Time Off

It seems I can always think of things I want to do when I am busy, but once I have a lot of time on my hands I have trouble getting motivated to do those things. I've decided to make a list of things I'd like to get done before I go back to school so I don't just sleep my holiday away nor spend too much time in front of the t.v.

1. Sew
2. Reorganize my baking cabinet
3. Read
4. Run
5. Organize Recipes
6. Spend time with friends

Grrrr!

At the beginning of the year, the teachers are asked to volunteer to sell tickets at some of the extracurricular events. I signed up to sell tickets this Friday....an early realease day....we get out at 11:50....it is the day we get out for Christmas vacation. What was I thinking?

I am so bad a calendaring. I never know the date and don't really want to remember it. I don't ever remember people's birthdays...not even my parents, siblings, nor niece or nephew.

My good friend, Jodie, who is very organized and always knows the date, decided to help me get organized. One day, we sat down and I wrote and addressed birthday cards for my family for the entire year. I have them in a book and they are filed by month.

Well, today I called my niece to tell her Happy Birthday and to see how her day was. She said, "Newt-Newt, my birthday was yesterday." I said, "I thought your birthday was the 17th." She said, "It was, today is the 18th." (An 8 year old keeps up with the date better than me.)

Grrrr. I don't think I'm ever going to get this right. Even when I remember when someone's birthday is, I don't really remember what today's date is.

Some of you practical people probably are saying... get a calendar...use Outlook....blah, blah, blah, blah. I've tried calendars and I have several... they're not working!

Grrrr!

Brace Yourself

Well, friends. I've been talking about getting braces for the last 4 years and I finally got them. I had originally planned to get them before I moved to Maryland. When I found out we might be moving, I decided to wait so I didn't have to switch doctors in the middle of treatment.

Here is a picture. Try not to laugh too hard. If any of you try to call me metal mouth I'm going to bust you in the chops!

This last week, Little Rachel got braces. I think she and I ought to have a contest to see who gets them off first. The person who loses has to buy the winner a pack of gum or some other thing that is on the list we aren't supposed to have. Are you up for it Little Rachel?

On the stage of LifePoint

I just wanted to let you guys know that the "Susie Moore Dance" is still alive and well. I've seen it performed by Lance Burch multiple times at LifePoint over the last 2 years. Just this Friday night, Lance brought the dance to the LifePoint stage once again while singing to the tune: Cobacabana. It was an amazing show. It made many laugh and some cry. Kudos to Susie for such a great dance and the impact it is having on others. You rock Susie Moore.

Running Update

It's been about a year since I first started running. I'm 4.6 miles short of running 200 miles this year.:)I plan on running tomorrow and that should put me over my 200 mile mark.

On Friday, I ran with our track team at school. Well, actually I ran "after" our track team. I'm really slow, but it was fun knowing I wasn't the only one out there running.

Daily Log

8am Woke up.
9am Went to church.
12pm Came home and had lunch with a friend. (Grilled Cheese and Potato Soup)
2pm Went running.
5pm Went to Jodie's house to eat dinner (Honey Ginger Shrimp) and to watch a movie.
7pm Left Jodie's because I fell asleep during the movie.
8pm Went home and going to get ready for bed.

Shelly's Blog

Has anyone else noticed that when you go to Shelly's blog, you can't hit the back button to go to the previous web page you were viewing. Shelly, is this your ploy to get everyone to only look at your blog? What's going on? Does this only happen on my computer?

Abbreviations

The other day I found out that a CT Scan meant a Cat Scan. So, I began to wonder, are we so lazy these days that we really have to abbreviate the word "cat"?

Blogger Board Meeting

Attention all Blogger Board Members:

There has been a motion made that Clay Walker a.k.a. YPG/Shaman/Sherpa be added as a link to my blog. The motion has been made and seconded. I'd like to open the floor for comments.

Favorite Things

My husband. Red Robin. Eating with friends. Diet Coke (no lime). Shocked some of you guys didn't I? Not the part about "my husband" being a favorite, but the part about "no lime".

One Semester of Spanish Love Song

Emotional Roller Coaster

Well, I haven't blogged in a while because I have been on an emotional roller coaster and didn't have much to say. After 12 years of being married, Jason and I finally got pregnant. We were so excited because we'd been praying for so long for it. The month before Jason and I were about to start fertility drugs I got pregnant. It was quite a miracle. However, after going to the doctor and having an ultrasound we found out that the getsational sac was empty. Somewhere along the way, the cells quit splitting and growing. Last weekend I miscarried which has sent me on a ride I had always feared. We are sad, but we see there is hope. The fact that I even got pregnant was a miracle and my doctor believes the chances are high that it will happen again.

In all of this, there are two things that I'm really glad about. One is that I'm coming out of this and so far, I haven't been mad at God. That was my biggest fear. I tried to be really honest with God about where I am and not ignore Him. Second is the fact that I've not been bitter at others who are pregnant or have children of their own. Before I ever got pregnant, I made a concsious descision to celebrate new life even if I was never to have children of my own. This decision was tested when I was at school day after I had the ultrasound and a teacher brought her newborn baby into the room where I was. Immediately, I felt sadness, but I decided in that moment to rejoice for that life that God gives.

Save the Plastic Trees!

Jason and I went to Home Depot tonight to get some parts for the lamps in our bedroom. The plastic knobs that you use to turn the lamp off and had broken and we were tired of not having enough light. As the cashier began putting our one item in the plastic bag, I said to him, "I'll just put that in my purse and save some trees...I mean... plastic." This was one of those moments where I just wanted to pretend to faint.

Texas

We've been in Texas for the last couple of weeks and our trip is winding down. I'm so glad we had a chance to see family and friends. I feel like for the past week I've been sitting and talking either in a restaurant or in someone's house trying to catch up with others. Although I've enjoyed the fun conversation, I've gotten a bit tired of just sitting. Yesterday afternoon as I was putting some laundry in the machine, I looked around my mother in laws laundry room and decided it needed some organization. I began rearranging and tossing out unwanted items (with her permission, of course) and cleaned it out. Then, I decided that what it really needed a fresh coat of paint. After about $22.00 and lots of hours, her laundry room has been transformed. I went to bed at 4am and slept until noon.

Tagged

Robert "tagged me." Since I've been away from the web, I've not had a chance to respond. I figured that the game might be over, so I'll just share about myself and not tag others.

1. My parents used to tell me not to stare at the sparks when we would see a welder, but I always looked.
2. I have a new found love for pudding. It is soooooo good.
3. I have one set of blonde eyelashes and another set of brown.
4. I love to cook recipes until I've perfected them. Once I've perfected it, I want a new challenge.
5. I'm not picky when it comes to music.
6. I enjoy watching those cheesy Disney Channel movies. I saw High School Musical the first time it was ever aired on Disney. I really enjoyed it, but was too embarrassed to say so. In fact, in the middle of the show, Jason came home. I began recording it and turned off the t.v. so he wouldn't see how cheesy of a show I was watching.
7. I need moments of silence and solitude to get recharged.

Traveling

I'm leaving for camp in the morning. Please pray for us that our lives will be changed and that we'll be more like Christ than we are now.

After camp, we're heading to Texas. Can't wait to see friends and family!

Running Update

Since last October, I've ran a total of 117 miles. Woo Hoo!

This last Saturday, my friend, Ann, and I went and ran a section of the NCR Trail. She is a marathon runner and I wanted to try her tecnique of running. When she enters marathons, she runs for 2 min. and walks for1 min. She says she can make the same time as people who run the entire thing. Well, we tried it and I ran 7 miles. I thought I only ran 6.1, but my Nike+ipod needs to be recallibrated. I checked the trail map and Ann's Nike chip was more on target than mine. I can't believe I was able to do it.

I was quite sore on Saturday and my ankles are still a little sore. I'm icing them as I write.

If I can get the money together, I am going to try and enter a virtual half-marathon. You sign up for it online and then you run with your Nike+ipod chip. You have to upload your information from your nike chip to the marathon site by a certain date and they send you a t-shirt. To me, the best part about entering the races is the t-shirt.

Cars, Cars, Cars

I love the fact that I live in an era where cars exist. I am so thankful for my cars especially the one that is paid off. However, I get so frustrated when they break down. Both of our cars need work. Grrrr. I guess I should just be glad that I have one.

My Garden

Jason, my dad and I planted a garden in the spring and it is beginning to bear vegetables and fruit. I planted tomatoes, bell peppers (green and red), green onions, spaghetti squash, cucumber. Right now on the vines I probably have 20 spagetti squash, 10-15 cucumbers and lots of tomatoes. I'm hoping all will be ready to pick before I leave for camp and Texas. I'm wanting to do some canning so the vegetable won't ruin before I leave for my trips. It would be such a waste of all that work if I can't enjoy the fruits of it.

D.C.

Last night Jason and I and the Burches all went to D.C. to meet Jimmy and Jennifer Williams for dinner. We met them at Union Station and rode the Metro to Alero's Mexican Restaurant. The food was incredible. It's the best Mexican food we've found here in MD. After Alero's, we hopped back on the Metro to Dupont Circle where we rode the tallest escalator ever. As we got to the top, we saw the "orange glow" so we decided to treat ourselves to some scrumptous, warm Krispy Kreme donuts. After the donuts, boardedthe Metro and went to walk around the White House.

It was a great evening with friends. It was great seeing Jimmy and Jennifer and catching up on things.