Seeing Things Clearly...

So I just got back from the eye doctor. My contact came in and well we had to have a fitting. Now my idea of this is that I would put these in myself for the first time. But no. This gal tries to jam these tiny pieces of clear plastic in my eyes (and I'm SOOOO not an eye toucher it's ridiculous!) without me closing them tightly at the sight of her finger. HELLO!!!! It's natural to shut your eye when something is poked at it lady! Anyway, after forever we got them in and then I had to take them out and vice versa. They feel good. I can see of course but I also see things completely different than with glasses. Things seems so much more 3D. So do I look funny?

So it's snowing here AGAIN today. We've got a cover on the ground and it's still flurries. When I was out driving to the eye doctor it was a little slick even. People are going really slow though.

Tonight I'm going to make this new chicken dish. I got a really cool cook book over the weekend and I have made a few really tasty things this week out of it. This dish is some kind of balsamic garlic chicken thing. Looks really good. I'm going to roast some veggies with it as well. Hopefully it will turn out yummy. On a day like today you just want something hot to eat for dinner.

Ok, I Am Here

So just in case you thought that I'd totally disappeared, I haven't. Lives been a little crazy lately. A very dear and sweet man passed away a few days ago and we were all just dealing with it in our own way. I think this is the first time that a person who I haven't been really related to or knew that well dying has effected me. I think I'm old enough now to understand that life in these bodies isn't eternal. At this point I would not be honest if I didn't say that fact makes me a little happy and a little sad. The thought of going to heaven is this wonderful thing but can't really be perceived by human minds. I can read about it but the full measure of what we'll experience is lost on me. The sad part is more about leaving family but mostly John. I've always struggled with the not being married to that person anymore when you get there thing. That's just my human mind not being able to wrap around the concept that being in the presence of God will be so wonderful that it won't matter. Or that I'll love everyone the way I love John. Again, something I'm just going to have to experience first hand to believe fully. The difficult part of the funeral was seeing the wife of many many years say good bye for one last time. I imagined myself in that spot today after only four years of marriage. I would be slain with grief, so I truly can't imagine the pain of losing your partner after so many years.

So on a lighter note, It's bloody cold here today. Like all of seven degrees bloody cold. Everyone at work is just chilled to the bone and walking around with steaming cups of misc drinks. My wonderful hubby even warmed up my car this morning it's so cold. I just dislike old man winter. He's a nasty old man. I'm just so ready for tank tops outside, bar b q parties and sun tans. I'm excited to work in the yard again and put landscaping in at our house. It's gonna be a fun spring/summer.

Also, a hair cut was in order. I was a bit panicked at first because my hair had become so long and I was used to it but I am really liking the cut now and it's just SOOOO easy.

So I'm Off to Get Puffed, Poked and dilated

Oh the joys of wearing glasses! I'm off today to get my eyes checked. It's such a pain and I'm so not looking forward to it. I am thinking however about asking the doctor about contacts. I would love the option of not having to wear glasses if I didn't want to. Makes having to wear them a little more fun.
Weather is still cold and gross. The snow and iciness are still stubbornly hanging out. We've been in the single digits each night. Makes getting up early so much fun!
I'm excited to spend some time this afternoon with my hubby. He's coming to chauffeur me to and from the docs. He hurt his back yesterday at work. Pulled something. Went to the Chiropractor yesterday and is just very sore today.
Almost time for Granny to fly out again. She leaves very early on Sunday morning. She's be out of town for a long time this time. Sad.
Well I'm off to the doc. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Warm and Toasty

So Friday we all braced for the worst storm so far this winter. They said lots of ice, snow and cold. John, Gran and Myself decided to eat some warm comfort food and then stock up on groceries and fun things to do. So basically all weekend we slept in, make good warm food, worked on a puzzle and sat by the fire. It was lovely. But what I wanna know is WHERE'S ALL THE SNOW? We truly didn't get anything to speak of till this morning around 8am. It started snowing pretty steady and it's been going ever since. Here's what we've got so far. The driveways are all solid ice but the main roads weren't to bad. John got today off (lucky dog) and most of our classes here at work are cancelled. My kitchen here at work is down again. Not sure that I mentioned it before but this is about the fourth time in four days that it's been down. No water, coffee or ice. People get grumpy without those things.
Today also has something else very important going on. It's Mom's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAY MOMMY! I'm sure they're probably snowed in, which I know makes her crazy. Hopefully, it's a good day anyway!

$10 Heaven

So the weekend was great. Picked Gran up on Friday and we gabbed for hours about Texas and such. Having the afternoon off was great! Saturday we slept in and made breakfast before departing for a long day of tote bag hunting. The quest continues. I did however score some great deals the entire day. TJ Max: $10 Max Studios Linen Blazer = Killer Cute & Comfy, Marshalls: $5 Gold and Black Beaded Dangle Earrings & a "Radar Hat" (as he calls it) for My Love, Express: $10 Grey Turtleneck Sweater, Target: $17 Grey Leaf w/ Lime Green Trim Tote Baf for Summer. Pretty productive.
Sunday was church. Killer message. Tim just gets better and better. Feel free to download it here and listen for free. It's actually a two parter. Both are out there. http://jacobswellchurch.org/audio
Water heater is getting fixed on Friday. Will be glad to have that done. Makes me nervous something in my house not working properly. I miss Maggie. I'm a terrible mother to her little kittiness. I'm excited to get that old PC out of the office. I'm excited to get my sewing studio decked out and running. Spring wardrobe here we come!!!! I'm also realized that I REALLY miss thrifting. I have done it in ages. I miss the thrill of finding really great shoes or a great book for next to nothing. I just haven't been honest with myself about who I am in that space and I'm totally a thrifter. It's fun to take a Saturday and just hunt around the shops for cheap stuff that's either already cute or you can cut up and make into something else cute.
Oh and last piece of news for today. I think my hair is getting whacked off again. I've been trying to grow it but I get to this stage where I can't remember why. I'm not a long hair person am I? It's pretty but I'm not sure it's for me. I mean everyone else has it first of all (which I really like doing my own thing, as we all know) and it's just so much blowdrying/hairspray. I hate hairspray. So in the spirit of hair cuts, what do we think of this? I've had it before and it's EASY and OH how I love easy. Plus, I'm so ready for spring to spring. This is festive for Spring. We'll see. I'm not rushing. That's something I'm getting increasingly good at is not rushing into thing. That ability could have only come from God because I'm the ultimate rusher. And...GO!

Something to Make You Smile

I saw this and laughed so much...

A Little Something from the Past

So this is actually for the 20th of Dec but I kept it because I knew I wanted to post it here. To me it's a reminder to live more like Jesus would. More out of a heart of love and acceptance and not coming from that religious place that we all have inside us. There's such a fine line between loving unconditionally and shutting your eyes to something you know is wrong. Just something to ponder for today.

Love and Miss You All!

The whole truth
by John Fischer
Author Phillip Yancey tells a story of a man in his church that can't help comparing being late for church to being late for his regular Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. When he's late for church, he says that he has the distinct feeling from everyone around him that he's not as responsible or he would get to church on time. When he's late for an A.A. meeting, however, the meeting stops, everyone jumps up to hug him because they realize he almdidn'tdidn't make it, and they are so glad his need for them won out over his need for alcohol.
What's the difference? The whole truth. The people who got to church on time may have gotten that one thing right, but they have a bunch of other things wrong with them, making them just as needy as the alcoholic. Felloisn'tip isn't going to mean anything if we don't tell the whole truth about ourselves. Real fellowship means stepping into the light of God's truth where everything is revealed, and when we bring ourselves to the light, we discover we are not alone. There's a roomful of other believers all struggling with something too, and that sense of shared need is part of the bond that holds us together.
Yes, we're people following Christ, but we're all a bunch of forgiven sinners, too, who wouldn't have a chance at life were it not for what Christ has done for us. So grab someone and let's walk into the light together, where the blood of Jesus purifies us from allIsn't our sins. Isn't that the group you want to be in?
But if we walk in the light as he [God] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7 NIV)

21 Life Lessons Found

Ok. So I had to post this too today. I've been doing some cleaning up of my files and found it. Some of these are so true and so wise. Something fun for you pseudo Monday.

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
FOUR. When you say, "I love you," mean it.
FIVE. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.
TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

Holiday Update

So I'm back to work today, it's cold outside AND I forgot my breakfast. Boo. Other than that, today is great! Holiday's are over for a bit now. We had a pretty good time this weekend. John's family seemed to be less obnoxious than normal. Maybe I'm just getting used to them. Our late Christmas turned out great. We got some nice things. Killian played Santa for about two point two seconds till he realized there were presents under the tree for him. It was pretty cute though. Hung out with Mom and Gary on Sunday too. Weather started getting gross though. The farther north we got the less yuck there was though. Monday was just hangin out. John spent some of his gift card money on some shoes he's wanted forever. He is cute.

Looking through all the pictures on the web of people's holiday craft projects has made me wanna get back in the swing. I haven't done anything crafty in ages and it's truly a passion of mine. Just love to make cute things that are unique and make people (and myself) smile. I think this year that will be something on my goals list. I don't normally make resolutions for new years. It seems like setting yourself up for being disappointed in yourself later if you don't do them all. This year I've thought of a few things though that makes sense and are easily done with little effort:

-Get back to crafting. Bakin, sewing, painting.

-Get healthy. I don't wanna lose X amount of weight. It shouldn't be about that. I wanna start eating right and exercising for myself. I don't want to feel like I have to buy disposable clothing because I'm waiting to get thin to buy nice things. I just need to stop being lazy and be healthy.

-Focus on being a great wife. I got a great great book for Christmas that I've started reading on this subject. It's opend my eyes a lot. I'm not always going to be perfect but being the wife God intended is important.

I feel like three is a good attainable goal. Three things that I can actually reach. Not fifteen really out there resolutions that I'll never got around to or feel overwhelmed each time I look at the list. Ok, your turn. What are some of your new years goals?

Oh! I wanted to write to the gals who read my blog. I discovered a new to me magazine yesterday. I'm a crazy magazine reader and have seen this one for ages but from the cover it seemed like something an older crowd would enjoy. Not so. I pick up a copy due to the cover model and my obsession with Law and Order. Ended up being my favorite new mag and I'm totally getting a subscription. It's called Self. Not a new mag but like I said, new to me. It's got everything. A little fashion, some makeup goodness but most importantly it's got loads of exercises to try and recipes that look GREAT! Also has some really good articles. It's just clicked with me. You might want to check out the January issue. It's out now of course.

So it's the day AFTER Christmas and I can hardly believe it. Four days flew by at lightning speed. Friday was just spent at our house. Just me and the gals. John went out shopping for "drugs" as he calls it. That means presents for me. Packed up our lives and went back over to Gran's house. Saturday started out to be a promising day. Slept in, made a lazy breakfast and generally just took our time. We finally decided however that showers and real clothing were in order. Wrapped all our gifts and then realized that Gran's house (we're currently back staying there because our lovely hot water heater went out) had NO trace of Christmas to be seen. So we rummaged through that basement rubbermaid and pulled out a few things to liven the place up. Just when it was getting good, John's friend came over and proceeded to spend four hours of my precious time with John jacking with new computer stuff. Sigh...BUT at least John got his new computer all squared away. It's a cute little thing. He loves it and I'm so glad we were able to get it. Will make school so much easier for him. Sunday started much the same but without the breakfast part. Mom and Gary rolled in around two and we headed over for a fun filled Christmas Eve dinner at Aunt Batman's house. Food was good and always nice to see them. Monday we spent some time at Gary's parents. Funny stuff. Lots of people in a little tiny house FULL of furniture. Made for some interesting times. Nice to see everyone though. John and I just spent the rest of the evening watching movies and relaxing. Weird how it didn't really feel like Christmas at all until I was driving home from our house alone with the radio on. By then Christmas was all but over. Sad. I'll get more into it next year. Oh! Two things I almost forget. We dog-sat the CUTEST baby ever. He was such a sweet little guy and was so good all weekend. I didn't want to take him back!
And the best for last! Presents! Got some CUTE things. JZ got me a docking station for my Ipod (car one and house one), some beautiful gloves, comfy jams from VS, and a cute hat for him that I wanted him to get a while back but he hated it. He still does but decided he would wear for me as a present. He's so sweet. Got a cute little white tea pot, personalized calendar and sweet pic of my pups. Gran got me a beautiful watch and some perfume from Paris (which I'm obsessed with). Over all GREAT year for presents. Fun thing is that this next weekend we get to do it all over again with John's family.
Back to work today. I rolled in a little late but nobody was here anyway. Still pretty dead even now. Oh well, back to the salt mines!

Who Would DO This to Their Baby???

Well, besides me.

Scandal, Secrets and Scary Pink Medicine

So I'm almost on the ball here. Left work a hour early yesterday to "sneak" to Target and get all of John's stocking stuffer goodness. I was so excited to find stockings that matched our bizarre color scheme of the tree and then I proceeded to stuff that stocking till it's little seams were about to pop. I can't WAIT for him to open. Tonight I have to make Christmas. Decorate the house, make brownies for all his coworkers, wrap all the presents and manage to get a brow wax in there someplace. This morning I was less than pleased to find a nice little pile of hershey wrappers on the carpet of the living room. Seems Yorda had her own holiday party while John was in the shower this morning. I had to go to work though. I didn't have time for the vet just then. Got here and squared it all away. Called mom in a panic after reading that 2 oz of choc can be lethal. I have NO idea how many of those hershey kisses she actually ate. So we take a trip to the vet. He's a nice guy but pronounces my childs name wrong and that frustrates me. Then I realize it's because the lady at the counter miss spelled it on her chart. Way to go. Anyway, he checked Yordie out. Heart rate was good, stomach felt fine, eyes looked clear and she was jumpin around like she hadn't a care in the world. I'm sure he thought I was a over protective nut job to bring her in but I would rather be safe than sorry. We ended up with some nasty tasting (well apparently from the look on Yorda's face when I shot it down her little tiny throat) pink medicine for the next two days. Hopefully suppose to prevent any vomiting or squirts that might occur due to her pre holiday bash. Oh What A Night!!!!!

It's Sick and Wrong!

So I just realized that I haven't posted in FOREVER and that's just...well, sick! I haven't been up to much really. Guess that's the biggest reason for lack of fun news. Back to work at my normal location. I forgot how busy it is here sometimes. I also just realized today that Christmas is so close. Like REALLY almost here. So this weekend I've got to finish up the shopping and get the Christmas cookies in the oven. I haven't even decorated my house. How crazy is that! I know mom and dad's mouths are dropped open at this point. We all remember when I was a kid and right after Thanksgiving turkey we HAD to bust out the ol' tree. Drag it up from the basement on the suicide steps and out came the tinsel! Oh I loved it. For some reason though I'm just not getting into it this year. I think it's because I really thought I had more time.
What else...got a new PC at work. I was going to hold out for the Dell's but they ran out and I didn't want to wait until next year (date undetermined) to get it. So I went with the Toshiba. So far it's been GREAT! It's like a working off a movie theater screen. I just don't know what to do with myself!
Got Christmas with John's family all worked out. I know you all have been in on that saga at one point or another. We decided to go one weekend (not two in a row. Sheesh!). We'll be headed down there the weekend of the 30th. Less traffic hopefully anyway. Not sure what we will do on the day of but we can figure that out later. Even if I just sit at home and watch Christmas movies in my pjs with my hubby, I'll be happy.

Snow in the MidWest???

So we didn't get the HUMUNGO storm they told us we would. At Gran's house there was really only about two inches max. Here's a pic from out front of her house.
Notice anything missing? That would be the mail box and it's not there because, well, we backed over it while sliding on ice down the driveway. It's was exciting! I'm sure eveyone else got more snow than we did and it's melting off today as I type. It's just cold. Bad cold. Nothing like 70's one day and teens the next to get your winter juices flowing!
It's weekend time. I've heard some talk of the new Bond movie in my future. Also, we are going to finish up Christmas shopping. Gonna be so happy to have it done. Also thinking about getting out all the christmas stuff and decorating. Not sure though.
Anyway, have a wonderful weekend. Be safe and DON'T work (You know who you are!!!) :)

Hey Baby It's COLD Outside

Just wanted to share a little idea of how cold it is here today. Hope everyone is staying warm and safe!!!

Relationship and Sleeping Cute Boys

Holiday time!!!! Food, Food and more Food. The weather has been just lovely almost everyday. So far this season has been GREAT!!!
Here's a cute little pic of John on Turkey Day...

Also, here is an email I recieved today about being in relationship with people. It gets you to thinking about how you interact with people on a daily basis. Does me anyway...

It's all in the relationship by John Fischer
“I try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what I like or what is best for me, but what is best for them so they may be saved.” (1 Corinthians 10:33 NLT)
This is an important question to have in mind whenever we are talking to anyone: “What is best for this person?” It’s a way of both getting out of ourselves and being in a position to truly help someone else. It requires finding out more about the other person – asking lots of questions and paying close attention to the answers. My job is to gain insight into a person’s thinking so as to understand who he is, where he is at, and what he is trusting in. Only then can I have a real relationship with someone. If my primary focus is on me, and what is best for me, that doesn’t even constitute a relationship.
This doesn’t mean I never talk about myself. It means that when I do, it’s for the purpose of identifying with another person. Real relationships reveal holes in our lives that others can relate to. And if Jesus will accept someone like me, surely people can recognize that Jesus will accept them. But this only works when we tell the truth. We have to first introduce our real selves to people before we introduce Jesus; that way they can understand why we need Jesus. Out of real relationships, God has a chance to work.
Paul says that the essence of his impact on people is to introduce himself to them. As he puts it, “We commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:2 NIV) To commend himself is to commend Christ, because Christ is his all in all. It’s all embodied in the relationship. Think of it this way: All our relationships are godly because God is all wrapped up in the people he created. People are God’s priority. They’re ours too, if we are following him.
People can understand relationships, even if they do not trust them. Everyone wants a friend. Everyone wants someone to care. Everyone wants to know he or she can count on someone to be there. This is where Jesus picks up in true and trusted relationships. Our relationship with Jesus and with people is intertwined. Whether they know him or not, Jesus is the essential element in all our relationships. And we’ll know when it’s important for someone to know that. Most likely, they’ll be asking us to tell them.
Aim high. God places a high value on relationships. It is what makes up the stuff of eternity. Aside from God and people and the love that holds us together, what else is there?

Couldn't Resist...

Something about dogs on couches just makes me laugh. Look at these little guys.

Turkey in the Straw...

Well I have to say it's been a long week. I think Tuesday was the longest day of my life so far but things could have been much worse and I'm grateful they weren't. Hopefully this weekend we'll all get some much needed rest.
The weather is suppose to be nice and I'm looking forward to get out for a nice walk at some point.
Thanksgiving is next week too. I can't wait for pecan pie. I truly love this holiday. Family is together, everyone is stuffed to the gills with the best food ever and then there's the parade. I'm not sure why but I love the parade. This year I have a lot to be thankful for.
1.Granny is still with us and healthy to boot
2.The unconditional love that God continuously gives me
3.My wonderful Hubby and Pups
4.Dad, Mom and Gary
5.My job, even though it stresses me out sometimes. At least I have one.
6.My car. It's just so dang cute.
7.Pecan Pie that is to come

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all! (Just a little Paula Dean for everyone)

Opposites Attract

by John Fischer

How do you become like Christ? Interestingly enough, God is more committed to this than we are. And it’s a good thing, because if it all depended on us, we would never get very far in this process. We would probably be too easy on ourselves.
“And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” (Philippians 1:6) He started it; he will finish it.
OK, but how does this happen? One of the ways God does this is by letting the opposite thing happen to you. Do you need to learn how to love? Get ready for someone you can’t stand. Need patience? Better prepare for some aggravations to come your way. Looking for peace? Here’s a little chaos you weren’t expecting. Joy? Did I mention sorrow?
Now why is God like this? Is he some kind of killjoy in the sky? Does he get a kick out of kicking us around? Actually he does this for the very reason that he is the one who starts and finishes the work in us. You see, all these qualities really belong to God. Love, joy, peace, patience are actually fruits of God’s Spirit in those who believe. In other words, he’s provided all these things we need, but we don’t find them until we are desperate for them. It’s just the way we were made.
If we could come up with all these qualities on our own, we wouldn’t need God. We would have rules and formulas and steps to go through to better ourselves. In other words, religion would be enough. As it is, we are deeply flawed. Even our best attempts at producing the right things in our lives come up short. Religion is a fine thing; it’s just that it has never made anyone like Christ. In fact, the more religious we become, the further away from Christ we get. You get to be more like Christ by needing him more and more in your life.
You can’t make the right stuff out of the wrong material. Or as Jesus said, you can’t put new wine in old wineskins. So God allows things into our lives that break the old, to bring in the new. The new is beyond us. We are forced to discover it when we are stretched beyond our means. So God brings the opposite to create in us what we really want. That’s when we grow.

LifeBlood

I was reading this morning in the bible about relationship with God and found this:

Psalms 16:5 The Lord himself is my inheritance, my prize. He is my food and drink, my highest joy!

For some reason it just stuck out to me. Sometimes is helps to think of God so literally, at least for me. The word that always comes to mind, and it's a funny one, is lifeblood. It's so dramatic yet wonderful. I love the strong meaning that helps you to realize just how serious this object is to your life. Thinking of God as your food and drink is much the same. Those are things you just can't live without. This week I had a very honest test of that in my life. You really can't live without eating or drinking. I also find it interesting that you also do these things without a lot of thought. Sure we all spend time trying to figure out what sounds good to us but in the end it doesn't take a lot of brain waves to put the food in your mouth. That is how relationship should be with God. Something you do (not mindlessly) but without serious struggle or turmoil. He loves you and wants you to love and trust Him completely.