Friday, May 30, 2008

28 Days And Counting!!!!


I'm so unbelievably excited for our upcoming Oregon Beach trip!!



And I thought I'd post some pictures of the Hudson Beach House where we'll be staying just 5 minutes south of Lincoln City and not far from Depoe Bay in Oregon.



First - here's a shot of the map. The red dot is where the house is located. (*Family, you can email me and I'll send you the address if you want it)


Here's what the house looks like on the side facing the ocean:


Here's a couple pics of the living area, which is the upstairs of the house with all the windows:



Here's what the kitchen & dining area look like:


They only had one picture of the one of the three bedroom upstairs and one of the three baths.


Here's the description they give of the house:


Hudson's Beach House is located just 5 minutes south of Lincoln City. Situated in a quiet neighborhood this home will soon become your favorite vacation spot! The main living area is located on the second floor, providing wonderful ocean and surf views from the spacious living room, dining room and kitchen. Warm yourself by the fire while watching whales spout or playing family games. Each of the three bedrooms has a glass patio door to backyard decks - the perfect spot to enjoy morning coffee and warm yourself in the sun. The master bedroom has a king bed, large walk in closet, a very large bathroom with a shower stall and a separate, deep jacuzzi tub to relax and unwind in. Second and third bedroom have Queen and Double beds, respectively. Hall bath has a tub/shower combination. Kitchen is fully equipped for all your vacation cooking needs. The lower level has a large room with two twin beds and a new sleeper sofa, laundry room and 1/2 bath. Roll-a-way bed in master closet suitable for a small person. Nearby beach access just a block away.

Hopefully these next four weeks will fly by! I can't wait to see everyone, I miss you all so much!!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A Veggin Weekend

This weekend was wonderful. It was everything I needed it to be after such a long week. Jason and I caught up on some much needed sleep and time together. He got home early Friday from a slow night at work and we watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. He hadn't seen it before and we wanted to watch it before seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Saturday we enjoyed some sweet tea and warm sunshine as we sat on our front porch playing Mancala, before he had to head into work that evening.

Sunday, Joe Beam preached a great message on the book of Ruth at church and afterward Jason and I walked around Loews for garden ideas and then Cool Springs Mall for a little lunch and shopping. That evening we met up with our friends Chad & Tabby, and Jeff Hooper and his son Cade and headed to the Watertown Drive In to see a double-feature: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Ironman. We had such a great time and really enjoyed both movies quite a lot!

Monday we both had the day off, so we decided to use some gift cards we'd been saving and headed out once again to see yet one more movie, Prince Caspian and then have dinner at TGIFridays. A lot of people actually had the same idea we did, because it stormed pretty hard most of the day. We ended the 3 day weekend, hanging out at Barnes & Nobles sipping hot coffee and browsing landscaping magazines. When we got home, it was still fairly early so we curled up on the couch to read for a bit before heading to bed. We put no expectations on the weekend and just played everything by ear, and it was so relaxing for the both of us. (I know can you imagine, me with no expectations...)

Tonight Jason has a softball game, but the forecast is for more storms, so we're not really sure if its going to happen or not. Either way, we get yet one more evening together which I'm very much looking forward to.

Oh and we bought our tickets to Oregon for our family trip! Yea!! Now its actually starting to sink in that we're going and I'm starting to get really excited. 31 days to go and I'm already wanting to write out my packing list. I asked Jason last night, "what do you want to bring on our trip?" and he started laughing at me. This of course coming from the man that packs literally an hour before we're supposed to head to the airport. Don't worry honey, I'll be sure to pack "Huckleberry Finn" for ya!

oh AND! to clear up the mystery here....the anonymous person who felt compelled to correct both mine and my sister's spelling errors in a rare comment, was actually my scrabble-addict of a husband. He's one of my "ghost readers" who stays quite current on the blog, but never actually comments....till now. Thanks my love. ;-)

Friday, May 23, 2008

No Way!

CNN posted this article about a West Virginia woman that had suffered two heart attacks and had no pulse or brain activity for more than 17 hours! Then after the family says their goodbyes, and the tubes were all removed, she WOKE UP AND STARTED TALKING!

Click here to read this crazy story!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Somehow surviving...

This week has been a long and hard week for me.


Saturday - I got threatened by a car full of redneck girls on my way into a grocery store. For some reason because they were parked in front of the entrance, which is where I was headed, they thought I was looking at them, so they proceeded to call me out cussing and screaming. I seriously thought I was going to get my butt whooped that night.


Sunday - Actually a pretty nice and relaxing day. Jason and I enjoyed lunch with our friends after church and just lounged around and talked for hours. It was very relaxing. Then he was off that night as well, so we chilled at the house.


Monday - I found out that I was getting my wisdom tooth out on Tuesday rather than Thursday, so I was rather nervous all of Monday thinking about it. Thankfully the season premier of the Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars kept me distracted that night.


Tuesday - The wisdom tooth finally came out. It's been something I've been putting off probably close to 8 years. What could have taken 20 minutes turned into over an hour appointment cause the dentist kept waiting for the splotchiness around my neck to go away (now we all know that doesn't happen). Of course I was nervous, he was going to shoot me with needles and yank out my tooth! He had an odd sense of humor, and thought that making light of my nervousness was somehow going to help the situation when in all reality it made it worse. Don't make fun of someone when their freaked out, it only freaks them out more! He was very gentle though and by the time he actually pulled the tooth it went really quick. And I didn't feel a thing, though the noise was horrendous! For some crazy reason I thought because I was awake through the whole thing, I could recover quick and go into work that afternoon...yeah not so much. The amount of blood and drool - holy crap. I'll spare you the details, but it was so gross. And after taking care of my sister Kris through her recovery a couple years ago, you'd think I would have known what to expect. Denial my friends, lots and lots of denial.


Wednesday - REALLY BAD DAY. And not at all because of my tooth (or lack thereof I should say). I really have had no bruising or swelling at all. But I had made a really bad decision to take my pain pill at work on a completely empty stomach, something I REALLY don't recommend. So I spent a good 3 1/2 hours in the bathroom stall at my office dizzy, trying to keep from blacking out and dry heaving. This is a major deal for me, cause I haven't puked since I was 10. No joke. It was a nightmare and I just wanted to get out of there. When I felt strong enough to leave, Jason came and picked me up from work and I hightailed it home, to which I fell asleep for the rest of the afternoon.


Thursday - Better day. I went into work and took it really easy. Still pretty nervous though since Wednesday was so awful and I didn't want to get stuck in that situation again. But I stayed busy the whole day and was mainly just tired. I went off all pain medication, which is fine, cause though my jaw is a bit sore, its bearable.


Friday - I'm doing so-so today. I'm a bit dizzy again and am trying to drink lots of water and I had some toast for breakfast. I don't know what the deal is, but I want to start feeling better soon! I'm looking forward to the 3 day weekend, lots of resting and time with Jason. I think it will be just what I need to get back on my feet.


SO far turning 30 has not proven to be so great, what with getting over 2 virus', blood work, a wisdom tooth being pulled and getting sick at work. God is seriously testing me and as long as he gives me the strength and grace to get through it, I know I'll be ok. But I'M REALLY ready for this season to be over with.

Monday, May 19, 2008

It's Not Brain Surgery

Me: Honey, did you get my text?

Jason: About your dentist appointment for your wisdom tooth being moved?

Me: Yea. I swore they said it was going to be on Thursday, but apparently they scheduled it for tomorrow, Tuesday. (*big sigh*)

(long pause)

Jason: Are you ok?

Me: (*moan*) yes. I guess its not as bad as brain surgery.

Jason: (*giggle*) See, just think about that and it won't seem so bad.

Me: But it might as well be.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

My dad sent me this email and it was definately a trip to watch!

El Caminito del Rey (The King's pathway) is a walkway, now fallen into disrepair, pinned along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in El Chorro, near Álora in Málaga , Spain .. The walkway has gone many years without maintenance, and is in a highly deteriorated and dangerous state. It is only one meter in width, a! nd ; ;over a 700-meter fall, and over time it has also lost its handrail. Some parts of the walkway have completely collapsed and have been replaced by a beam and a metallic wire on the wall. Many people have lost their lives on the walkway in recent years. After four people died in two accidents in 1999 and 2000, the local government closed the entrances. However, adventurous tourists still find their way on to the walkway.



Monday, May 12, 2008

Book Update

With the beautiful weather outside in the upper 70's and low 80's, I'm beginning to crave good summer books to read. Some friends of mine started a book club, of which we haven't been doing so well at completing our first assignment - Pride & Prejudice. I get so easily distracted by the other books on my shelf that have I've been longing to read instead.

I've always enjoyed reading. Sometimes just the idea of picking up a new novel with a hot cup of coffee and curling up on the couch is more enjoyable than maybe the book itself. My love of books comes from my parents. My dad has always enjoyed reading - though he doesn't always have the time to read a whole lot. As way back as I can remember, Dad would sit me on his bed, pull out the Childrens Treasury of Literature, open it to the next story, lift it to his face and take a big sniff from the inside of the book, and then read to me while rubbing his knee in a circular pattern. I would be lying if I didn't say that I've often caught myself doing this very same ritual when starting a new book. I love the smell of the pages in a new book, there's something so comforting about it. As a little girl, my mom would take us to the library and we would literally fill up a box of books that we wanted to check out. Going to the library was like taking me to a candy store. I picked out as many as we could fit in that box and then once we checked them all out, we would head to the beach with books and blankets in hand and read in the sun watching the ferries go by. Those memories are some of my fondest.

I often think of those times every time I start a new book. I'm grateful to my parents for encouraging this passion of mine. I've learned so much about life and who I am just through reading.

So on with the books I've recently read:

The Pilots Wife by Anita Shreve
It was so good!! I absolutely loved it and had a hard time putting it down. It's an easy read and I really recommend it. I look forward to trying some of Anita Shreve's other books.


P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
Yes this is the same book the movie was made from starring Hilary Swank. I actually have still not seen the movie yet, but the book was really good, though a bit too long. I'm going to rent the movie soon to see if its anything like the book.


Currently Reading:

Simply Christian by N.T. Wright
I've been working on this book for-e-ver. It is anything but simple. But I experience this horrible guilt when I can't finish a book. I think in my whole life I've only not finished maybe 5 books. I honestly equate it as a sin of some kind - I can thank my dad for that, along with coloring the pages of my coloring book in order and never jumping ahead. I try to read a chapter a week, and go really slowly with no other distractions in the background. Its one of those books you find yourself re-reading paragraphs 2-3 times before moving on.


As It Is In Heaven by Niall Williams
I picked this one up at a little bookstore down the street from where I was serving Jury Duty back in Seattle a few years back (I believe the King County Courthouse had me on speed-dial). Anyway, it was kind of a grab & go situation and I'm finally getting around to reading it. It's very poetic in its writing style, but a bit weird too. Just when I'm about to get bored with it, then something will happen that keeps me going out of sheer curiosity. Not really one I'd recommend, but there are some beautiful lines every now and then.


Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
A classic I know, but I never find those very easy to read. It helps I've seen the movie, cause I can track with the author a bit better. Honestly I find the writing style a bit random and get easily confused which character is talking to who. I am glad it was chosen for our girls bookclub, cause at least I can say I've read Jane Austen. Now if I can just finish it.
My list of summer reads is ever growing, so I need to finish these up asap so I can get started on those!! I can't wait till our family trip to the Oregon coast over the 4th! I'm for sure packing some books for the flights, drives and beach!!

Friday, May 09, 2008

Birthday Pics

The girls went to use "the bathroom", but this is what they were really up to.

My small group posse (left to right)
Matt & Amy Walter, Genesis & Steven DeLong, Jason & I, Alicia & Ben DeRienzo.
God really answered a huge prayer of mine and Jason's to bring some quality, genuine and Godly relationships into our lives.

Genesis & I during dinner. The girl's got me lookin super pasty.

We've only recently been getting to know Matt & Amy more, because they were actually living in Ireland when we first joined Harpeth. But we hit it off with them right away, they are so fun and such a sweet couple.

Amy & Alicia at dinner.

My girls at dinner - the boys were at the other end of the table.

Me and my hunny.

Some cards & a cute picture Alicia gave me of us girls at a wedding.

The beautiful bouqet my parents sent to my work!!

Awww!!! I feel so loved :-)

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Ohhh....my parents were SO right on this one!

I have been counting down the days since January for the release of the 4th Indiana Jones movie, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".
I grew up on Indy. I LOVED Indy. I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was a kid because of these movies.

All growing up - I had repeatedly seen "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark"
and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".
But THIS one, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" was a definite no-no in our house.
So I never saw it. (Yes, I was an obedient child.) I remember my dad saying something about it being pretty evil and gory. Well I figured as part of building the anticipation for the May 22nd release of the 4th Indy movie, I would rent all three and watch them with Jason. Turns out he's never seen the 2nd or 3rd one. So we snuggled up Sunday night to watch "Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom" for the very first time. I was pumped. After all, I'm an adult now, I can handle it.

OH MY WORD.

Jason and I looked at each other halfway through this movie and we were like - WHAT THE HECK! Now I see why our parents wouldn't let us watch this movie. Good call mom and dad.

DO NOT SEE THAT MOVIE.

It was so horrible. I was sick to my stomach from all the raunch, bad acting and evil crap thrown in. It totally bummed me out. Thankfully we still have the third one to redeem the whole series - but what the heck happened with #2??? What were they thinking??? Here I thought Indiana was family friendly!!


If #4 disappoints....I seriously might cry.


15 days and counting.

Monday, May 05, 2008

All Growed Up.

Sorry everyone I've been so sporadic with my posts lately. To catch you up, my birthday was a mix of emotions - excited, blessed, anxious, scared, exhausted... the morning started out great when I was surprised by my friend Brooke at work with a huge giant donut in the shape of a "3-0". My friends all joined me in the kitchen and we had coffee & donuts together. (Brooke has a picture of this that I'll post when I get it from her).


After about an hour at my desk, I still felt pretty awful and decided to call my doctor again to give him the update. Dr. Tai had me come in to see him that afternoon and thankfully Jason having the day off said he would come with me in case there were to be needles involved...yuk. For those of you that don't know - needles and me have a tendency to not mix well. I'd been sick for 2 1/2 weeks with this costochondritis crap and was starting to feel new symptoms in my neck which was making me nervous. Dr. Tai and his intern examined me and said they really felt they needed to do some blood work. Awesome, on my birthday. But Jason was there, so really it was the best time to do it. I told Dr. Tai - "Get all you can now, cause its the last time your going to get it for a while - so stock up and test the crap out of it". When the lab tech first walked in with her plethora of tubes, I got so freaked out. I asked her if she would mind I take my little "happy pill" and come back in 30 minutes, which she had no problem doing. So I sat there with Jason trying to chill and praying this half a pill I had taken would do its thing and do it fast. 30 minutes later she came back - and I was much calmer to where I was no longer jumping off the examination table. I am proud to say, that I stayed conscious through all 6 tubes of blood she took - yeah victory!!! I have a history of passing out and oftentimes going into a convulsion, which makes me VERY leery of needles altogether - they call it a vaso vagular reaction. But I was good and when it was over gave Jason a high five and thanked my highly skilled lab tech Joanna. Oh yes, her name will be going down in the chart. At one point, Jason was so impressed with Joanna's skillz, because apparently she was switchin' out these tubes one-handed (as he later - MUCH later - told me) and then he started to ask her "how many of those...." to which I immediately interrupted with "STOP!! I don't want to know - don't you dare finish that question!!" And thank God he didn't ask and she didn't answer.


Around 5pm, I get back to work and discover a huge beautiful bouquet of flowers from my parents that I had missed receiving while I was at the doctor! They are so pretty and now sit on top of my fireplace where Banks can't eat them. (Again, I need to get a picture posted of them!) And when I got home, there was a large box sitting on my dining room table. I didn't know where it came from, and Jason says to open it. IT WAS MY TIVO!!!! There wasn't a card attached, so Jason explained it was from the Frees family~!!! I was freakin out, jumping up and down!! And then I had to sit down to catch my breath. I really wasn't trying to hint at anyone for a TIVO when I blogged about it (Addie ;-)) - I was really just setting a goal for myself and letting y'all in on it. But I was so blessed and excited!! Then Jason gave me a super sweet card and a gift certificate to Old Time Pottery so I can get my fix of shopping for the house!!


Hours later I was able to still go out with my friends to Bonefish for dinner and they totally blessed me with some fun gifts and a great time. They even chalked my rear window in hot pink with "Happy 30th B-Day!". It was awesome. My mantle is filled with cards and flowers, and I feel so blessed. 30 wasn't so bad after all. :-)


On Thursday I worked a half day, per my doctors order and later received my blood results that I had tested positive for mono. Seriously, what the heck. I rested all Thursday afternoon, stayed home all day Friday and layed low all weekend. Turns out, after we found out this lovely news, Jason told me that he had planned a surprise weekend away in Alabama at a beautiful B&B for my birthday, to which we had to cancel since I was sick. I was so bummed out. A weekend away would have been so perfect. But since Jason had already taken work off, he was home with me which really kept me from going insane after being cooped up for 4 days. I literally was climbing the walls with cabin fever. He was so wonderful by cleaning the house, cooking, working in the yard, watching Indiana Jones movies with me...I loved having the time with him. Now I'm back at work going r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w so I don't burn myself out. So there's the latest - hopefully I'll get pictures soon to post from my birthday. Thank you to everyone for being so sweet and all your phone calls and cards - it really made what could have been a depressing birthday, actually really great.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Ugh.

It's looming over me people. The big dark 3-0 is just hours away. I have no excitement about this one whatsoever. I actually kinda feel a bit depressed about it. I'm sick, pmsing and exhausted. And all you older folks, don't roll your eyes at me for saying it - you know you felt it when your big 3-0 came up too. It's just that its the dawning of a new decade and I haven't quite figured out how to process this one yet. And I miss my family. And I miss my friends. I miss them a lot.

We've got plans for dinner tomorrow night with some of our "younger" small group friends at Bonefish to celebrate mine and our friend Genesis' birthdays. Normally I would be super excited, but the frustration of this stupid sickness is robbing my joy. Lord I need you to heal me, so I can enjoy every morsel of that pork tenderloin from Bonefish that I'm going to order tomorrow night.

Monday, April 28, 2008

He's So Good To Me

I married the best, what can I say? And I should be able to say that without making anyone gag, cause I think being married for over 2 years qualifies us as no longer newlyweds. (*sniff*)

No but really, I haven't exactly been a real picnic to be around the last couple weeks. I've been irritable, exhausted, lazy and anxious. I get easily frustrated that I can't do the simple tasks that I so badly feel need to be done around the house and instead I've only been able to lay around and read, sew or watch movies. I did however probably push myself a little too much this weekend by cleaning the bathroom and the kitchen, but it so badly needed doing, I thought it was worth the pain. So I took a little something before bed to relax and get a good nights sleep on Saturday night so I would be all rested to teach with Jason on Sunday morning to our 4th graders. Only I didn't sleep. Like at all. Ok, maybe 2 hours. It sucked. I got up around 7am to head to the bathroom, cause I'm peeing like every 2 hours with all the water I'm downing and was a little off-balance from the drugs and pure exhaustion and managed to somehow miss sitting fully on the toilet, slid completely off and fell straight into the side of the bathtub jarring my left shoulder and arm. Awesome, I know.

So after what I thought was going to be a weekend of finally getting over this virus, I managed to re-injure myself and cause more pain - in a slightly stupid and embarrassing way. Yeah, that was a fun phone call to my doctor this morning. "I sorta fell...off the toilet...into the tub." So after my fall, I crawl back into bed, crying and already feeling defeated for the day. Jason gets up and once again, two weeks in a row, goes off and handles our crazy group of 4th graders at church alone. My hero. I hate that I wasn't able to be with him and help out. They can be quite a handful at times, but nothing Jason can't handle. So I kiss him goodbye, take another codeine and try to get a little more sleep. 4 1/2 hours later and I wake to the heavenly aroma of Fat Mo's burgers and fries. Hallelujah, a new start to the day. It only got better from there. I had my man for the entire day all to myself and we were able to hang out and relax. And the cherry on top - I walk around the corner of my freshly clean kitchen and sitting there on the counter is my favorite frosted coconut and maple Shipley's Donuts. He's just that good to me.

Thank you baby for being so patient and wonderful while I've been sick. You've done more than you know. I love you beyond words.

For Some Reason, I Find This Oddly Comforting...

Friday, April 25, 2008

I'm Done With VCR's!

One of the joys of being married to someone with an opposite schedule, is that there are very few opportunities during a 24 hour day to get in some quality communication.

This week has been such one of those weeks, where we squeeze in a quick 5 minute phone call here or a cup of coffee there trying to remember to mention all the important reminders or things we need to go over, like for instance recording our favorite tv shows.

In my effort to preserve watching our most beloved tv shows together, I had set up our archaic VCR to record American Idol on both Tuesday & Wednesday.

Then...

Communication Breakdown #1 - Wednesday night and I'm home licking my wounds from the day and decide that I might as well have American Idol on the background to see who gets kicked off since I'll find out from someone inadvertently mentioning it at work anyway. But then my sister Kati calls and I'd much rather talk to her, and after all I am taping the show to watch later. An hour or so later, Jason calls to check on me and as I'm obviously a bit hopped up on Codeine, Advil and whatever else is in my prescription goodies bag - I mention that I had American Idol on in the background - though I think I remember mentioning I wasn't sure if I caught who actually went home.

Communication Breakdown #2- Thursday at coffee went something like this (remember still drugged, so probably not quite accurate). Jason explaining that he **smirking** stayed up late Wednesday night watching American Idol, since I already knew who got kicked off. Granted, I watched all maybe 5 minutes of the show from Wednesday night and nothing from Tuesday, though I did mention that someone at work spilled the beans anyway, so I knew who went home. Then later that night I remember saying something like "You didn't watch Hell's Kitchen without me did you?!!" And he was all "no, I wouldn't do that! I only watched AI cause you said you had seen it." OK close enough, but whatever.

Then...

Thursday night comes along and I think to myself, Jason will be so excited that I remembered that Lost was back on this week and that I taped it for him. I'm such a good wife. So I set it all up and hit record.

Communication Breakdown #3 - Friday at coffee went something like this.
Me - "Since you've already seen Idol, I'll just go home tonight and watch both shows."
Him - "Sounds good"
Me - "Then this weekend we can catch up on all our favs, like Hell's Kitchen & Lost that I remembered to record!!"
Him - "Cool". (or something to that affect).

Then...Are you foreseeing the problem yet???

Oh! I didn't tell you that I REWOUND THE WHOLE TAPE AFTER WATCHING AMERICAN IDOL?? (BLEEPITY BLEEP!!) I get home from work, change into some comfy pj's for a cozy night of relaxation, pour a nice big cold glass of Pepsi, take a codeine and curl up to watch American Idol. Except, the ONLY thing on the tape IS LOST. I'm not mad at him, its not his fault, he didn't realize that Lost was on this week and didn't think there was any reason not to rewind it. It's just an example of how hard we have to work at communicating with the little time we get together. I love you baby, its not your fault.

BUT I'm officially done with VCR's. Done. Over.

This little guy is soon to become my new little best friend.

From now I'm on a mission to obtain one of these prized and oh-so-worth-the-money pieces of beautiful technology in order to save myself from more tears of eaten up tapes, recorded over shows and forgotten daylight savings time changes. Trust me - there's been A LOT of tears.

$100 TiVo Series2 DT DVR. Capable of recording 80 hours of shows, two at a time and with a service plan of $13 a month. Can it really be? Think of the stress this little baby will save us (me).
Watch me make it happen.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

M.I.A.

Sorry folks, I'm still out of commission here and doing all I can to take it one day at a time, sometimes one hour at a time. Per my doctor's instruction, I had to stay home Monday & Tuesday from work to recover from this horrible virus I've got. He even gave me a note for my bosses', which was weird, but probably necessary, since I don't exactly "appear" sick, I'm just in a ton of pain. And staying home sick always seems so appealing when your healthy at work, but then when your actually really sick, its really not that much fun. Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely gorgeous outside and I got to sit on the porch in the sunshine with my book while Jason sanded the desk, but still I've been so drugged most of the time, I didn't get to really enjoy the full two days off. One weird side effect about these steroids I'm on, they make my feet itch at night, so in order to keep me from waking up and rubbing my feet on the carpet, I've been sleeping with a hairbrush between my feet, so I can scratch when I need to and fall right back asleep. I know I'm weird, but it works.

Yesterday I had to come back to work, so I don't use up all the rest of my sick/vacation time - and it was hell all day. Both my attorneys had let a lot of work pile up for me to do and I was rushing around like mad trying to keep up - it took a huge toll on my body and I was in horrible pain all day long. So after talking with my doctor again today, he's starting me on a second round of steroids to try & fight off this virus. It will be so nice to actually have my full strength back and be able to clean my house once again and feel not so groggy from the 5 different meds I'm on. But until then, not much else new to report here.

Just please keep me in your prayers, I so badly want to be over this and I really don't want to undergo any further tests. Plus, I really need to hear the Lord in where I need to draw the lines between what is best for my health and being able to say no when somethings too much for me to handle.

Hope your all well - oh and congrats to Vanessa & Josh Curtis on the birth of their beautiful baby girl Ada Victoria Curtis! She was born last Friday night at 8:03pm, 8 lbs and 3 oz!!

Friday, April 18, 2008

WHAT THE HECK!?!~

As if living in the South, where we're susceptible to tornado warnings 6 months out of the year is unnerving enough - apparently we're also capable of having earthquakes.

At 4:30 this morning, Jason and I both woke quite suddenly as we found ourselves shaking in our bed. The first thing that flew out of my mouth was "We're having an earthquake!". Jason, who normally barely even flinches in his sleep during a massive thunderstorm, says to me quite calmly, "no, it's got to be a plane flying too low or a train". I explained - we couldn't actually hear a train or a plane - it HAD to be an earthquake. And it was really rockin our house pretty good, rattling the windows and shaking the bed. And Banks ran into the bedroom jumped up on the bed and was a bit freaked out herself. So it stops and I'm all - "wait, there could be aftershocks" and my heart is pounding. And then Jason's all "I've never known there to be earthquakes here". Oh au contraire my little love-muffin. Sure enough, I get to work today - go to the local news website and guess what....

Oh yeah baby. Who knows their earthquakes? This west coast girl knows a little something about earthquakes, but you'd think my California-born husband would too! I think he's been away from home a little too long.

But seriously now, how fair is it that we're prone to earthquakes AND tornadoes? And here I was thinking I was trading one for the other. Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit! (*That's for you baby!!)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Not fun.

Sorry I've been a bit absent from posting lately - I really haven't felt well the last few days and had to see the doctor on Tuesday after having chest pains for 2 days. He had me come in right away for chest x-rays and an EKG. I didn't think it was my heart, but he wanted to be sure. Turns out I have a weird viral chest infection called Costochondritis. It's basically an infection in the sternum and ribs up to the breastbone. It freakin kills and there's nothing they can do for it except let it run its course and keep me on painkillers to get through the pain. It pretty much sucks. Sitting up hurts, using my arms kill, taking too deep of a breath even hurts a lot. My doctor said that there's no known cause of it or how long it lasts. I'm just hanging on waiting for it to pass. I actually called in sick yesterday which I never do, and stayed on the couch or in bed most of the day drugged up on codeine. Jason was home though, which was a major bonus - and he helped take care of me and we caught up on American Idol and Hells Kitchen. I should be home today too, cause I still feel like crap, but I need to save my vacation/sick time for our upcoming family trip to the Oregon coast. Leave it to me to find some weird rare virus to come down with.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Game On

This was the conversation between one of my bosses and myself this afternoon:

my boss: could you change the date on this letter to today and not the 11th?

me: ok, but today IS the 11th.

my boss: when did it become the 11th?

me: at about midnight last night.

my boss: huh.

me: try to keep up, the game is constantly moving.

....and then we both had a good laugh :-)

Thursday, April 10, 2008

And yet again...

American Idol closed out their special show "Idol Gives Back" with a well known praise & worship song - "Shout to the Lord!" It was awesome, nothing about the song was changed and it brought tears to my eyes - the rocks will cry out!

Monday, April 07, 2008

This is for you Jess!

I think we watched this scene about a million times :-)

I sure do miss roommate time with ya Jess! Hope your well and we'll schedule a phone call soon!!





For those of you that don't know - one of my best friends Jessica Griffith is stationed out on an Air Force base in Germany with her husband Ben who's a fighter pilot. Well actually, Jess is in Germany and Ben was deployed out on a mission in January. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers!!

Here's some pics she sent me the day Ben was deployed:

I love and miss you girl! Your never far from my thoughts!

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

American Idol

So this last Monday, Jason and I entered a song of his into the American Idol Songwriting competition. Just like last year, they open up a competition where songwriters can submit a song of theirs that could possibly be chosen as one of the top 20 songs that will be voted on by the public. They don't announce these songs on the actual show, but on their website American Idol and people can go there to register to vote for free and then pick which of the top 20 songs they like the best, which have been chosen out of the thousands of songs submitted. The winning and most popular song out of those top 20 songs will be sung by the winning American Idol contestant on the season finale. Just like Jordan Sparks from last year sang "This Is My Now". And the winning song will also be a single on that contestant's new album and finally the songwriters will be offered a publishing deal. We know its a HUGE long shot, but I believe in a God where ANYTHING is possible. After all - there were THOUSANDS of single men out there on a website that I happened to be browsing one week and I found the ONE man God had for me, my needle-in-a-haystack if you will - so I believe that anything is possible!!

The top 20 songs will be chosen by the American Idol A&R team by April 10th. If we hear anything at all, you can count on us sending out emails, phone calls, newsletters, whatever we can to spread the word. But I don't want to get ahead of ourselves. For now, what we need our friends & family to do - is to please stand with us and pray that God would open this door of opportunity for us - IF it is His will. This may not be our time, and that's ok. But we do know we are in the will of God for His plan for our lives, so we're taking every opportunity we're given to take that step of faith.

Oh! And before I forget - Jason's song is called "Be The Change". He wrote it with Lindsey Grant, who has a publishing deal and a record contract with Midas Music. She's the one actually singing the song on the demo. It's VERY rough, they recorded it Monday morning, dropped the CD off to me and I uploaded it with their entry to American Idol. But regardless, the song is great - and there may even be a chance that Lindsey might record for her next album. So who knows - this song could really go places!

If you want to hear the song, just push play on the little MP3 player below. Again, remember its not like his typical demos with a full band in a recording studio - its just Jason on guitar and Lindsey singing in the Midas offices.



(copywrited by Over The Monster Music)

And for those of you that missed it - check out Dolly Parton's performance of her new single "Jesus and Gravity" from Wednesday's night American Idol show. She starts praisin and having church up in there!! And finishes her song by saying, "Hallelujah Simon!"


Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Our Personalities

Last night at our small group we all took the Myers Brigg personality test, which I had never taken before. I had taken one back at CCK - the one that tells you whether your Melancholy, Sanguin, Phlegmatic & Choleric, but not this one.

I really enjoyed taking this test cause the results were really quite accurate. There are 4 separate categories and it will show your percentages in how you tested.

Like mine for example:

Between Extroverts or Introverts - I tested 100% Introvert.
Between Sensing or Intuition - I tested at 79% Sensing.
Between Thinking or Feeling - I tested at 79% Thinking.
Between Judging or Perceiving - I tested at 89% Judging.

SO my final result was listed as a ISTJ - The "Examiner" /Primary Function is Introverted Sensing/ 12% of the population

Jason's came out as:

Between Extrovert or Introvert - he tested 53% Introvert. (so really half & half)
Between Sensing or Intuition - he tested at 58% Sensing. (again almost half & half)
Between Thinking or Feeling - he tested at 95% Thinking. (no halfway there!)
Between Judging or Perceiving - he tested at 74% Perceiving. (here's where we're opposite)


SO Jason's final result was listed as a ISTP - The "Craftsman" /Primary Function is Introverted Thinking / 9% of the population

Then they gave us a profile of what these types of personalities look like. Some of you may be bored reading all this, but I think our families might find it quite interesting. As a matter of fact, I'd love it if anyone who reads this blog takes the test themselves and then posts thier results in the comments section!

You can take the test for free by creating an account and clicking here.

The "Examiner or Duty Fulfiller" - My personality profile:


"As an ISTJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things rationally and logically.

ISTJs are quiet and reserved individuals who are interested in security and peaceful living. They have a strongly-felt internal sense of duty, which lends them a serious air and the motivation to follow through on tasks. Organized and methodical in their approach, they can generally succeed at any task which they undertake.

ISTJs are very loyal, faithful, and dependable. They place great importance on honesty and integrity. They are "good citizens" who can be depended on to do the right thing for their families and communities. While they generally take things very seriously, they also usually have an offbeat sense of humor and can be a lot of fun - especially at family or work-related gatherings.

ISTJs tend to believe in laws and traditions, and expect the same from others. They're not comfortable with breaking laws or going against the rules. If they are able to see a good reason for stepping outside of the established mode of doing things, the ISTJ will support that effort. However, ISTJs more often tend to believe that things should be done according to procedures and plans. If an ISTJ has not developed their Intuitive side sufficiently, they may become overly obsessed with structure, and insist on doing everything "by the book".

The ISTJ is extremely dependable on following through with things which he or she has promised. For this reason, they sometimes get more and more work piled on them. Because the ISTJ has such a strong sense of duty, they may have a difficult time saying "no" when they are given more work than they can reasonably handle. For this reason, the ISTJ often works long hours, and may be unwittingly taken advantage of.

The ISTJ will work for long periods of time and put tremendous amounts of energy into doing any task which they see as important to fulfilling a goal. However, they will resist putting energy into things which don't make sense to them, or for which they can't see a practical application. They prefer to work alone, but work well in teams when the situation demands it. They like to be accountable for their actions, and enjoy being in positions of authority. The ISTJ has little use for theory or abstract thinking, unless the practical application is clear.

ISTJs have tremendous respect for facts. They hold a tremendous store of facts within themselves, which they have gathered through their Sensing preference. They may have difficulty understanding a theory or idea which is different from their own perspective. However, if they are shown the importance or relevance of the idea to someone who they respect or care about, the idea becomes a fact, which the ISTJ will internalize and support. Once the ISTJ supports a cause or idea, he or she will stop at no lengths to ensure that they are doing their duty of giving support where support is needed.

The ISTJ is not naturally in tune with their own feelings and the feelings of others. They may have difficulty picking up on emotional needs immediately, as they are presented. Being perfectionists themselves, they have a tendency to take other people's efforts for granted, like they take their own efforts for granted. They need to remember to pat people on the back once in a while.

ISTJs are likely to be uncomfortable expressing affection and emotion to others. However, their strong sense of duty and the ability to see what needs to be done in any situation usually allows them to overcome their natural reservations, and they are usually quite supporting and caring individuals with the people that they love. Once the ISTJ realizes the emotional needs of those who are close to them, they put forth effort to meet those needs.

The ISTJ is extremely faithful and loyal. Traditional and family-minded, they will put forth great amounts of effort at making their homes and families running smoothly. They are responsible parents, taking their parenting roles seriously. They are usually good and generous providers to their families. They care deeply about those close to them, although they usually are not comfortable with expressing their love. The ISTJ is likely to express their affection through actions, rather than through words.

ISTJs have an excellent ability to take any task and define it, organize it, plan it, and implement it through to completion. They are very hard workers, who do not allow obstacles to get in the way of performing their duties. They do not usually give themselves enough credit for their achievements, seeing their accomplishments simply as the natural fulfillment of their obligations.

ISTJs usually have a great sense of space and function, and artistic appreciation. Their homes are likely to be tastefully furnished and immaculately maintained. They are acutely aware of their senses, and want to be in surroundings which fit their need for structure, order, and beauty.

Under stress, ISTJs may fall into "catastrophe mode", where they see nothing but all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. They will berate themselves for things which they should have done differently, or duties which they failed to perform. They will lose their ability to see things calmly and reasonably, and will depress themselves with their visions of doom.

In general, the ISTJ has a tremendous amount of potential. Capable, logical, reasonable, and effective individuals with a deeply driven desire to promote security and peaceful living, the ISTJ has what it takes to be highly effective at achieving their chosen goals - whatever they may be.

Famous ISTJs:
Thomas (Christ's disciple)
U.S. Presidents:
George Washington
Andrew Johnson
Benjamin Harrison
Herbert Hoover
George H. W. Bush


The "The Craftsman or Mechanic" - Jason's personality profile:


As an ISTP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things rationally and logically. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion.

ISTPs have a compelling drive to understand the way things work. They're good at logical analysis, and like to use it on practical concerns. They typically have strong powers of reasoning, although they're not interested in theories or concepts unless they can see a practical application. They like to take things apart and see the way they work.

ISTPs have an adventuresome spirit. They are attracted to motorcycles, airplanes, sky diving, surfing, etc. They thrive on action, and are usually fearless. ISTPs are fiercely independent, needing to have the space to make their own decisions about their next step. They do not believe in or follow rules and regulations, as this would prohibit their ability to "do their own thing". Their sense of adventure and desire for constant action makes ISTPs prone to becoming bored rather quickly.

ISTPs are loyal to their causes and beliefs, and are firm believers that people should be treated with equity and fairness. Although they do not respect the rules of the "System", they follow their own rules and guidelines for behavior faithfully. They will not take part in something which violates their personal laws. ISTPs are extremely loyal and faithful to their "brothers".

ISTPs like and need to spend time alone, because this is when they can sort things out in their minds most clearly. They absorb large quantities of impersonal facts from the external world, and sort through those facts, making judgments, when they are alone.

ISTPs are action-oriented people. They like to be up and about, doing things. They are not people to sit behind a desk all day and do long-range planning. Adaptable and spontaneous, they respond to what is immediately before them. They usually have strong technical skills, and can be effective technical leaders. They focus on details and practical things. They have an excellent sense of expediency and grasp of the details which enables them to make quick, effective decisions.

ISTPs avoid making judgments based on personal values - they feel that judgments and decisions should be made impartially, based on the fact. They are not naturally tuned in to how they are affecting others. They do not pay attention to their own feelings, and even distrust them and try to ignore them, because they have difficulty distinguishing between emotional reactions and value judgments. This may be a problem area for many ISTPs.

An ISTP who is over-stressed may exhibit rash emotional outbursts of anger, or on the other extreme may be overwhelmed by emotions and feelings which they feel compelled to share with people (often inappropriately). An ISTP who is down on themself will foray into the world of value judgments - a place which is not natural for the ISTP - and judge themself by their inability to perform some task. They will then approach the task in a grim emotional state, expecting the worst.

ISTPs are excellent in a crisis situations. They're usually good athletes, and have very good hand-eye coordination. They are good at following through with a project, and tying up loose ends. They usually don't have much trouble with school, because they are introverts who can think logically. They are usually patient individuals, although they may be prone to occasional emotional outbursts due to their inattention to their own feelings.

ISTPs have a lot of natural ability which makes them good at many different kinds of things. However, they are happiest when they are centered in action-oriented tasks which require detailed logical analysis and technical skill. They take pride in their ability to take the next correct step.

ISTPs are optimistic, full of good cheer, loyal to their equals, uncomplicated in their desires, generous, trusting and receptive people who want no part in confining commitments.

Famous ISTP's:
Charles Bronson
Tom Cruise
James Dean
Clint Eastwood
Burt Reynolds
Keith Richards
Charlie Yeager
Frank Zappa

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I have to teach Banks this!

I saw this video and only wish I could teach Banks how to do this!!



And a quick shout out to my parents -Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!

I love you and miss you!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Competition and Me Don't Mix

Those of you that know me well....know that I have a problem with competition. Or maybe I should put it this way, there are very few people brave enough to sit down and play a game of Monopoly with me. Here's the deal - I hate to lose. I grew up playing basketball and volleyball and I had a real issue with losing or performing badly. I expect that when I put my mind to something I should win. Therefore, when I do lose - I don't lose well and I really don't like the person I become or the way it makes me feel. So now for the most part I'm fairly non-competitive unless the stakes are hard to resist.

For example - I've been participating in a weight loss contest for the last 10 weeks. I had fooled myself to think that I was only participating and it was not a competition. It wasn't supposed to be about who lost the most weight or how fast, but rather we each had a goal of losing 10 pounds and then those who made their goal were entered into a series of drawings for cash prizes. Well I sit here now 10 weeks later, 10 pounds lighter and with zero cash prizes. Why do I feel like I lost a competition? It was after all, or at least supposedly, a random drawing. A lot of hard work, a lot of self-discipline and I'm not content knowing I've lost the weight, I did it to win. To win the prize. And instead what I receive is what all participants receive, whether they lost 2 pounds or 20 pounds we all get a freakin t-shirt. Sorry, but I'd rather have Park Place for $100 or Boardwalk for $500 - those were pretty awesome prizes.

So yea, I'm upset and I've taken it personal. And I'm remembering all the reasons why I've chosen to be a non-competitive person. I just can't handle it. If it was about losing the weight, I would have joined a club or taken out my pilates videos - but it was about the money, the wonderful little cash cards that would have given me a little freedom in being a little frivolous.


I think I'll go eat a donut now.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Pictures From Jason's Birthday

Jason & I just before heading out to dinner at the Bonefish Grill.
He's reading the card I gave him.
Yes, I know - lame I wraped it in a blanket, but it was heavy and awkward!!
He likes it!!
Jason's very happy with his Eddie Bauer edition of a Horseshoe set.
Big kisses and then we're off to dinner!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Happy Birthday Baby!

Since I'm under strict orders not to make a big deal out of the fact that TODAY IS JASON'S 37TH BIRTHDAY, I'm going to attempt to get it out of my system on this blog!

Today my man turns 37!!! He has a wonderful relaxing day all planned out for himself. Starting the day early at 9am, he's meeting with his rep at BMI. Then he's off to a massage at 10. After his massage he's planning on spending a few hours on the golf course by himself to think, relax and unwind. At 2pm he has a chiropractic appointment and then after that he plans to soak in a nice hot bath at home. I'm planning to take off early from work and meet him for dinner around 5. We're going out tonight, since he has the night off and I've told him, he's supposed to choose where he'd like to go (but I think he still has yet to decide). I'm really excited that he has a wonderful day all planned for himself, he works so hard and very much deserves a "pamper-Jason-day". I'll try to remember to get a picture of us before dinner tonight!

Congrats sweetie and Happy Birthday! I love you!!!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Some Strange Weather...

Last week the weather in Nashville went from 70 degrees one day to snow the very next!! You literally have to watch the forecast or you could end up dressed for the wrong kind of weather!
When it snowed last week, my friends from work and I decided we'd run outside and get some fun pictures - it doesn't snow very often here and when it does, it doesn't really stick around for very long. They turned out pretty cute - so I thought I would share ;-)

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Two More Books!

I finished two more books this weekend -

1. Hedges: Loving Your Marriage Enough To Protect It
by Jerry B. Jenkins.

Jason and I received this book from Jason's parents as a gift and I just got around to reading it. It was great practical advice on how to form boundaries around your marriage in order to protect it. Practical examples were given on how to relate with others in the proper settings, physically, emotionally ect... I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it to married couples of all ages!

2. Praying Hyde: Missionary to India
by Basil Miller
Mission books aren't typically what I enjoy reading - but I had been encouraged by Pastors Rick & Cindy Stone to read this when I was trying to understand more what it meant to be gifted with intercessory prayer. Even though the missions part was completely fascinating and inspiring, it was the details on his prayer life that I really connected to. It reawakened a desire to pray more - and not the loud crazy ranting & raving type prayer I'm used to - but personal, heart-seeking prayer-closet type prayer. I highly recommend this book and its actually a quick read, I finished it in two days.

Matthew 6: 1-8

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

"So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."

Monday, March 03, 2008

Awesome Pranks!

My mother-in-law Sherry Keith sent me a link to this video below where a group of over 200 people gathered at Grand Central Station in New York to pull off a 'frozen in place' act. This group's name is called Improv Everywhere and they stage these type of pranks all over New York City.

This video is crazy, check out the reactions from the unsuspecting onlookers! So cool!



You can click on this link to view more videos from Improv Everywhere.