey. It seems like every time Joel and I go out with a new couple, they always ask us what we like to do together. We always twiddle our thumbs for a second and say "hmmm..what DO we like to do together?" Here's what we say.

1. Hike. This is funny...b/c I don't really LOVE hiking. I enjoy it in PERFECT weather conditions with no bugs, in areas of the country I've never been before. Those conditions seem to be quite rare...BUT, we always say hiking....even though we only do it once a year.

2. Traveling. This is TOTALLY true. We are both TRAVEL freaks. I love, love, love this about my husband.

and that's about as far as we get. This used to really disturb me. I would think to myself "Gosh, we've only been married for ________ and this is all we can think of? Where are we going wrong? Why don't we love all of the same things? We should be spending every minute of our free time having a blast (okay, so that's an exaggeration.) I then realized that we do have our own special little hobbies...they just aren't the usual types of hobbies one would mention when going out with a new couple friend. Here they are.

1). We watch the Amazing Race. Since we both love to travel, this show is perfect for us! We imagine what it would be like if we were the ones doing the challenges. We laugh at the silliness and drama...and we try to figure out who's going to make it to the end.

2). I finally convinced Joel that it would be a good idea to convert our garage to our own little home gym. We now do P90X together. This has been great for us! We usually do this together about 3 times a week! (For some reason Joel doesn't want to get up at 4:30 am to exercise on the days I have to go to work...:)

3) We like to go to the beach. I feel like this is something every couple says. It doesn't seem unique enough to be a "hobby." But..nonetheless..we both enjoy this. It's so relaxing! Plus...he can read his "manly" books...and I can read my classic literature...or my not so classic literature!

4). Playing any type of scrabble has also filled many of our spare hours. Since my husband is a brainiac, I hardly ever win. Sometimes this is frustrating..but it makes the victory oh so glorious when I do beat him!

So, all you couples out there...what do you and your sig. other enjoy doing together? You should definitely clue us in on some new hobbies that are FREE. We're all about saving money!

Change.

I started this blog when I was a single student living in the upstairs of my sister and brother-in-laws house. A lot has changed since then. I now have a career, a wonderful husband and a dog that I adore! While I'm sure I will continue to write about silly nonsensical topics, I'd like to start making my blog more of a "family" one. Maybe this way I'll even get my husband to insert a few thoughts of his own! So, now the only dilemma I'm facing is finding a name for this new creation! What should I call it?? I could follow the Hollywood style and combine all of our names....JoMaRon (Joel,Maddie and Caron)...but that's just silliness;) So, help a girl out and leave some suggestions...I KNOW that the TX Ueckers HAVE to have some sort of suggestion! After all, they even have a name for their house!!!

Is That a Med Error?

You tell me...Is this a med error?

Here's my signs and symptoms.

1. Pain Rating-10/10 on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the worst throat pain I've ever felt).

2. Difficulty Swallowing (and talking for that matter....seriously, I wrote down everything I needed to tell my hubby tonight)

3. White spots on the back of my throat.

4. Swollen Lymph nodes

5. Death...it's what I feel like.

Treatment
1. Severe Cold Medication. I waited to take this until 10 minutes before I needed to pick up my husband so I wouldn't be too drowsy to drive. Ooooh...wait...It was an ANTI-DROWSY cold medicine. MED ERROR ALERT! This is why I'm typing a blog at 11:23pm when I feel like death and just want to sleep. Good thing I waited until 9pm to take this medication (that's my sarcastic tone of voice). GRRRRrrrr...

Poo Juice

There's not much new going on around here. I'm very excited since I have 4 days ahead of me with nothing to do but clean, work out and read. I do believe that this is a very justified break since today I got poo juice on my FACE. That's right...poo juice. One might ask what poo juice is. Well, I don't want to be too graphic, so if you have a sensitive stomach stop reading here....

Oh, so you think your stomach is made of steel, eh? After what happened to me today..I almost wish my face was made of steel too. Here's the story. I emptied my patients bedside commode that was filled with urine and poo into the toilet. During this lovely process...the juice from the poo splashed onto my cheek and wrists. So there you have it...poo juice...on my face. Yikes. Hope you weren't reading this over you lunch break!

Not So Young Anymore...

So, even though I am often accused of looking like I'm twenty (sometimes even 15)...I can tell I'm not so young anymore. Here's how...

1. This morning I tried yanking our covers up because they were all sliding on the floor. Since it was bright and early, I didn't warm up before executing this swift move. I therefore strained a muscle in my back...booo...I was excited about working out today, too! Guess I'll have to run instead of doing push-ups and pull-ups.

2. Yesterday when I was a at work, a pre-teenish girl asked me if I knew about some singer....I vaguely remembered the name because I had a seen his cd at Blockbuster. (Some, young whipper snapper with a picture in front of a bike) I also had great difficulty decoding everything she excitedly spattered out. This really made me feel old. I'm pretty sure the word "like" used to frequent my vocabulary far too often, but now that I'm an old fuddy-duddy...I really couldn't decipher her slurred, like filled sentences very well. "Like..he's Like the best singer from, like, The American Idol...like he's so great...I like have like "_________ fever." I had to say "what?" about a billion times before I could figure out what she was saying. That really made me feel old.

3. I was a part of my first work pot-luck. I enjoyed pot-lucks as a child because I could eat cookies and all the fatty foods I was never allowed to eat at home. Now, I search and search for the healthy and sensible food among all the junk. Well, unless I find pizza of course...then my self-control goes out the window (hmm...maybe I'm not so old after all...I'm still a sucker for cheese pizza...on Easter Sunday of all days...)

I Used To Say....

When I was a young know-it-all teen...I used to say I would NEVER do some of these things that I am about to list...I guess the old saying "never say never" is true!
I used to say I would not

1. Wear sweat pants out in public. As a young teen that had lots of time on primping...I couldn't understand why women would 'let themselves go' like that. HA...I now live in my sweat pants....but I usually do change into jeans when going out in public...not always though!

2. Give anyone an injection. I used to almost pass out when I saw someone else getting a shot...now I do it every day!

3. Gain the freshman 15...Let's see...I've gained it, lost it, gained it...lost it...You get the picture. What's a girl to do when she's a freshman three times??

4. Marry a principal....well, I never said I WOULDN'T....but if the idea had been suggested, I would have said "NO." Very emphatically. I love my principal hubby oodles and oodles and am so glad I said "yes!"

5. Own a yippy dog. "What's a yippy dog?" you ask. It's a dog that barks and barks and barks and barks. Maddie-poo is definitely yippy...It's not her fault that so many scary looking people walk by our house!

6. Dance like my mom. I guess genetics doomed me from birth though...there was no getting away from it!

So, It's Been A While....

The title of this blog is a statement I utter far too often. Lately I've had a hard time keeping up with the laundry in my hamper and the dishes in my sink. I'm REALLY behind on all of my phone calls and I just wrote my thank you notes for my birthday presents today...Yikes. I haven't even unpacked from my spring break trip yet. I feel completely and utterly exhausted...and also VERY unorganized. On the bright side, I've lost about 7 pounds and am almost back to my skinny highschool weight! SWEET! I'm not even dieting! The combination of not studying 7 hours a day and not being able to eat while I work has really paid off...(the exercising has helped too of course:). I write all this to say that I'm completely and utterly exhausted...and have not even FELT like blogging. I hope my few faithful readers won't write me off....and I hope my friends and family in far away places still know that I love them, even though I haven't been the best about calling lately.....So, I know it's been awhile...but I'll be back soon...writing my silly lists again..So, be ready to leave lots of comments!

Today Was the FIRST TIME I....

Today was the first time I've actually YELLED my heart out at a basketball game. Usually I show restraint and just politely clap...but I was sooo excited when the boys and girls of Norfolk Christian High school won state!! Way to go guys!!

Look What's FINALLY Done?!?

So, after a lot of mudding, sanding, painting and cleaning...our guest bedroom is FINALLY finished. This means that all you family members and friends that live far away should come visit now...."What?...You have kids?" Well, Joel and I MIGHT be willing to watch them for a night if you come stay in our little guest room...but you better hurry...that offer will only be good while we are childless! Not that you should hold your breath about the prospect of us having kids any time soon....but...you get the point! Come visit us!

House Envy

Do you ever struggle with house envy? I know I do. I am so GLAD that I have a house, but I still feel a tid bit of jealousy when I visit places of residences that I will only be able to live in when I dream at night. So, I've decided to focus on the things in my home that I absolutely love. The first thing is a vase I inherited through marriage from my mother-in-law. It is a glass vase. Last fall I cut some snowballs (that's what we called them in our family, I'm not sure what they are really called) from our yard and dried them. I then took some sea glass I found when Joel and I were in Boston and sprinkled it in the bottom. Lastly, I tied a ribbon I had received on a Christmas gift around the top. I now LOVE looking at this arrangement. It makes me happy...and I therefore have a little less house envy:)

I Love Jesus but I drink a Little..

I love Jesus but I drink a Little

Jeff | MySpace Video


So this totally made me laugh!! If you haven't seen this before..you NEED to watch it!

Switch-O-Roomitis

I think I may have some kind of disorder. We'll call it "Switch-O-Roomitis." This is a disease in which one switches their furniture around and around and around and around again. I do believe I've moved furniture around in my home at least 15 times during the short year and 1/2 that I've lived here. I've also changed the paint on one of my pieces of furniture two times (I'm in the long process of sanding that piece right now...that'll teach ya not to paint!) I also like to move my pictures around frequently. I'm pretty sure my walls are going to be swiss cheese pretty soon! While there are many benefits to switching things around (I get rid of junk, find stuff and improve the feng shui of my home), I really wish I had the insight to get things right the first time! Does anyone have any tips for me?