Complicated Simplicity

Moving

2006-08-03T13:44:00.000-05:00

I'm moving! Well, not physically. My blog is moving to Typepad. Because it's a better site and I can do more with it. It also doen't go down as often. Anyway, this blog will still be here with all of the old posts, but new posts will be made on the new blog. If you have any questions please let me know. The Contemplativity site will eventually move as well, but for now it's staying where it is.

Here's the link to the new site: Complicated Simplicity

I hope you like it!!!

Da Bears

2006-07-28T10:54:00.000-05:00

There was a warning. "It's addictive" it said. I had no idea just how much. Not the football team. Real bears. Grizzlies. I love to watch them. And the sunrise is just so gorgeous this morning on McNiel River Falls in Alaska. It's a quarter to eight there and there are two bears trying to get some breakfast. Three more just crossed the river further up. Real grizzlies. Live in action.

National Geographic has a camera in Alaska where the bears go to get some fish to eat. You can watch live, anytime. Last night, there were like twenty bears around there. Just resting, fishing and one that just kept swimming around further down the river. Bears rock! I love watching them. They are my second favorite animal after all!

If you want to watch my bears here's the link: Grizzlys But be warned, it's highly addictive!

Not much else going on around here. Really, nothing. It's supposed to get hot again, but I'm praying that the weather report is wrong. Very wrong. I have been so loving the cooler weather we're having!

Anywho, I'll go. Check out the bears. Really, they're fascinating. A few more are fishing now as well. I warn you though-in the middle of the day they don't really fish much. So check them out in the morning and evening!!

Our Saturday!

2006-07-24T10:22:00.000-05:00

We went to Chicago on Saturday. It was such a beautiful day. Clear skies and beautiful temperatures. Navy Pier was packed, but it was so nice to be in the city. We saw Seussical the Musical which was really cute. Excellent music and a wonderful set. It was neat. Mazie the Bird tried to pick up Paul! He turned red-it was so funny! We also saw the big protest going on as well. They were protesting Israel's attack on Palestine, so that was interesting to see too.

On the way home, we got in an accident. A truck pulled across the intersection right in front of us. (They had a stop sign, we didn't have any.) The truck was completely undamaged, but you can see what happened to our car below. No one was hurt, so we were really thankful for that. It runs, but I guess it was acting up for Paul today. Hopefully it can be fixed pretty quickly. And that was our Saturday. My family was here again, which was nice.

At the scene of the accident.

The damage is all on this side. The only problem with the other side of the hood is that it got pushed over a little bit.

The headlight.

This is how far the passenger door will open.

Some pictures to share!!

2006-07-20T14:03:00.000-05:00

Crazy squirrell in my bird feeder! These three were taken on automatic-action mode. All pics ISO 200!

These are the invitations I made for Robbie's project. Taken on aperture priority mode-settings all over. I can get them for you if you want them. I blurred info for privacy!

Sleeping

2006-07-20T10:27:00.000-05:00

It has been such a chore for me lately. I didn't have a problem falling asleep last night, just staying asleep. I woke up at 3:30 this morning after having a horrible dream. It wasn't scary-just really, really heartbreaking. Here it is:

We were at someone's house. I think it was supposed to be Paul's mom's house. However, it looked like the parsonage at the Wesleyan church. Anyway, I got a call from someone saying that Evangeline had died. I was heartbroken. I couldn't believe it. Talking to Paul, I said, "Maybe it's from that stomach ache. Remember, she had that really bad stomach ache for the last couple of weeks?" I was shocked and didn't really want to know the details. And yet I did. So, I asked my mom, over the phone. "How did it happen? Did you just find her in the morning?" She said that she'd gone into Evangeline's room in the morning and found her. There must have been something noticable-a seziure or something-because she said that she rushed to her. Then Evangeline started breathing for a little bit. She even was conscious. Mom said that E must have thought she had come back and she was aware of her surroundings. She talked to Mom and Dad. What she said, is so awesome I woke up feeling so amazed. She said, "Do you want to know what it's like to be with Jesus? It's better than anything we've ever imagined." Then she smiled and died. The funny thing is, as most dreams are goofy, I "saw" this happen as my mom told me. I remember I was so heartbroken in my dream and yet I felt such a sweet peace. I was surprised that I had such a calming peace about it all.

I woke up and cried. It just felt too real in my dream. Anyway, that was the first thing that woke me up.

Then, I woke up at six because it was thunderstorming. It was raining in the windows so we moved downstairs to the couch to keep cooler. Honestly, I got cold. And I know Paul did too because I woke up once and he had covered himself with one of the couch pillows. He got us both blankets after a little bit. I don't even remember him getting up to get ready for work. I just remember him waking me up before he left!

Okay, so enough about my boring sleeping habits and dreams! It's nice and cool right now. It's supposed to get hot and humid this afternoon again. It's also supposed to clear off-which is a bummer. I love the thunderstorms!

Have a good one!

It's Getting Hot In Here...

2006-07-18T18:20:00.000-05:00

But please leave all of your clothes on! ;o)

It's not so bad today, but the nights kill me. You take one girl who doesn't sleep well already. Add in the fact that she's afraid of the dark, plus the heat from hell and the humidity. You get a person who can't fall asleep and when she does can't stay asleep. What fun! Oh well, I guess it's a part of life. And, I'm not going to die from it, eh?

It's so nice to have my scrap desk up. Now I just need to find a comfortable stool. Mine is fine, but I can't sit on it more than five minutes or my legs are killing me. I don't mind standing, but after awhile it's nice to sit.

Not much going on here. I haven't been feeling real great the past couple of days. I think it has a lot to do with the heat. I'm not looking forward to my session with Maya tonight, but I'll do it. It's good for me and if I can take control over this one thing-I can conquer anything. So, I'm up for it.

Here are a few pictures from Saturday. The first on is the river (duh!) and then Vange and Paul. The ones of E and P aren't the greatest-a little soft, but they're the best I have. And I love them nonetheless. Sometimes it's not about the perfection of the shot-it's about the moment. All were shot in manual! If you want specifics just leave a comment-for you photogs. Let me know what you think. HHCC welcome!

A great weekend!

2006-07-17T17:01:00.000-05:00

This weekend was pretty great. Hot, but great! Last weekend we went to see Pirates-it was good. We both liked the first one better, but it was still good. Anyway, my family came on Saturday. We grilled, played some games, took a walk and got some Dairy Queen. Seriously, who can resist ice cream on a hot and humid day?!! We bought a couple of fans that morning-just to keep the air going through the house. They have been so nice to have!

My family left on Sunday morning before Paul and I left for church. They'll be back this weekend on their way back to Michigan!

I recently found three of my old friends on Classmates.com. I haven't heard back from Cindy yet, and need to e-mail Laura. However, Bekah and I have e-mailed back and forth a few times. I'm so glad to have found her! I missed them all so much and it sounds like Bekah is doing great! I hope that we can get together sometime. She is married and has a 10-month old son. So cool. I have missed her so much! Just cool things that happen at the perfect time.

It's really hot here again today! Yesterday we saw the movie Click. It was really a sweet movie-funny! And it brought the prick of tears to the back of my eyes. Such a good film about good things.

Not much else going on here. Just trying to not do much except what we have to do. I'm glad that today was an off day for working out. So far I've been doing so good! Maya rewarded me because I'd made all of my appointments so far. It makes me feel so-I don't know...victorious! A wonderful feeling indeed.

I'll let you all go. Stay cool and enjoy the summer while it's here.

You HAVE to!

2006-07-13T10:11:00.000-05:00

Seriously, you really HAVE to watch this. If your computer won't handle the video find one that will. Really. I'd heard this story before, but to see the video and that music. I cried. Paul thought I was crazy. I'm not-it's just so touching and amazing. And just thinking about it brings the sting of tears to my eyes again. Go now and watch it! Here's the link: Can

Feel the Burn

2006-07-11T13:26:00.000-05:00

Welp, I felt it. Today I did my first real workout. I have a personal trainer now, Maya. You're all like how the heck does she have a personal trainer-especially one that comes to her house? LOL! She's virtual. Yup, I got the Yourself Fitness video "game" for PC. I got it for cheap, so thought I would try it. It's really cool because she formats a plan just for me. Can you guess what my focus goal is? Weight loss. You can choose from that, upper body, lower body, core strength, and flexibility. She recommends a work-out plan. It gets harder as you can handle more-and need more challenge. I am planning to stick with what she recommends. I set it up to work out with her on Sundays-Monday off. Then Tuesday through Friday. 15 minutes a day! Not bad, but it is intense. If it's too difficut, she will adjust it. It should be challenging, but you should be able to keep up as well.

Today I did Cardio. It was crazy. There is one move that I can't seem to grasp, so I'm going to have to practice it at another time. It's a turn-step or something. I just couldn't get the rythm of it. Anyway, she will also work out a meal plan. However, you have to put in the amount of calories per day that you should be eating. I have no clue-I just try to eat healthy and follow the Abs Diet. So, I'll stick with that for now. Once I hit my target weight I'll maybe use the meal plans. We'll see.

It's exciting, and I know that it's partly the newness, but I think I can stick with it. She knows if you miss an appointment and she is quite encouraging. She even asks how you feel about working out before you start. You can click that you are extremely eager, not hating it-not loving it, or "You're lucky I'm here today". So, it's funny. There is also yoga on it as well. I think I'll probably try to do a session of yoga on my off days and once I get the hang of the moves maybe I'll add it a couple more days as well. I don't like the meditation aspect of yoga, but the program is just stretching and relaxing. I really think that if I focus on Christ while doing it-it will be good for me. Sometimes you just need a quiet time to listen and talk to God. Anyway, I think it will be a good program for me. I just try to think of Maya as a real person-it makes it harder to let her down that way! LOL! :o)

Okay, enough about my workout. Not much going on here. It's rainy and I love it. I don't know why, but I just love this type of weather. If it weren't raining it would be perfect for taking pictures. No harsh shadows.

I've been totally reorganizing things lately. I did all of the magazines-which is nice. Now, I need to sort through the music. I also have a tote with all of my study things. If you've never seen me study the Bible than you won't understand. I have a "gratitude" journal, a quote/Bible verse journal, a study notebook (for books I'm reading/study guides), my study Bible, the current book I'm reading (non-fiction), my study/prayer binder, notecards (for verse memorization), highlighters, and pens. Oh, and my Operation World book. Yup-that's what I need to study. A backpack is fine, but you can't see everything. And, things get bent. So, I have a study tote. Someday, I'll decorate it. My next project is to clean out our file folder and reorganize the system. I also need to hang our ledges and put new pictures in the frames on the wall. Yup, lots of organization.

Paul is working the evening shift today, so he won't be home until after nine. So, I have time to work on some stuff around here. Tomorrow evening we're going to work on the upstairs. The closet, our room and Robbie's room a little. We have some stuff in Robbie's room that we need to find places for!

I'd better go. I need to get myself some more water and a little snack. Have a good one-I hope everyone who is sick feels better soon!

Love.

Check It Out!

2006-07-10T15:09:00.000-05:00

I added an Olivet album and a Perry Farm album to my photoblog. You can check it out by clicking on the link to the right-it says Through My Eyes. There are a lot of pictures, but I'd love to have some CC and know what everyone thinks!

2006-07-10T08:47:00.000-05:00

The entrance to Olivet-the most beautiful campus I've seen.

Paul at Perry Farm-I love these wooden posts.

My favorite picture from our shoot at Perry Farm.

Me.

Blech. I really don't feel well today. I went to bed feeling kind of yucky, and I still do. My stomach just feels a little unsettled.

Not much going on around here. We bought some small totes from Big Lots so that we could reorganize my massive collection of music books. They are all stacked in a closet, which is fine-if you don't want to get any music out. Otherwise, it's hard to get the book from the bottom of the stack! Anyway, I'm going to try to figure out how to categorize the music and put the books in labeled totes. I really do love to organize!

Before I forget, isn't the banner that Katie made just awesome? That girl can do amazing things in Photoshop-AND she takes some of the most amazing pictures. Seriously, it's awesome. Thanks Katie!

I've really been practicing my shots and composition with my photography. I have pretty much been studying about aperture, shutter speeds and all that good stuff lately. I can focus manually and I pretty much know how to set up my f/-number and shutter speed. I just have to learn through trial and error what works and what doesn't. The only way to do that is through practice. Paul has been a good sport about it all. We did "photo shoots" at Perry Farm and Olivet this weekend. He's really a good model-if I can get him to have a natural expression. The two above are a couple of my favorites. Paul took the one of me-he really does quite well. He noticed that sometimes I tilt the camera to get a more eye-pleasing angle-so he tried it! I know the Olivet picture is crooked-I took it from the car, but can fix that when I edit the photo. CC is always welcome!

I'd better go. I'm thinking that maybe a little rest and fluids will wash this yuckiness out of me. I hope so! I feel horrible. Have a good one!

I'm Back

2006-07-06T15:37:00.000-05:00

Man, it's been a busy week. A nice one, but really busy. Friday we stayed up talking with Paul's mom for quite a while. I loved it! Saturday was Madeline's birthday party. It was really nice. They let me take the pictures with their camera-and I was in heaven. It's an awesome camera and I love taking pictures anyway. I've heard they turned out pretty good-and the ones that I've seen are nice. I would love to do it for a living. And free for family-of course! It's something I'm working on right now. It was really good for me-I wouldn't have known what to do otherwise. I mean, everyone knows that I am socially awkward. And although I talk to people-it's not the most comfortable thing. So, it was nice to be able to be involved in a way that was so much fun! It also kept me from thinking too much on the fact that everyone had children or grandchildren there (except those that are unmarried). It makes me sad, because I would love to take pictures of my children. However, I know that God has a plan. And, I got to take the pictures without chasing my children around! So, it all works out.

Anyway, it was fun. On Sunday Scott and my Aunt Patty came over to my mom's and we had a barbeque. It was so much fun. We played croquet and rode around on my mom's scooter. I have to say that it was so much fun! It was nice.

On Monday, we took Robbie's car into the shop and went to the cheese factory-no cheese curds. We went back later on, but they were sold out of them then. It really stank, but hey-what can you do? No use crying over no cheese curds.

We played tennis with Robbie and Evangeline and had dinner at Big Boy. It was a really nice day. Oh! On Sunday evening Robbie, Paul and I walked to the Flat River Grill for coffee-we ended up having dinner. It was SO nice. A little pricey, but such an amazing atmosphere. We sat on the patio and watched the sun set over the river. It was so cool!

Anyway, we're back home. The 4th was uneventful. Paul worked and we played some tennis at Olivet. It was fun.

Other than that, we haven't really done much since we got back. We slept in this morning-which was so nice. This weekend was tiring-fun, but tiring. So, we're all caught up on sleep.

I get to make invitations for the Alethea Project. It's something that Robbie is doing-and it's awesome! Really, it is. It is so cool to have such awesome sibings. Robbie has such a passion that amazes me each and every day. I can't wait for her to be back for the year. I really do love having her around. She tries to include me in things-and it helps me a lot. She knows how hard it is for me to make friends and get involved. Seriously, would you want your sibling to share your friends? She is amazing. I love all of my siblings. They are all so wonderful.

Anyway, I'd best be going. Have a great day!

A chilly day.

2006-06-26T15:41:00.000-05:00

I was sitting outside for awhile and got a little chilly. It thunderstormed for a brief time and now it's just overcast.

Paul called to find out why our sewer bill was so high. Well, it appears that it is a set rate. It's based on what they *think* you will use. Already, that sounds so not cool, but hey. Well, they reevaluate the rates each year. In January, February or March. Guess what? Our rates are based on the family that lived here before us. Might I remind you how many live in our house now-two. Might I also remind you how many lived in the house before us-two adults and four, yes, four children. Six people. They informed Paul that in no way could they reevaluate the rates now. We have to wait until next May. NEXT MAY before our rates will lower. The lady said they should lower by at least ten dollars. That, my friends, is at least $140 extra that we have paid/have to pay until our rates change. We are paying the bills of a family of six! That seems ridiculous to me. So, I think he's going to try to talk to a manager and see what can change about it. $65 a month for water/sewer just seems kind of high. Of course the trash pickup is included in there, so it's actually $15 less than that. But still, it seems like a lot! Oh, well. What can you do?

Not much else going on here today. Just preparing for the trips this week and making sure everything is ready to go!

Oh! I was wondering if I could get some help with something? I want to create scrapbook albums celebrating both Paul's and my families. Basically, I want to record those memories that everyone has and loves to think on. A kind of heritage scrapbook. I'm going to post a different question each Monday. If you have the time I would love it if you could answer it. You can answer any way that you want. Leave a comment on the blog, send an e-mail or even send something snail-mail. It can be as long as you want or even just a sentence or a descriptive word. It can even be a picture (and I have a scanner, so I'll get the originals back to you). I totally understand if you are too busy, don't sweat it. And, you can always go back to the older questions and answer them at will.

I'll share all of the comments, stories and pictures on this blog, unless you don't want me to. Which I also totally understand. It's just something that I have wanted to do for a long time and am finally getting around to doing. If there are other family members that you think I should contact, let me know. Aunts, uncles, cousins, anyone. And you can be sure that I will most definitely show all of you the albums!

If you have any questions about why, or what exactly I'm doing, or how I'm going to format it, just let me know. Also, if you think I'm crazy-let me know that too! :o) If you have any questions to add-things you would like included in the album-send 'em to me!

Just a thought. Sorry to make this such a long post. I'll leave you with my first question and the quote of the day! Love you all.

What are your favorite family stories?

They can be from your memories or those that have been told to you by parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. I want 'em all. Sad, happy, silly-whatever!

"History is a symphony of echoes heard and unheard. It is a poem with events as verses." ~Charles Angoff

Our Sunday

2006-06-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

Paul had to work today. So, I dropped him off and got groceries. I noticed lots of people sitting along the curbs in lawn chairs. So, I went home, unloaded the groceries and loaded my camping chair into the car. I went to College Church and found a spot in the shade. While waiting for the parade to start I talked to David and my mom.

The parade started at a quarter to one and lasted for an hour. It was nice. I thought it would get me out of the house and outside for awhile. Fun, fun. I went to Wal-Mart on the way home and then read the paper until Paul got out of work. A nice, relaxing day.

That's really all that is going around here. It stormed a little while ago, but it seems to have all passed over.

This week is going to be a strange one. We're driving to MI on Tuesday night when Paul gets off of work. He's working the evening shift so we won't get to my Mom's house until close to 2 in the morning (MI time). We're spending the day with David and then heading back that evening. Paul works Thursday and Friday and then we head back to MI. We'll get to his Mom's house at about eleven (MI time) on Friday. Then it's Madeline's party on Saturday. On Sunday after church we are heading to my parent's again to have a cook-out with Scott and some aunts and uncles. We come home on Monday evening. A lot of crazy driving, but it's all good. It's nice to see our family.

Ah well, I must bid you all adieu. Love and hugs to you all! Oh, the pictures are from the parade. The first one is of the crazy Shriners on their camels. It was really funny to see! The second is the One Way Street float advertising I-Fest. They will be doing performances in the evening all week, so I"m hoping Paul will go with me. Those people are phenomenal puppeteers. Adieu!

"To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there." ~Barbara Bush

2006-06-24T18:21:00.000-05:00

Today we went to Starved Rock State Park. It was a hard hike, as always. Tons of steps!! And I mean hundreds! Anyway, it was beautiful, but not as beautiful as last time. All the waterfalls were dried up. We haven't had much rain, so the creeks were dry as well. It was still beautiful, there just wasn't any water in the woods. It was hotter today too! I survived and Paul loved it. Okay, I did too!

Nothing really planned for the night. Paul is going to work tomorrow so that we can see my brother on Wednesday. It kind of stinks that we have to drive up twice in one week, but worth it to see him before he leaves. He's going to Italy and he'll be in Iraq for a while. So, it's nice to see him before he goes. I am the closest sister to him I would say. Robbie is closest to Scott and Evangeline is closest to Jolene. I mean, we're all close, but we each talk to another sibling more than the rest. Anyway, I was really bummed about not being able to see him. Paul realized that and got someone to switch shifts with him. So sweet. Yeah, I love him.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day with Paul. I can't wait until this weekend. We get to hang with Paul's family on Friday night and Saturday and Sunday morning. Then, we're heading out to hang with my family for Sunday afternoon until Monday evening. Gotta love seeing family! Especially when you haven't seen them in awhile.

I'm outta here! Enjoy your day!

"If I had a pen, I would write: 'I'm gonna kill Paul for making me climb up here'." ~Me today. :o)

Looking at Recipes

2006-06-23T12:42:00.000-05:00

I've been looking at recipes today. I'm trying to find the ones that are able to fit into my diet nicely. If I can find them now, I will have many tasty dishes that will become a healthy normal part of life. So nice. I can't wait to try out some of these recipes. I'm not a big fan of cooking (and that is an understatement), but I love the cost-effectiveness and healthiness of it. I also love the taste of it. I'm a pretty basic girl when it comes to cooking, so we'll see how it goes.

Starting tomorrow, I am doing my own 21 Day Challenge. Rhonna does this on her blog and I really like the idea. You pick a habit you want to make or break and for 21 days practice or eliminate it. My first 21 Day Challenge is to have a consistent schedule and stick to it. My days tend to slip by rather quickly. I get caught up in things and before I know it, Paul's home. I just want to free myself and actually do something. I do well at getting up so far. I mean, I get up at about 7:30 almost every morning. 6:00 on Sundays and later on Mondays (when Paul has the morning off).

I am going to be getting up at 5:45am each morning (except Saturdays and Mondays). I'm going to go for my walk or do my workout at 6:30-after studying. We'll see how this goes, but I'm quite excited as it is. Getting up earlier is getting easier each time I do it.

Not much else going on here today. So far, we're unsure about our plans on Sunday. I would like to see my brother, but I don't think he's getting there until the evening. AND, we have to leave pretty early on Monday morning-Paul has to work. I don't know. If we're here, Paul's Aunt and Uncle are going to stop by and see the house. We just aren't sure if we're going to be here yet. So, it's a lot of crazyness and decisions right now!

I'm hoping that we can take the Metra into Chicago tomorrow. It's supposed to be a decent day. I just want to walk around and enjoy the city sights and sounds. It's cheap for us to ride the Metra on the weekends ($5 for unlimited rides on Saturday and Sunday), cheaper than driving to the El and taking that in. It's not worth the gas. We'll have to pack some snacks and lunches so that we're not tempted to buy unhealthy food for convienence sake. I don't know.

I have had some massive headaches the last two days, and today. It's not stormy, but it's overcast and the weather is just being weird. Weird pressure. So, my head kills. It doesn't help when it's humid and already hard to sleep!

I'll catch you all later! Adios!

"It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important." ~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) A Case of Identity, 1892

It's Me!!!!!

2006-06-22T12:11:00.000-05:00

Who else would it be? Seriously. I crack myself up sometimes.

It is so much cooler today. So nice. We had a little rain come through not too long ago. I'm hoping that we get a lot more. At least it keeps it cooler-a little.

So, my brother is going to be in Michigan this Sunday through Friday. That's it. So, I don't know if I'm going to get to see him before he leaves for Italy for three years. Three Years! We've been thinking about possibly going up on Saturday night and leaving Monday morning, but we don't know when David will get in. We'll see. I called him earlier and need to try to get ahold of him again. If he'll be there earlier it might be a plan. I don't know. I want to see him before he goes-I just don't know if it will work out.

Not much planned for the day. I need to print out a few things for my exercising and my daily schedules as well.

Back by popular demand (okay so it's more for myself to be able to look at a catalog my pictures online better) is my photoblog. I have a daily photo blog called Everyday Life. I also have a blog with pictures of Paul and I and family and stuff called Everyday People. There is a third one called Extraordinary Journeys (for vacation/trip pictures), but it is not up and running as of yet. So, if you need your daily Paul and Rachel picture fix-go the the People one. If you need a daily fix of my amazing photography (come on, you know you were thinking that) check out the other one. I'll put our vacation pictures up on the Extraordinary Journeys one soon. I hope to even make an album for DC, Petoskey and Canada.

Oh, I'll also have a section in the links soon (right column) with the links to all of my crazy blogs. Yeah, I'm a blogaholic. Or extremely anal (by having everything seperated and in its place) you decide.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful day.

"Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try." ~Homer Simpson

Happy Summer Everybody!

2006-06-21T10:08:00.000-05:00

Our is starting out hot and humid. I woke up this morning already sticky-feeling. I hate the humidity. Maybe someday God wil call us somewhere dry like Arizona or Utah or something. Probably we'll end up in Florida or something. I would NEVER want to live in Florida. Too much wonky weather and too hot and humid for me.

Anyway, it's humid here today. Not much going on here. We didn't do much last night. My head started aching with the thundersorm. And then it just stayed all evening and night. We sat outside for awhile. It was nice and cool all day yesterday. Other than that, we didn't go to the concert. I just was miserable. It wasn't as bad when I went to bed, I slept fine.

I hope everyone is having a good summer so far! Happy summer! And enjoy it. I'll chat with y'all later!

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."~Ecclesiastes 3:1

Nothing Special

2006-06-20T13:23:00.000-05:00

Nothing special going on with me today. I finished another book. Check out my review here.

We went for a walk last night when Paul got home. And after we had some oatmeal. We've walked in the neighborhood several times. This time we went down to Court St. (the main road through Kankakee) and looped around. We realized there is a tunnel that goes from our neighborhood-under the street-to the park on the other side. So cool. We are surrounded by parks. It's just neat that you can walk-without crossing the main street-to the park, river and Soldier Creek. So cool. It was a beautiful night for a walk.

The plan is to go to Perry Farm and walk tonight after dinner. They have a concert every Tuesday evening there, so we hope to take that in as well. That's out plan, as long as it doesn't rain. It's awful cloudy out right now. I hope it does rain. We need it badly. Our ground is all cracky and dry. And our grass is starting to look a little yellowy. So, we'll see. If it rains, I'll just do some exercises here. Maybe do some stair steps. We'll see.

The stinkin' squirrell is getting in our bird feeder again. Except now he's getting in the bird feeder. I mean, he lifts the top up and climbs in! Crazy. I have to constantly keep my eye on it or he'll eat all of the seed. The birds eat tons anyway.

Well, I have to go get some lunch. A turkey wrap, of course. Have a wonderful day/evening. Do something fun.

"A good and wholesome thing is a little harmless fun in this world; it tones a body up and keeps him human and prevents him from souring." ~Mark Twain

Beauty

2006-06-19T13:36:00.000-05:00

Before I forget, again, here's the quote of the day for father's day:

"Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers-and fathering is a very important stage in their development." ~ David M. Gottesman

It is such a glorious day outside today. A little warm, perhaps. Humid, a little. But glorious nonetheless. In fact, I was out there not a moment ago enjoying it. Why did I get on the computer? To share my glorious day with you. I was sitting on the glider with my book just pondering the beauty surrounding me. Taking it all in until I was full of the wonder, majesty and beauty of God and His creation. The gentle breeze lifting wisps of hair from my face. The soft shush of the wind caressing the leaves. The sunlight glinting off of all things shiny and filtering through breaks in the leaves. The light bathing everything in a soft glow. The birds sweetly sounding out their melodies while flitting here and there. The blue sky that rivals any blue that man can fashion. The sweet smell of heat and sun and flowers and grass all mingled together. The leaves glinting as they dance upon their branches. The warm feeling you get when the sun first kisses your bare skin. The peace that enters when you realize that it is given as just a glimpse-a foretaste-of that which awaits believers. So amazing. So refreshing. So awesome.

I am about to go enjoy it some more. To read my book and pause every few minutes to fill up on the glory and beauty that God has surrounded me with. I challenge you to do the same. Enjoy the beautiful glimpse of Heaven that God grants us with each and every day. Whether it's rainy or cloudy or snowy or stormy. Any weather. It's gorgeous and terribly magnificent in its own way. Take a moment to take in God's nature and remember that it is a reflection of His very own heart. Amazing.

"We can almost smell the aroma of God's beauty in the fresh spring flowers. His breath surrounds us in the warm summer breezes." ~Gale Heide

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-18T18:02:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there. Especially my own dad-the best one in the world.

Wanna see something really cool? Wanna see the layout that Christine Brown made me? You can see it on her blog. If you click on the picture of the layout, it will enlarge so you can read the journaling. Be sure to let her know what you think about her work on her comments. And be sure to let me know what you think. I LOVE it. LOVE it! Christine is so talented! What are you waiting for? Oh yeah, a link. Here it is: Christine's Blog

Today has been a good day. I got up at six and clipped my coupons. Then I printed off my grocery list. After that, I got dressed for church and had some breakfast. Paul got ready shortly thereafter and had his breakfast. Then, we went to church. We decided to go to the Salvation Army church today. I wanted to see what sort of programs they had there. They are a small church, but seem to be a close little church-family. We went in with the teens for Sunday School. They all seemed like really good (and by good I don't mean behaviorally) kids. Good spirits. And good desires. I'm not sure if we'll go back, but we enjoyed the service there today.

Then we had dinner at Friday's. Yes, we ate out again. The next two weeks we will have fast food and pizza (or more fast food). I ate like a pig, which felt really nice. The people at the restaraunts probably think I'm such a pig. But, they don't know that I eat extremely healthy and small portions throughout the week. And, I'm doing well-if you don't mind me bragging on myself. I have lost nine pounds thus far! Whoo Hoo! Yay for me! I'm so excited. I don't notice the difference yet, but probably with the next ten or so, I will. At least I'm hoping to. The short term goal is to lose twenty pounds by Canada (in August). If I can overshoot that-it would be great!

Anywho, I am outta here! I'm going to blog on Contemplativity and then just enjoy the evening with Paul and a good book. Adios!

Busy

2006-06-17T12:41:00.000-05:00

We have gotten so much done already today (12:30pm).

We got up at a quarter after seven, left by seven thirty and went to the Secretary of State. We both got our new Illinois liscences. Unlike Michigan, they print them up right there. So, we don't have to wait in the mail at all! So cool. My picture is beyond bad. I've always had deccent pictures. I always thought it was silly when people said they hated their drivers license picture. Never again. Mine is horrible. I wasn't sure if I should smile or not. So, I have this half-smile crooked mouth look. Not to mention my bewildered and confused eyes. So, it's not a great picture, but it works. The worst thing about it-they make you put your weight on it. Which wouldn't be bad in a year or so when I'm 140, but right now. Let's not even go there. So horrible. But, such is life. Maybe no one will believe it's me after I lose my weight! Ya think? One can hope. Oh, and it doesn't expire until 2011. Crazy.

Anyway, we were out of there by 8:45. Then we came home and had breakfast. After that, we went to the post office to see if my package was there. Nope, it wasn't. So, we'll see if it comes (I've been looking for it for about 3 weeks). Then we went up to the bank and deposited two checks. We also changed our address. On the way back we stopped at St. Vincent's to look for some work pants for Paul. He didn't really find anything. Then, we went to the library where I got a card! I checked out a couple of books-Francine Rivers of course. And then we came home and had a snack.

What a day! And it's only half over. I hate getting up early, but I love it once I'm up. There is so much more you can do during the actual daytime. So nice.

Anyway, I don't know what the plan is for the rest of the day. Paul would like to see a movie, but I'm not sure what will happen. We'll see.

Welp, I'd better go for now. I'll talk with you all later.

Quote of the day:

"All that I have I lay before. With my pride on the floor 'cause to you less is more." ~Relient K

Updated

2006-06-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

I have added the Exodus questions! I know that you were all sitting on the edges of your seats-just waiting. And thinking, "I wonder when Rachel is going to get those Exodus questions up? I can't wait to see them. So exciting." Admit it, you were waiting! ;)

Today is quite hot. Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter. It's not bad outside-there's a nice breeze. And it's not a hot breeze-yet. It's cloudy, but nice out. It isn't unbearable yet, so that's nice.

I had a strange dream last night. I was like a nanny or something. I was taking care of this probably four or five month old boy. He looked like Traci's baby-Will. Very cute! Anyway, we were in a mansion on this island. But, I couldn't stay there with the baby because something evil was out to get him. It probably comes from my own fears, but it was interesting. A good dream because I was fully in charge of the baby and that's always fun! IMHO.

Paul has actually been reading And the Shofar Blew. He's only read the first two chapters, but I think he's interested. He just needs to wait until the next couple of chapters-it really gets moving!

Not much planned for today. Just a lazy hot day around here. I have a few organizational things to work on. I also have something crafty that needs to get done soon-I haven't started on it yet. I'm a procrastinator. I always have been. I would always write my papers the night before it was due. And gues what-not to brag or anything-I would generally get A's. I really want this to be beautiful though, so I really need to start pulling my ideas together.

Those Tigers keep on kickin' it! I want them to beat out the Sox so bad. All I read about is Sox this and Sox that. I hate baseball, but would love to have the Tigers make it to the World Series and win it all. Wouldn't that be amazing-after their losing, crappy streak? They've won more games than anyone so far!

Well, I'd better get going. I also have a Backpacker that came in the mail today. I tell you-a magazine in the mail makes me REALLY REALLY happy!

Quote of the Day (does anyone even read these! ;p):

"If my life is broken when given to Jesus, it is beacuse the pieces will feed a multitude, while a loaf will satisfy only a little lad." ~Ruth Stull

Hello Everyone!

2006-06-15T09:10:00.000-05:00

It's cloudy here today, a little cooler. It's supposed to get hot though-and I'm sure it will.

I finished Exodus-which I am very excited about. I will try to type up the questions today, but they probably won't make it onto the blog. We'll see.

The reason I got on was to tell you all about something really cool I read in the paper this morning. This couple, Janet and Scott Willis, wrote a book. Janet did the illustrations as well-and they are beautiful! The book is called, A Dad's Delight. It's about a child who loves baseball and breaks a window. He expected discipline, but his father taught him an important lesson instead. I think you all know what I mean. They are a Christian couple-Scott, a pastor. They were riding in the van one day with their six children (ages 6 weeks to 13 years) when a trailer fell off the back of a semi. It punctured the gas tank which caused an explosion. The children all burned to death. Janet decided to paint again to occupy her mind-which started the whole book thing. It costs $17 for hardcover, $10 for paperback. You can't get it in a bookstore.

Why, you ask?

Beacuse all of the proceeds go to one of three charities. Joni and Friends, Kids Club, and The Jimmy Fund. You have to go to the website and send a check to them. When they receive the check-they will mail you a book. And pass the check on to charity. You actually get to pick which of the three charities you would like to donate to. And you write the check directly out to that specific charity. Cool, huh?

Here's the website: A Dad's Delight

Anyway, I thought I'd share. I think it's kind of neat that John Kass decided to write about a blatantly Christian book in the Tribune. The media tends to lean toward the liberal side-against Christianity. So neat to see things like this.

I'm rooting for Edmonton to win the Stanley. Why? Because Paul and his dad thought that Detroit was going to rise from the ashes and crush them. Nope-not so. Detroit got schnookered by them. Rogered but good. So, since I was rooting for Edmonton then, why not now? And, I always love rooting for the underdog.

The Tigers are doing well too! Man, oh man. The first in the leage right now. Hopefully yesterday's loss won't take up residence in the form of a streak.

Yes, I know more about sports now than before. I always save the sports section for Paul, but he doesn't always read it. I think it's fun to look at the Box Scores and see who is doing the best. And I like to check on the Stanley standings as well.

Paul wants to go to the Gaither Homecoming in Battle Creek in October. Tickets aren't on sale yet, but I may have to make it his birthday present. He REALLY wants to go. Why to that one instead of the one in IL? Beacuse it's not really a Homecoming. It's just the Vocal Band and Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. Our two favorite quartets in the world (that are still performing). I mean, the Vocal Band just rocks. And Signature Sound (with, of course, Ernie) keep the Cathedral style quartets alive. And they are fun to watch. They have so much energy-and they dance around the stage.

Anyway, I'd better go. Have a great day! I'll leave you with a quote of the day:

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." ~Jim Elliot

Quote Of The Day

2006-06-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

I forgot to give you one earlier. I think this is self-explanatory. She, of course, is speaking of Jesus. If you don't know her story. I suggest Elisabeth Elliot's book, A Chance to Die.

"He has been enough." ~Amy Carmichael

Tired

2006-06-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure why I'm so tired. I just am. I got to bed at a good time last night. Who knows? I've also been chilly today. I don't feel sick, but who knows.

Today has been a lazy, lazy day. I've been cutting up some of my scrapbook magazines. Yes, it's very sad. It took me a while to get the courage to do it. I love looking through magazines-it's one of my favorite ways to spend a lazy afternoon. However, I have way too many. They have great ideas, but there are so many pages I don't like and so many ads. So, I'm cutting out what I like and organizing them into manilla file folders. The folders take up so much less space than the magazines. Now, my scrapbook magazines are easy-Backpacker and National Geographic will be harder. I'll probably keep a year or two of each of those. Maybe I'll scrapbook about an article that caught my attention or whatever. With Backpacker, I'll probably cut out any of the hikes or parks that I think I will ever do and chuck those that I know I won't (climbing mountains that require crampons and ice picks ;)). We'll see. I'm just so sick of being a pack rat and hanging on to so much stuff. I have almost every Backpacker (minus about three) from 1999 until the present. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, I found a cool site that is at the top of my Check em' out list. It's called Abolish the "N" Word. So amazing. So cool. Just two people trying to make a difference. A much-needed difference. I cringe when I hear that word exchanged between people-and not as a derrogetory term.

Anyway, I am off to study my Bible. I'm in Exodus chapter 35. For those of you who don't know-I'm reading through the Bible and writing down my questions. If Robbie is reading this, she's laughing. She knows what my questions are like-hers are the same a lot of the time! Anyway, I have my Genesis questions listed on my Bible page. There are over a hundred, if not almost two-hundred there. As soon as I'm done with Exodus, I'll post those as well. If you have answers or questions to add or comments-PLEASE leave them. I've already thought about sending all of my questions to a few people, if they'll look at them. I like to hear different takes on the issues and answers to my questions. Also, if you have resources-commentaries, books, etc. that you think would help or are appropriate-I'd love to hear about them as well.

My plan is to go back through the Bible again and this time, REALLY study. Find answers to those questions that are answerable and ponder again those that aren't. If you have any questions to add, please do so. It's just something I'm doing for my own study. However, you can feel free to join me if you would like!

I'm out. I have to figure out something for Paul's dinner tonight, and get my own, and study my Bible. Have a great day!

Finished!

2006-06-13T10:47:00.000-05:00

I stayed up until two to finish that book last night. And I did it. That book challenged me in the way I think and helped me to see a little bit into the lives of many pastors. They have some challenges that face them constantly-and I'm going to be entering that world. And I'm excited about it. I really am.

Today is another beautiful day! I have to enjoy the next couple of days while I can because it's supposed to be in the 90's this weekend. Hot, hot, hot! I don't like the hot. It looks like a trip to see a movie or someplace cool might be in order. We'll see. It's going to be hot. We're going to be sweating. Paul is going to say, "Maybe we should think about air conditioning." I'm going to say, "I never had air conditioning until I married you and I was fine." Paul's going to say, "I know. It's just so hot." And I'll say, "Yeah, it is." And we'll get through it and survive-without melting. Just a hot day in our lives!

This morning I put the board games (that don't fit in the chest) in the closet and put away more magazines. I'm anal about magazines. Really. They have to be in order, and if you get fingerprints on the pages-you had better watch out (I'm the same way with CD notes)! I'm trying to be more relaxed about that. It's just a "thing". "Things" don't really matter.

Anyway, it does feel nice to have gotten a couple of things done already. I'll go in there later and organize something else. Maybe put some more books in the donation box. I've decided to have only as many books as will fit on the shelf. And, once I'm done with one-get rid of it! Unless it's a read-over book, which most of them aren't. Or if they're Stephen King-I'm trying to collect them all (and have quite the collection already).

I hope the weather is beautiful where all of you are at. And I hope that everyone is dwelling in God's peace today. It seems like a lot of turmoil and hurt is going on right now. Just remember (not to sound patronizing) that we can lean on God-no matter what. He won't fall. He will give us that peace that passeth understanding.

Okay, I must go and make myself a snack before it gets any later. I'll post at a later time! Adios.

Quote of the Day (chorus of the song, Leave It There):

"Leave it there. Leave it there. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. If you trust and never doubt. He will surely bring you out. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there."

The Start of a Good Day!

2006-06-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

No, a great day! It is gorgeous outside. Warm enough for shorts, but not hot. Cool enough to be comfortable, by not jeans weather. I love it. It is sunny. Blue Skies. Amazing. The air is so fresh smelling!

I slept in this morning. We stayed up late last night. We intended to go to bed at about midnight, but got watching a Gaither video and reading a book. So, we went to bed late. So, I guess I didn't sleep too long-just a different 8 hours than normal.

I ate my breakfast at about eleven, after a shower. We went for a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood after that. So refreshing. Then I got Paul's lunch packed while he changed into work clothes. And while he had his breakfast I read the paper.

Then, the mail came. I love getting mail. Even junk mail. Love it. Well, I got a Priority Box in the mail. And I had Paul open it-it was the layout that Christine made for me! Paul had no clue what pictures I sent or anything. He wasn't really surprised to see a layout about him though. Let me tell you-IT IS BEAUTIFUL! It is so beautiful-I felt tears pricking the back of my eyes when I saw it. You can believe that you will be seeing this layout the next time I see you. It's amazing. I love it!

Another plus, I got a scrapbook magazine in the mail as well. I love to sit and devour them. I read the journaling on every page. I really do. I'm so excited.

The book I'm reading is amazing. Seriously, I want to read every single book that Francine Rivers has written. She is one of the best authors I have ever read. I'm reading And The Shofar Blew. Really, it makes me so eager to become a pastor's wife. And for Paul to be a pastor. Such an amazing book. And entirely different from The Last Sin Eater. Paul is going to read this one after me. I told him that he had to. That he would probably learn things from reading it. And I think it will keep his interest. So, I'm trying to finish that book today. As well as work on a couple of things around here. I have to finish organizing the scrap room so that Paul will install my desk.

Yesterday we had steak dinners. It was sooooooo good. We both got the Sirloin Steak with fries and a dinner salad. We also got an appetizer of steak nachos and had some bread. I got to drink coke! We ate the nachos. I ate my salad. I ate a few fries and my steak. I had one piece of bread. I am not kidding you-a week ago I would've eaten everything. I would've eaten the nachos, steak, salad, fries and bread. Completely. I could barely eat any fries. So cool. I did my weigh in yesterday evening (same time as before) and guess what? I've lost three pounds! Three. Remember-I started this diet and walking on Wednesday. I'm so excited. Oh, and I had a Drumstick (you know, the ice cream things) and a root beer (the best kind in the world) for my dessert. It was so nice.

I know that my weight will plateau at some point and be harder to lose, but it really doesn't matter. What matters is taht I am eating healthier, getting exercise, feeling better in my mind and body, and drawing closer to God. I have my routine now-which will help to battle the depression that sometimes overtakes me. And I have a plan.

My Franklin Covey is helping a lot. I have Health and Fitness Tracker where I write my weight at the beginning of the week. I also keep track of how many bottles of water I drink per day, how many fruits and vegetables I eat, if I take my vitamin (today was the first day I did!!!!), and how much milk I drink. I also write down each thing that I eat as well. On the back I write what exercise I did/muscle worked and for how long/how many reps. I also keep track of my resting heart rate at the beginning of the week. Last week it was 92 bpm (I tend to have a higher pulse and low blood pressure anyway). This week it was 84 bpm. Much healthier. It means my body isn't working as hard to pump the blood-or I'm slowly dying. :)

Anyway, I have things to get done. Dishes to unload from the dishwasher and such. I'll let you all go. I thought I'd leave you with my favorite quote:

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." ~Jim Elliot

ETA: I found this cool blog that Ali started. Even though I don't think true happiness comes from within us, I think we need to remember the blessings taht God bestows upon us. Check it out: What Is Your Happiness Today?

Rainy Days

2006-06-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is raining. Yesterday we got a bunch of inside stuff done and grilled up some chicken for dinner. Yummy-Grilled chicken on whole-wheat bread with some spinach, cheese and tomatoes. Healthy meal-and yet different.

No, we didn't go to Chicago. We opted to get done what needed to get done instead. The bad thing, it's raining today so we can't work on the yard. We've been doing some more orgainzing inside. I'm hoping that my desk will be put in in the next week or so-I'm looking forward to scrapping again. Anyway, we are now just relaxing and enjoying the rainy day feel. It's nice to just curl up under a blanket, snuggle and watch a movie or two sometimes. And today is that day. We have time to finish up tomorrow-after getting groceries.

Tomorrow is the day of my "cheat meal". We're going to have dinner at Lone Star after church. I have a coupon for two lunch entrees for $11.99. Good price for two steak dinners. And you bet that we're going to get an appetizer too! I have a coupon for a free one of those as well. So nice. We've decided to eat out only once a month for cheat meals. And probably fast food once a month as well. The other two will be ones we can make at home. I'm not sure what I'm going to choose yet, but we'll see.

I've been doing really well so far. Eating all of my snacks and healthy little meals. I found some trail mix when we were picking up chicken. Healthy trail mix. Un-salted. It has raisins, almonds (the best nut for you), sunflower seeds (almost as good as almonds), and some other seed. It is delicious. And it should last me a month. I only eat about two handfuls with an orange. Yum, I can't wait until my next snack at 5. Tonight I'm having 3 scrambled eggs (with cheese and salsa cooked in) and 3 pieces of turkey for dinner. I'll probably have some yogurt and blueberries for my evening snack. Fresh blueberries-delicious. I'll be getting some more this week-and some raspberries. You can't beat buy one, get one free!

Okay, enough about my eating habits. I hope that you are all doing well.

Kerri's (the one that had the baby-Paul's cousin) dad passed away yesterday. He had been battling cancer for six years. Just wanted to let you all know so that you could pray for them.

Anyway, I have to go make sure my bills are all set up-so I'd better go. Have a great day and rest-of-the-weekend. Love ya'll!!

I wanted to post this yesterday!

2006-06-08T09:50:00.000-05:00

Blogger was down, so I couldn't.

Anyway, a huge congratulations to Ben and Kerri on the birth of their second daughter, Chloe. I'm so glad that she arrived healthy and to such wonderful people. She's adorable (I've only seen pictures). And I just love that curly hair. So, CONGRATULATIONS!

Yesterday I scared a Grackle off of my birdfeeder. It was so funny. I always scare them off. I clapped and this one FELL OFF THE FEEDER. He was fine, but it was hilarious. Really hilarious.

Plans have changed and we're not going to be going anywhere the next couple of days. We really need to get the outside of the house cleaned up-so that's our weekend task. To clean the gutters, siding, porch, sidewalks. Mow the lawn. That sort of stuff.

I may try to talk Paul into heading to Chicago with me tomorrow though. I've been wanting to go the the Museum of Science and Industry. We were supposed to go in February during the free week. Well, Paul had to work at the last minute. So, I was reading the paper. Turns out that this week is another free week-Monday through Friday. Well, tomorrow Paul doesn't have to work. So, maybe we can go. Otherwise we have to wait until September for the next free days. And free is the best way to go. So, I'm going to check into Metra rates and where we need to get off, schedules-that sort of thing.

Anyway, my diet is going great so far. Last night I started to get a little hungry and cravey, but I handled it well. I already had breakfast and it will be time for a snack at eleven. We went for a 20-minute brisk walk last night. I'm supposed to do strength training today, but I have no idea where my dumbbells are. If I can't find them I'll probably just walk again. They're around here somewhere, but I'm just not sure where we put them. As long as I dig them up before next week, I think it'll be okay. AND as long as I walk each day in the meantime.

I'd better go check on those other things and do something that is actually constructive! Have a great day. I hope the weather is as nice there as it is here! Adios mi familia y mi amigos!

"Everything in this room is Eatable

2006-06-07T08:59:00.000-05:00

Even I'm eatable. But that is called cannibalism, my dear children. And is, in fact, frowned upon in most societies."

You gotta love a good cannibalism quote! ;) This line from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the new one)-cracks me up every time I hear it. I love that movie. I love the old one too, but the new one is hilarious! And Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors. I can't wait for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 to come out. That movie is one of my all time favorites-and we're going to see it in the theatre! Whoo Hoo!

It's a beautiful day out today. And I got my paper delivered-on my step! Not even the bottom step. It's going to be a good day. I can feel it.

My breakfast: 1/2 cup of lowfat vanilla yogurt, handful of blueberries, 1 banana. I don't know where my protein powder is right now, and I'm not sure where my blender is. Add those up and you get no smoothie. So, I ate the contents seperately. Not as filling, and not enough protein, but good nonetheless. Like a parfait in sections. At about 10 I'm going to have a glass of milk, a string cheese stick and an orange.

For lunch: A turkey, spinach and cheese wrap. We're going to have grilled chicken salad for dinner.

Anywhoo, I'm still excited.

Oh! Last night we watched Into the Arms of Strangers it's all about the Kindertransport. So amazing, and yet so sad. I can't imagine sending my children to another country and yet knowing that I have to do it for their survival. And those English folks who took them in. And the United States who wouldn't take them-any of them. Such gracious people who welcomed them into their homes. Some of them were wonderful, others not. And yet the children got asylum from the Nazis. So cool. So amazing. That's the type of difference I want to make. Something that may not be quite so noticeable, but something that helps others.

I must go and chase the Grackles off of my feeder. I hate them. They pick at squirrels (in trees-yes I saw this) and chase the other birds away. Stupid Grackles.

Congratulations

2006-06-06T09:22:00.000-05:00

On your new MI IKEA. Paul loves that store! They do have awesome things. We got a few things when we were there last. My stool, my scrapbook desk, some candles, and some light fixtures. All really cool things. IKEA advice:

1. Be sure you get a cart.
2. Avoid it on Saturdays (tourists like to stop at IKEA, not just shoppers!) if you can.
3. Stay away until all the rukus dies down. I hear that if you wait a couple of weeks your experience will be much better. (via many Peas on 2Peas)
4. Try something Swedish when you're there. Robbie got cookies to share the last time we were there.
5. Know that you have to put just about everything together. AND you generally have to stain wood things yourself.
6. Enjoy!

I love it, as does Paul. So many cool things. Cool things. Good prices.

It's beautiful again today. I thought it was going to rain, but it is sunny. I can see some clouds building though.

Our paper wasn't delivered yesterday or today. I contacted them yesterday and today. They are supposed to "redeliver" the paper today. Yesterday, I didn't contact them in time. We'll see what happens. I always have to hunt for it because they throw it anywhere. I can't see it from the doorway! I just wish they would put it on the step. They don't have to make the porch-just the step! Usually, it's on the sidewalk. Problems with that? Well, people ride their bikes and walk on the sidewalk. AND if it rains our paper will be washed away or all muddy. It's like two feet to the step. I wish they would just throw it on the step.

I got my scale last night. It's an analog one, which I prefer. It seems like the digital ones are less accurate and the batteries die quickly. So, an analong scale for me. So excited.

Book Recommendations

2006-06-05T16:42:00.000-05:00

If you want to read some good books, check out my recommendations here. There is only one right now, but I hope to add a bunch more soon. If there is more info you want to see-let me know. This is the latest book I finished (today, actually). I'll put some of the older ones I've read in there later!

Beautiful Day

2006-06-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

It is just gorgeous today.

We are getting the Chicago Tribune now. I'm so excited. We got the first issue on Saturday and will be getting it seven days a week. Unlike most people, I love to look through each page-reading the articles that catch my attention. I also like doing the puzzles and the comics of course. Seriously, we were so out of the loop on simple, major news items. I had no idea there was an earthquake in Indonesia until I saw it in Saturday's paper. REALLY! Crazy, I know. You would think Paul's coworkers would talk a little bit about it, but they don't. Mostly they talk about girls. And they have potty-mouths. Oh, well.

Paul registered for classes today. I think he's really worried about it though. They are three basic classes, and they are all in the morning. I think he's concerned about his work schedule-since he has to go to school M-F. He will have two classes and a labish type thing on Monday. Tuesday and Thursday he has one class. Wednesday he just has two classes (no lab). And Friday he has one class. I also think he's worried about how much debt we're going into and how much it will cost us (even with loans) each semester. Really, it will all work out. I know that this is what God wants Him to do. I also know that God takes care of His own and accomplishes His purposes. Add those up and it equals peace. Anyway, he need prayers for peace and for the extra burden he is taking on!

I'm also excited about coupons. I'm going to be playing the grocery game and it is so exciting. I LOVE clipping coupons and organizing them. Whoo Hoo! Love the game and love how much it will save us. I'm still a little wary, but I'll let you all know how it goes. It might be worth you doing it too! (And it is nice that I get 12 weeks free with every three people who use me as their referral! ;))

Not much else going on around here. Paul got some new shoes yesterday. They are actually steel-toed too, so he's following code at Sears. They look very much like his tennis shoes, but they have ankle support. A plus in and of itself. Now, we both just need to get some new tennis shoes before we head to Canada.

Oh, Canada. I can hardly wait. It's a long drive, but if we leave here on the Wednesday night it shouldn't be quite as bad. We could also come back on the Monday morning following. We'll see.

Okay, tonight when Paul gets home from work we're going to K-Mart. And I am buying a scale. Yes, a scale. Wednesday I am getting groceries and starting my diet. I don't really like to call it a diet though. Because I want to be healthy. I call it my "life-altering, healthy way of eating".

Scott is my accountability partner. Which is really nice. Paul would love to have that role, but he just can't. Think about it: husband looks at your plate "You really shouldn't be eating that." Not a good thing. Makes me feel like he thinks I'm fat and ugly and can't be healthy. And it makes him feel bad for having to even utter those words. So, it is Scott.

He is going to call me often and e-mail too, I'm sure. My plan is to eat smoothies for breakfast and lunch (yes, I'm eating breakfast. I got up at 5:30 with Paul yesterday-and I didn't take a nap until 6pm!). I'm going to get some healthy snacks and have healthy dinners. Three meals and three or four snacks. And Sunday I get to have a meal of whatever I want! Whoo Hoo! Mexican, Chinese, Spaghetti, anything. As much as I want. I'm going to do strength training on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and walk the other four days. Sounds like a healthy way to start the summer! So nice and refreshing. And you know what, I'm really excited. And motivated. I really haven't been before. I don't know what's changed, but I feel so different this time.

Maybe it's because I really don't care if I lose weight or stick with it fully. I just care that I'm making a change and doing something positive for me. That I'm doing something positive for my future children and Paul as well. That, if I die of a heart attack I did everything in my power to prevent it. Yeah, I'm excited. I need everyone's encouragement and prayers though. It's not going to be easy. But, I can DO IT!!!!!!

That's it for the day. My challenge: Find something you can do for the positive. No matter what it is. Small or big. Something you don't normally do, or haven't been doing and wish you were. Do it! Even just a couple of minutes drinking a glass of water and enjoying the sunshine. Just do something positive and HEALTHY today!

(and let me know what you did and how it made you feel! :))

Love ya! <-----------------

Peeling Like An Orange

2006-06-03T14:03:00.000-05:00

Me, that is. Paul is peeling a little bit, but not even 1/4 of what I'm shedding. Seriously, it's really gross. I blistered all up and now I'm shedding all of my dead, burnt skin. Which is good, but annoying. It wouldn't be so bad if our couch wasn't chocolate brown. All the skin shows up all over it-I know, I know-gross. It's really hard for me to keep from peeling it though. It makes me so itchy. The last time I burnt this bad was on a three-day canoe trip. The difference-I used some sunscreen then. Liberally. This time-I didn't. Shame on me. I knew I was going to burn. Just not how badly. At least it doesn't hurt much anymore!

I finally filled my bird feeders again. The finch feeder still had some seed in it. I didn't realize until after I'd topped it off that the seed in the bottom got wet. I'm assuming it's because of the rain/wind combination. I don't know how else it could've gotten wet. Anyway, it's really nasty and I need to get a hose so that I can empty it and rinse it all out. I really need to get a bird book. I have a bunch of chickadee-looking birds, but with red heads.

Something cool I forgot from vacation: On the New Holy Land Tour (at the Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, AR) our tram driver had us all singing on the way back to the parking lot. We sang, This Train, When the Saints Go Marching In and a couple more that I don't remember. I just love it when people from all over the country come together like that-especially in song. So cool. So amazing.

Apparantly in Branson last year they had a Welcome Home celebration for the Vietnam War Veterans. They are doing it again this year. It's the "welcome home that they deserved to get, but didn't". I think that it is awesome and wish I could go for the parade. Dad-you should go. I think that ALL soldiers deserve that kind of respect. Regardless of whether you like the war they're involved in. They are fighting so that you don't have to-so shut your pie hole and clap your hands. Seriously. I never got it. Let's spit on and jeer those people that just came back from being practically killed. And let's hate them even if they were drafted for fighting a war just because we don't like the politics of it all. I tell you what-I would rather sacrifice some of my people, myself included, to try to make life better for others. No matter where or what the circumstances. Just my opinion. Can you tell I'm passionate about this? Anyway, it seemed like a really cool thing that they are doing in Branson. And I'm really glad that some people are recognizing the sacrifice that everyone made.

Two things about Branson, and the south in general. They are more open to God and they are more patriotic. Just listen to the country music station for a day and you will see what I'm talking about.

Okay, enough rambling on and on. Paul is working today. He works every day until Friday. Tomorrow is inventory, so Paul has to be there at 6am and he leaves at about 2 or so. He's not really liking that, but since it's inventory doesn't mind as much. Such is life-right?

I'm out. Have a great weekend everyone! We love you all.

Today!

2006-06-01T15:42:00.000-05:00

My sunburn is getting a little better. It's starting to peel, so it doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did. I'm so thankful for that. If you want to see the vacation pics, click on May in the Archives. They make my site all wonky, so I just adjusted my settings.

Cassie now has a My Space, which I thought was just cool. She sent me a really nice message and I hope we can stay in better contact. I also found Tim Price and Rachel on there as well. I sent them messages, so we'll see what happens. I like being able to see what people are up to now. I think about them a lot!

Not much going on here. Paul is working until six, which he says is late for him, but it really isn't. He doesn't usually get home before six thiry or so. Yesterday was an odd day. He was scheduled for 9 to 11am. Three hours. He didn't get back until noon or so, but still.

Paul is registering for classes on Monday. It is so exciting to me. I think that I'm more excited than him. Mostly because I can live vicariously through him-I think. ;) Anyway, I can't wait to see what classes he's going to take and what books he needs.

It's cooler here today. Quite a bit cooler. It's cloudy and should be a good night for sleeping. We have a fan in the window and a ceiling fan usually. It still gets quite warm up there. It hasn't been too much of an issue yet though. I remember nights when I was little and we would strip to our underwear because it was so warm.

I had some of my Aero bar today and it is heavenly. They are from Canada. It's chocolate and mint. So good! Thanks Rebecca!!!!

Hope that everyone is doing well and all.

How Sad

2006-06-01T11:17:00.000-05:00

This is a news article:

Mistaken ID stuns crash victims' families
By JAMES PRICHARD, Associated Press Writer
19 minutes ago
CALEDONIA, Mich. - Whitney Cerak and Laura VanRyn looked remarkably alike, both attractive young women with blond hair, similar facial features and the same build and height.

They were together the night of April 26, returning from banquet preparations with a group from Taylor University, when a tractor-trailer slammed into their university van, peeling off the side and killing five people.

Cerak's family was told their 18-year-old was among the dead. VanRyn's parents were told their 22-year-old daughter was alive but seriously injured and in a coma.

The VanRyns kept vigil at the young woman's bedside for weeks, but as she gained consciousness, she began saying things that didn't make sense. This week, they discovered that the recovering patient wasn't their daughter at all. She was Whitney Cerak.

"I still can't get over it. It's like a fairy tale," said Cerak's grandfather Emil Frank. "It's just so unbelievable. But we feel just as much for the family that found out it was not their daughter."

VanRyn's parents, who had kept a daily Web log of the young woman's recovery after the crash, disclosed the mix-up on the blog. "Our hearts are aching as we have learned that the young woman we have been taking care of over the past five weeks has not been our dear Laura," the family wrote.

Cerak's face was swollen after the crash, she was in a neck brace, and she had brain damage, broken bones and bruises. The Grant County, Ind., coroner said that the accident scene had been strewn with purses, and that students had identified the survivor as VanRyn. No scientific testing was conducted to verify the identities.

"I can't stress enough that we did everything we knew to do under those circumstances, and trusted the same processes and the same policies that we always do," said Coroner Ron Mowery. "This tragedy unfolded like we could never have imagined."

In Cerak's hometown of Gaylord, in northern Michigan, her family held a closed-casket funeral that drew 1,400 people. VanRyn's family, meanwhile, detailed the many small steps they believed their daughter was making toward recovery at a rehabilitation center in Grand Rapids: feeding herself applesauce, playing Connect Four with a therapist.

As recently as Monday, the VanRyns reported: "While certain things seem to be coming back to her, she still has times where she'll say things that don't make much sense."

Mowery said VanRyn's boyfriend initially questioned her identity based on the young woman's behaviors and comments. Then VanRyn's father became suspicious when she referred to him by a pet name he didn't recognize.

"He started asking questions and the process evolved to where she actually came to and suggested who she was and wrote her name," Mowery said. When relatives took their concerns about the young woman's comments to hospital officials, dental records confirmed the injured woman was actually Cerak. "Both families understand how this could have happened," said Bruce Rossman, a spokesman for Spectrum Health, which operates the rehab center.

In a joint statement, the VanRyn and Cerak families said the two young women shared a "striking similarity in appearance." "Our families are supporting each other in prayer, and we thank our families, friends and communities for their prayers," the statement said.

Officials at Taylor University, an evangelical Christian college in Upland, Ind., about 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis, confirmed the case of mistaken identity.

"Certainly there are those people that are devastated today because the person, their friend, who they thought had lots of hope and was progressing every day — they now found out she has died," Taylor student body president Brent Maher told CNN Thursday. "There are also those who are rejoicing because Whitney is alive."

Word of the mix-up also circulated at Gaylord High School, said Cerak's volleyball coach, Jen Mazza. "I don't know what to feel right now. You're elated but you almost don't want to trust it," Mazza said. "Right now we just want to get her home and see her for ourselves. ... Everyone who was touched and grieving for Whitney will be grieving for the other family. We've been there."

Joe Sereno, associate pastor at Gaylord Evangelical Free Church, said what had been thought to have been Cerak's casket had been closed both for visitation and for the funeral.

"We did everything you usually do," Sereno said. "We had a memorial service at the church. The family did a private burial the next day. Everybody thought it was Whitney."

Telephone messages were left Wednesday and Thursday for the VanRyns and Ceraks. A young man outside the VanRyns' home declined a reporter's requests for comment Thursday. On Wednesday evening, a steady stream of cars came and went from the VanRyns' house in Caledonia, a village about 20 miles southeast of Grand Rapids. A memorial service for VanRyn is scheduled Sunday near Grand Rapids.

Our pictures

2006-05-31T14:00:00.000-05:00

I have uploaded all of the pictures. First, you will find the info about the day. After that is a slide show of the day. If you push refresh (the white paper with the green arrows) in the tool bar above it will start from the beginning (the slide show, that is). If you scroll over the picture with your mouse the caption will come up.

Enjoy! I must go now. Paul says he's "malnutured" right now!

May 19, 2006

2006-05-31T13:56:00.000-05:00

6:15am-Alarm clock goes off
6:20am-I get up, finish packing
6:30am-I get Paul up, shower
7:00am-Load car, McDonald's breakfast
7:20am-Gas in Kankakee $2.97/gal
7:30am-Started for MO
9:30am-Stopped at 5/3 in Effingham, IL
10:30am-Gas in IL for $2.77//gal
12:00noon-Lunch at Burger King in MO
3:30pm- Arrive at Wilderness in MO, Set up tent
5:00pm-Left for Branson Tourism Center, Gas $2.53/gal
6:00pm-Dinner at Baldknobber's Restaraunt
7:30pm-Back at campsite, fire

Weather: Hot, humid and sunny

I drove.
We regretted wearing pants. It was so hot there.
Quote of the day:

Paul, on his favorite thing of the day: Great fire at night.

Paul: I beat Rachel at Phase 10!

May 19, 2006

2006-05-31T13:55:00.000-05:00

May 20, 2006

2006-05-31T13:45:00.000-05:00

8:00am- Get up
8:50- Left for Branson
9:20am-Got on Duck

This was really fun. The Duck took us up a mountain and then we spashed down in Table Rock Lake. So cool! Paul loved his wacky quacker (the yellow thing in the picture). We got to see a bunch of WW2 vehicles as well. We also saw the riverboat, Showboat Branson Belle. The first pictures are from our campsite, the ones starting with Paul and his quacker are of the Duck.

11:00am-Got off Duck
11:15am-Titanic Museum

This was really cool. So many artifacts and so much information. And the museum looks like the Titanic. Such a neat museum and a fun way to spend a couple of hours. Starting with the picture of the Titanic are the pictures from the museum.

1:30pm-Lunch at campsite
2:45pm-Moonshine Beach

The water was cold, but it was a fun time swimming. The bottom was rocks, not sand. That's why we wore water shoes. Paul loved it, and he snorkled a little bit. I think you can tell what pictures are from Moonshine Beach.

5:00pm-Back at campsite, Read, Fire, Dinner (Hobo Pies)
7:30pm-Leave for Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf

This was a really awesome course. We played 36 holes of Putt-Putt. Of course Paul beat me. It was beautiful! And a great night to do it. The weather was perfect.

9:00pm-Left Pirate's Cove
9:10pm-Dairy Queen for some treats
10:15pm-Arrive at Wilderness
10:30pm-Bed

Weather: Partly cloudy, hot and humid

Titanic was Paul's favorite at this point.
It rained this night briefly.
Quote of the day:

Paul on one of his favorite things: The fun time we had at the golf course.

May 20, 2006

2006-05-31T13:44:00.000-05:00

May 21, 2006

2006-05-31T13:12:00.000-05:00

8:00am-Get up
9:00am-Leave for Exotic Animal Paradise
10:00am-Exotic Animal Paradise

It was really neat. All of the animal pictures are from here. Paul was a little apprehensive about feeding the animals at first, but he loosened up after awhile. We fed a bunch of animals and it was fun.

12 noon- Leave for Branson, gas $2.56/gal
1:00pm-Playtime Pizza for lunch
2:00pm-Back at campsite
2:40pm-Leave for Celebration City
3:00pm-Celebration City

This was fun, but not as developed as most parks. It's fairly new, so they haven't expanded yet. It was still really neat. My favorite ride of the whole week was there: Fireball. The light show was just amazing. And we watched Sheerluck Holmes from Veggie Tales and met Bob and Larry.

10:15pm-Back at campsite

Weather: Cloudy, hot, humid and scattered showers

Paul liked the deer best at Exotic Animal Paradise
We fed buffalo, petted zebras and Paul fed an ostrich
Our favorite part was the light show at Celebration City
Paul's favorite ride was the log ride and Wildcat (the roller coaster).
Quote of the day:

Paul when we saw a turtle in the road: Why is he crossing the road?

May 21, 2006

2006-05-31T13:11:00.000-05:00

May 22, 2006

2006-05-31T12:27:00.001-05:00

7:00am-Get up
7:43am-Leave for Eureka Springs, AR
9:15am-Arrive at Passion Play
9:45am-Board Tram
10:00am-New Holy Land Tour

The first nine pictures are of this. We first went to the tabernacle. It is a full sized tabernacle. So cool. Samuel was there and he was so knowledgeable. I would love to sit and talk to him for hours about the Bible. The first three pictures are from that stop. We then went to Bethlehem and talked with Mary, the mother of Jesus. It was neat. She showed us the well, the market and the inn. The next picture is of Paul standing in the doorway of the inn. It is a small doorway. It's for safety. We also saw the stable with the stone manger and all. So neat. We learned why babies were swaddled and exactly what swaddling was there. It's not like here. So cool. We then went to the Sea of Galilee. The next picture is of Peter and the next-Jesus walking out to the boat and telling the water to be still. It was neat. We then saw Calvary and the tomb. (The next pictures) I took the picture of the butterfly on the tomb because I thought it was perfect. New life on the tomb, so cool. Paul wanted the picture of the inside. It is an exact replica of the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.

12:30pm-Lunch at McDonald's in town.
1:45pm-Christ of the Ozarks/The Church/Berlin Wall

The next pictures are of the Christ of the Ozarks. Such a neat statue.

2:15pm-Sacred Arts Museum

I found some new artists to add to my favorites. When I find the paper with their names on it-I'll share them here.

2:45pm-Museum of Earth History

The best thing there besides the play itsef. It is new and the only one of its kind. It tells the story of creation and how dinosaurs fit into it. It also tells of the flood and explains why evolution is extremely not true. You go around with a speaker thing that you listen to and it tells you the story of the actual literal six day creation. Go figure! A museum actually teaching what the Bible tells us. So cool! It has some fossils and art. It was really cool. I loved it as did Paul. There are four pictures from that. I took the one of the serpent because I thought it was the coolest looking serpent I'd ever seen. And I loved his lips.

4:00pm-Bible Museum

So many cool Bibles.

4:30pm-Shopping

We picked up some birthday presents here!

5:15pm-Dinner at the Passion Play Buffet

It was included with our tickets. The food was alright.

6:00pm-Wait for Joe, the Potter.
7:00pm-Parables of the Potter

He does this just inside the gate. The pictures are of the gate and the Potter. Such an amazing powerful little message he gives there. He also plays Jesus in the play.

7:30pm-Get seated for the play
8:30pm-The Great Passion Play

It rained on us a little. Paul reluctantly bought ponchos before the play started. He didn't think we would need them and hated wasting the money. He was glad I made him get them when it rained though. Yes, the play goes on in the rain. They only cancel for really severe weather. We loved the play. It was amazing, as always. Our favorite part was the resurrection and ascension. The last picture is of the ampitheater where they perform the Play.

10:30pm-Head for campsite
12:00-Campsite

Weather (in AR): Overcast, rainy, some thunder and lightning, hot and humid!

Here are our favorites in order:

The Play
The Museum of Earth History
New Holy Land Tour (tabernacle was favorite)
Sacred Arts Museum
Parables of the Potter
Bible Museum

We saw five turtles in the road.
Quote of the day:

Dialogue went like this:

Rachel: You were sleeping.

Paul: No I wasn't.

Rachel: Just a little?

Paul: I AM glad.

He was still half asleep. It was so funny.

May 22, 2006

2006-05-31T12:27:00.000-05:00

May 23, 2006

2006-05-31T12:08:00.001-05:00

9:00am-Get up
9:15am-Paul gets up
9:30am-Leave for Rockaway Beach and Theodosia

This is where my family lives/used to live. I called my mom to find my aunt and uncle and aunt's houses in Rockaway Beach. We couldn't find where my Grandma used to live in Theodosia. I think it must be off of P or something. I couldn't remember. We did see the cabin we stayed at once. It's a shop now, but the rest of the cabins are still cabins.

11:30am-Breakfast at Cookie's in Theodosia
1:45pm-Arrive at Talking Rocks Cavern
2:30pm-Cave Tour

We learned a lot on this Cave Tour. A lot. All about caves and stuff. The only thing that she said which wasn't true was that it took millions of years for the cave to form. Maybe a year-during the flood. Sorry, but not millions of years. Anyway, it was really neat and amazing. God made such diverse things.

3:30pm-Putt-Putt at Talking Rocks
4:45pm-Back at campsite, Dinner (Hobo Pies), Cards, S'mores, Bed

Weather: Partly cloudy, hot and humid

We saw four turtles on the road. Paul moved one off of the road.
We saw our one and only blue tailed lizard.
We played the fastest two games of war-ever. Like two times through the deck and we were done.
Our favorite was the Cave-it rocked! (No pun intended)
We saw a wild turkey cross the road-a hen. It wasn't an eastern turkey. I don't know what kind of turkey they have there. We saw one though.
Quote of the day:

Rachie: I beat P at Putt-Putt!

ABOUT THE PICS:
The first picture is of Grandma's 8 pool. We used to swim here, but now it's full of rocks and weeds. The next is of a turtle I made Paul move off the road. He was afraid it would bite him! The next two are of a huge turtle we saw in the road. Quite large. We didn't even think about moving him. The next ones are of Talking Rock Cavern. The last of the cave ones is of Cave Bacon-go figure! We played Putt-Putt at the Caverns. It was fun. I lost.The rest are from camp. If you look at the one of Messy Paul-the close up one. His tooth is shining, just like in the movie pictures. I laughed so hard when I saw that. Kind of cool. No, I didn't edit it.

May 23, 2006

2006-05-31T12:08:00.000-05:00

May 24, 2006

2006-05-31T11:44:00.000-05:00

7:30am-Alarm goes off, get up
8:20am-Leave for Silver Dollar City, Breakfast at Aunt Molly's (in Silver Dollar City)

The breakfast was amazing as was the park. We had lunch at the House of BBQ in the Grand Exposition. It was their Bluegrass and BBQ Festival, so we had BBQ for lunch. Paul had ribs and pulled pork. I had beef brisket. They had baked beans, potato salad and coleslaw. You could choose two. They also had rolls and pickle spears. You could get (for exta cost) an ear of corn or twisted taters, or fancy dessert. Watermelon was included with your meal. So cool, huh? It filled us up really well, so we didn't eat dinner until after we left the park.

3:00pm-Marvel Cave Tour

This is in Silver Dollar City. It was really neat, but a hard tour for some. You have to descend and climb over 600 steps on this tour. The two neatest things were the waterfall (so beautiful) and the tram. At the end of the tour there is a tram inside of the cave. you get in and it takes you the rest of the way to the top. Back to the park. It was really neat. They do have bats in that cave, but we didn't see any. Bummer.

7:00pm-Get dinner at Taco Bell
7:15pm-Back at campsite, fire, cards, bed

Weather: cooler, but still hot, humid with scattered showers

The rides were closed for a short time due to lightning.
Powder Keg was our favorite. It is a coaster that shoots you up the first hill instead of climbing it like most coasters. So neat!
The waterboggan was Paul's second choice. He like the water rides the best anyway.
We went on Lost River of the Ozarks twice-I got soaked through.
Paul went on every single ride with me. Seriously. Even Wildfire-the coaster that goes upside down several times. He didn't even get sick! Yay for Paul!
Paul thinks Marvel Cave was more beautiful than Talking Rocks.
Paul wouldn't buy me a baby bunny. They were $20. He was gray and he loved me. I would've named him Ozark Inspiration.
Quote of the day:

Paul, on the Powder Keg Roller Coaser: I love how it just shot you up there!

May 24, 2006

2006-05-31T11:43:00.000-05:00

May 25, 2006

2006-05-31T11:26:00.001-05:00

8:30am-Get up, breakfast
9:30am-Leave for Shepherd of the Hills
10:00am-Homestead Tour

So cool to see Old Matt and Aunt Molly's house. And to hear some more of the history about the book and stuff. It was really neat.

11:30am-Shops, Inspiration Tower

The tower had such amazing views. It was really cool. We went to the outside observation deck as well. Beautiful country. It really is beautiful country.

12:30pm-Evergreen Cemetery

We saw the graves of a few of the people the characters in the Shepherd of the Hills are based on. Kind of cool. We like cemeteries anyway!

1:00pm-Back at campsite
1:15pm-Lunch (sandwiches)
2:00pm-Shoppin in Branson (for T-shirts)
4:30pm-Back at campsite
5:30pm-Swimming at the pool
6:30pm-Back at campsite, Dinner
7:20pm-Arrive at Shepherd of the Hills

We were supposed to see the play, but they cancelled it. It's performed in an outdoor theatre and there was a little lightning. We thought they were premature in cancelling, but what can you do? So, we drove around a little bit.

7:40pm-Wal-Mart

We burned some of our pictures to CD so that we would have more memory for taking pictures. When we left Wal-Mart an hour later we realized why they'd cancelled the play. It was storming like crazy.

9:15pm-Get movie tickets
9:30pm-Movie

We watched Poseidon. I love the old one and have to say that I love this new one as well. It keeps you on the edge of your seat! I can't wait for it to come out on DVD! AND, I want to rent the old one soon to watch with Paul.

11:30pm-Back at campsite

Weather: Hot, humid with evening thunderstorms

We saw Shepherd of the Hills the next night.
The lightning was beautiful-so much of it!
Our tent stayed pretty dry, just one wet spot when we returned.
We hooked a tarp over one door to help keep it dry. It worked amazingly. We plan to get another one for the other door eventually.
Paul rated the movie an 8, I rated it a 9.
If you don't like suspense, death, or fear-don't watch Poseidon. It will make you tense the whole way through-no breaks!
Quote of the day:

Rachie, during the movie: I could not handle it if he died.

Rachie, after the movie: My muscles are relaxing after being so tensed up.

The pictures below are of Shepherd of the Hills, Old Matt's cabin, the statues around Inspiration Tower, The view from Inspiration Tower, me on the love seat in Inspiration Tower, the storm and us in the tent during the rain. I love the kissy picture (and boy was I glad on Saturday when I had the cami instead of a T-shirt to sleep in).

May25, 2006

2006-05-31T11:26:00.000-05:00

May 26, 2006

2006-05-31T10:54:00.001-05:00

9:30am-Get up
11:30am-Left for Branson Mall
12:45pm-Branson Meadows for shopping
1:15pm-Leave for Grand Country Music Hall
2:00pm-Comedy Jamboree

This was so funny. Jim Dandy (Jamie Haage) is hilarious. Stretch and Splinter were funny too. The Jamboree singers were good as well. We love the fiddle player: Wayne Massingale. He gets so into his playing. We really liked that. You have to have passion in what you do-or what's the point? There was a little old lady from the audience, Blanche. Oh my goodness! She played along like none other. It was so funny. They called her up time and again. They didn't even know what to do sometimes. She was supposed to act like the mother of two of them on Dr. Phil at one point. She's all slapping their arms saying, "I raised you better than that. Don't act like that." It was so funny. The music was good too. Fun times, fun times. If I lived in that area I would get a season pass to that Music Hall. It's $99, but you can go to as many shows as you would like! So cool.

4:00pm-Back at campsite, played pool and fast triangle.

Paul won both games of pool, I won fast triangle!!!

6:00pm-Dinner (sandwiches and chips)
7:00pm-Left for Shepherd of the Hills
8:30pm-Shepherd of the Hills play

This was great and Paul's favorite. He liked the moral. I knew he would, that's why we read part of the book before going. We have yet to finish it. It was a beautiful night and so cool to be at the theatre with the stars twinkling above us. Outdoor theatres are amazing!

10:30pm-Head back to campsite

Weather: Hot, humid, mostly sunny

We were trying to kill time and escape the heat, so we went to the Comedy Jamboree.
We decided we would like to see the Grand Jubilee and since we got $10 off each ticket, purchased two! We went the next night.
I want a pet black sheep. There was one in the play and it looked really cute.
Paul's favorite of the day: The play
Quote of the Day:

Paul, on his favorite part of the play: The moral. The end part.

The first two pictures are of the Grand Country Music Hall. The next two are of a real cowboy and Bosco, his bull. The rest are the set and the burning cabin from the play. Yes, it really burned-so cool. Also, if you can find Paul sitting in one of the pictures you will know where we sat for the play!

May 26, 2006

2006-05-31T10:54:00.000-05:00

May 27, 2006

2006-05-31T10:39:00.000-05:00

9:15am-Get up
10:00am-Leave for White Water, Breakfast of Pop-Tarts on the way
10:15am-Arrive at White Water

It was a good traffic day for us. Going the other way-toward Silver Dollar City-was a beast It probably took the people at the back of the line at least an hour to get to the parking lot!

12:30pm-Lunch
3:00pm-Leave White Water
3:15pm-Eat funnel cake at campsite

We LOVE funnel cakes and this is one of the places you can get them. So, we got one and ate it at the campsite, since it was our last chance to get one.

5:30pm-Started fire

Not very well. It took us forever to cook our dinner on the small flames.

6:00pm-Dinner (Hobo Pies)
7:00pm-Leave for Grand Country Music Hall
8:00pm-Grand Jubilee

Loved it! New South is a pretty good quartet-and we know quartets. Their bass is amazing. Like JD Sumner, but can sing good lead (JD really couldn't). And of course Mike Patrick and Jim Dandy were hilarious. And that band. Man oh man. The banjo player is the best. The fiddler rocks. We loved him too-Wayne Massingale. Such an amazing show. We knew a couple of the songs. Country and gospel.

10:30pm-Paul isn't feeling well and wants McDonald's
11:08pm-We get to McDonald's
11:20pm-I passed the sobriety check!

I passed it. I was nervous because my license is still MI, but my license plate is IL. I wasn't worried about the sobriety part. I have never taken a drink in my life and never will, but man oh man. The officer was really friendly though. So, Dad-we've both been through checkpoints in MO now. We should start our own club! ;)

11:25pm-Get to campsite

Weather: cooler, but still hot, humid and partly sunny

Our favorite at White Water was Ragin' River Rapids. I also love the Lazy River.
Paul liked the lazy river, but it lost points because it didn't have "sprinklers" or things that rained down on you.
We both got sunburned and it really stunk. That's why 5-8pm on this day was our least favorite. Before the show we both thought we were going to be sick.
I fell off my chair onto the ground. This was Paul's favorite part of the day. After I got up, he tapped my shoulder blades and back to brush me off. I almost hit him-remember, I got a really bad sunburn there!
Paul's second favorite of the day was hearing New South sing This Old House-Cathedral style
Quote of the day:

Paul: By six I started trying to bread the butter and all that.

May 27, 2006

2006-05-31T10:38:00.000-05:00

May 28, 2006

2006-05-31T10:21:00.001-05:00

8am-Alarm goes off
8:30am-Get up
9:00am-Leave for Jim Stafford's Theatre

They have a free service at his theatre every Sunday. We were debating between this and the cowboy service at Shepherd of the Hills. We decided to go someplace different. It was a two hour service and was pretty good. We got to sit in the VIP seat. They were so cushiony and comfortable! So cool!

10:00am-Service begins
12:15pm-Service ends
12:30pm-Lunch at Shoney's

We had to be back on the Strip at 1:30. In 76 traffic, it would take us a half hour to get to the campsite and a half hour to get back. If you add that up we wouldn't have been able to eat. We didn't realize that the service was going to be two hours long!

1:15pm-Leave for Grand Country Music Hall
2:00pm-Sunday Gospel Jubilee

This was an awesome show. The Bacon family (see picture below) was really good. And my favorite was Mike Patrick. He used to play the piano for the Foggy River Boys. Now he plays for the Bacon family and emcees a couple of the shows at the Music Hall. He is phenomenal-plays the piano southern gospel style. I wish I lived closer so he could give me lessons. That's how I want to play. Just like Wally Varner and Howard Goodman! Amazing!

4:00pm-Head to campsite
4:30pm-Arrive at campsite, cards
5:00pm-Nap
7:00pm-Cards
9:00pm-Dinner, we tried to start a fire
10:15pm-Bed

Weather: hot, humid, mostly sunny and breezy

I hit Paul in the face during the night. I was half-asleep/half-awake. I was having a dream that I was mad at Paul for something or other and I hit him.
Sunday Gospel Jubilee was my favorite of the three shows. I love Mike Patrick.
Quote of the day (after trying in vain to start a fire):

Paul: Fire's getting in my eyes.

Rachie: It's smoke, not fire.

Paul: Oh yeah, smoke. We're not blessed enough to have flames.

May 28, 2006

2006-05-31T10:21:00.000-05:00

May 29, 2006

2006-05-31T10:14:00.000-05:00

The neighbors next to us woke us up at 7am. They were talking really loud from about 6:30 on. We got up at 8am and loaded the car, took down the tent, and tossed our trash. We headed out at bout 9:15am. We got some gas at 9:30 because we were almost out ($2.63/gal). At 10:30 we stopped for more gas, paying $2.44 a gallon. We got into Kankakee at about 6pm.

The pictures are as follows:
The spot our tent had sat
The rocks that we were sleeping on (hence, why we got a sleeping pad)
A squiggly road sign (we saw many of these on our trip)
A black widow spider (it was on our tent)

We found the spider when we took the rainfly off. Yes, it is a black widow. Yes, it is a female. Yes, the females bite. Yes, their venom is more poisonous than the most poisonous snake! Thankfully, we saw her before she bit us. I popped her on the ground. She is no longer living. Cool, huh?

This was the worst day for both of us-we had to leave. Hopefully we will be back someday. We may go to Silver Dollar City, Celebration City and White Water in the fall for a weekend. We have free passes, so we'll see. Oh, and it's the All Day Singing With Dinner Festival at Silver Dollar City. Gotta love that!

May 29, 2006

2006-05-31T10:13:00.000-05:00

Crazy weather!

2006-05-30T18:14:00.000-05:00

I told you it was about to rain earlier. Well, it did. It stormed for all of 15 minutes. It rained in a little, but not enough to shut the windows. Then, it got sunny again.

About fifteen minutes ago it started getting dark again. Then, it started thundering. Then came the rain. And the wind. Seriously, everything that was loose in the living room got blown around. It winded that hard. I had to shut all of the windows because it pored in. I'm not even kidding you. I went upstairs-probably 45 seconds had passed. The windowsills and floor are soaked. I mean, SOAKED.

Crazy, crazy weather. Gotta love the midwest!

A Random 50 Questions

2006-05-30T13:48:00.000-05:00

Name and Nickname (if you have one)? Rachel Denise, Rachie, Bone, Rach, Slowpoke

Are you named after someone? Nope.

Astrological Sign? It really doesn't matter.

Do you have a journal? I do, but I don't keep it regularly. I really want to start again. I do blog though.

Do you still have your tonsils? Nope. I lost them in 3rd grade! Well, they got removed.

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? I RARELY wear shoes that tie. Usually I wear flip-flops or sandals. If I wear tennis shoes I generally don't.

First feature you notice on someone you are attracted to? Well, it's only Paul. But, eyes and then smile.

What is on your mouse pad? I don't have a mousepad. I have a laptop.

Book you are reading right now? The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers I love it so far!

Do you collect anything? We get magnets from places we visit. Paul likes shot glasses and we recently (this past vacation) started buying them as well. I will use them for brads and stuff like that for scrapbooking. Otherwise, they're pointless.

Favorite TV Show? The West Wing

Do you wear glasses or contacts? Glasses

Last movie you saw? Poseidon-and I loved it! I can't wait until it comes out on DVD!

Favorite vacation spot? Just about every place I've been. The Ozarks hold a special place in my heart though. I also love Seattle, Yellowstone, DC, Pennsylvania, Canada, and the list goes on.

Shoe size? 9 or 9 1/2

Do you eat breakfast? Not usually. On vacation I did though. I would like to.

Favorite cereal? Oatmeal and for cold cereal I would have to say Crispix.

Favorite lunch meat? Only deli meat of ham. I hate the kind that is slimy. I always get Oscar Meyer or off brand of deli meat now!

Do you have any tattoos or piercings? My ears are pierced. I would like a small tattoo someday maybe.

What color is your bedroom carpet? Tan/multi. Like in my old bedroom.

If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, what store would it be? Target because I could get a new table and chairs as well as scrap stuff. And I could get some grocries too!

What celebrity(dead or alive)would you like to have lunch with? Ronald Reagan.

If you were given a round trip ticket anywhere in the world, where would you go? Australia

What time do you go to bed? 11pm to midnight. Sometimes a little later.

Favorite fast food? Burger King. McDonald's is a very close second.

Dream car? Honda Ridgeline. Second choice: Nissan X-Terra.

Do you wear a watch? Yup, it's the first birthday present that Paul got me.

Fabric softner or dryer sheets? Fabric softener: Downy Simple Pleasures. My favorite is still the green one!

Dine in or carry out? I like to dine in because the food is generally better and healthier. Plus, I drink like the ground after a drought, so the refills are always nice!

Mystery or romance novels? Mystery, hands down. Some romance is okay, but most of it I hate. Like Titanic, the movie, hated the whole romance thing. Stupid. They could have made an awesome movie-nope they sank that one!

Early or late riser? Late, but I did get up at nine today! I prefer to get up early!

Mayo or Miracle whip? Either, but it has to be Miracle Whip I don't like the imitation brands.

Dill or sweet pickles? Dill-I HATE sweet pickles. Always have.

Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla-it's good on desserts and you can top it with tons of stuff!

Cake or pie? Pie (rhubarb is my favorite!)

Steak or chicken? I like me a good steak, but it has to be really well done. Mostly, I like chicken better than beef.

Gold or silver? Silver

Roses or carnations? Paul thinks carnations ARE roses. I like flowers in general, but if I had to pick I would have to say tulips! ;)

Croutons or bacon bits? This is tough. Real bacon bits or imitation bacon bits. I'll just say croutons.
Disney or Warner Brothers? Disney.

Desk, messy or organized? My desk is in a box right now. However, it would be organized. My scrap storage area on the other hand...

Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi. Coke is kind of flat-like. But I love Coke from McDonald's.

Summer or winter? Fall, then spring, summer and winter

Chinese or Mexican food? Mexican. I love me a wet burrito.

Rolling Stones or The Beatles? I don't really like either.

Baseball or Football? Football. My brothers raised me better than that. I know that baseball is not a sport. Example, I just learned that they can have their fields different lengths. So what's a home run to one isn't to another. How is that fair? Stupid, stupid game.

White or wheat? White, but I do love Brown Berry's whole grain breads. Especially German Wheat!

Action or drama? Drama. Just give me a good plot without all the spark and special effects.

Dark or milk chocolate? Milk chocolate.

MAC or PC? Only fools (excepting someone from Paul's family) go with Mac. We have a PC and love it!

Thank you God!

2006-05-30T12:41:00.000-05:00

It is starting to storm. It hasn't rained yet, but I'm sure it will. It was clear all night and clear and sunny this morning. Hot, but not too bad. Our house stays pretty cool with all of the trees and shade. However, about an hour ago it started getting humid. Really humid. I thought, "Great. It's humid. The fan is going, windows open. And it's starting to get to the point where I want to shed my clothes. AND it's only 11:30 in the morning." Well, it started clouding up and it's thundering. I love a good storm anyway, but the rain will help cool things off. That is a miracle as it was perfectly clear this morning. I can't wait for the rain! God gives us such amazing blessings and always at the perfect time!

We're Baaaaaack!

2006-05-30T09:42:00.000-05:00

Last night we arrived at our little house on the prairie. We drove into a thunderstorm about a half an hour outside of town. And it stormed for a couple of hours or so. Thankfully, it cleared up at night so that we could open the windows and let some fresh air into the house.

Well, I don't have pictures to post as of yet. I mean, I have them to post. I just can't post them yet. Our batteries managed to last us the whole vacation, but just barely. They are currently charging. Once they are charged, I can turn on the camera and upload the pictures onto the computer. I can't promise when I will have them posted. It's a lot of pictures to sort through and flip around and all that jazz. I'm going to see if I can figure out how to do a photo bar so it will scroll through them and I don't have to upload them all individually. However, I don't know if I can do that. If I can't, I will probably post them on typepad. Anyway, I'll figure it all out later.

Our vacation rocked. And not just because the hills are 80 percent (or more) limestone. I mean, it rocked. I loved DC and our honeymoon, but this is pretty close to the top. Yes, southern MO is still my favorite place on the planet. I would love to live there!

I thought I'd post some random facts about our vacation. I'll detail our days later, but for now-just the facts.

Our most expensive gallon of gas: $2.97 in Kankakee
Our least expensive gallon of gas: $2.44 between Branson and Springfield, MO
We paid $2.53, $2.59, $2.56, and $2.63 for gas in and around Branson (we just filled it up if we saw it cheap).
It pained us to pay $2.63 when we started home (we only filled it a little and then got gas for $2.44 an hour or so down the road)
Paul's vacation favorite: Silver Dollar City (mine too)
Paul's show/play favorite: Shepherd of the Hills (mine was Sunday Gospel Jubilee)
Paul's favorite meal: Shoney's breakfast bar
My favorite meal: Baldknobbers restaraunt (the day we got there)
Paul's favorite view: the one from Inspiration Tower (mine too)
Paul's favorite day: The first Saturday (mine too)
Paul's favorite moment: When I fell off the chair
Rachel's favorite moment: The first view of the Ozarks
Paul's least favorite day: The day we left (mine too)
Paul's least favorite moment: 5pm-8pm on the second Saturday (mine too-I'll explain later)
Paul will mostly miss: "Spending every second with Rachel" Close second, no work
I will mostly miss: The hills. Close second, the time with Paul ;)

I would highly reccommend the Grand Country Music Hall to anyone seeing shows in Branson. However (a disclaimer) you have got to love southern gospel, country and hillbillies to fully enjoy your stay. If you don't, I would reccommend avoiding Branson. Go to Disney World instead, or something. Seriously, the south is different. I can't really explain it, but it is. Paul didn't believe me, now he knows. City people and northern folk generally don't get it. Or like it. It's just different. But a good different, in my opinion. I love it there.

Some things that Paul learned:

Everyone says "howdy". Not hi or hello. Howdy. Paul absolutely LOVES this.
Everyone calls you darling, honey, or sweetheart.
They use y'all and all y'all quite liberally.
Why I am able to go barefoot anywhere (more on this later).
Missouri is not flat prairie land (he seriously thought it was).
Why we bought water shoes (more on this later).
Talking southern is fun (and he can't do it without sounding like northern city boy trying to sound southern! It's so funny to hear!)
That my dad talks like MO people.
That I talk like my dad after a couple of days surrounded by the south.
That a sleeping pad is a must in the Ozarks (more later).

Anyway, we got back around six yesterday and are glad to have our own bed and comforts. We decided that if we lived near Branson, it wouldn't be as special and fun to visit. We would love to return someday, but who knows what will happen.

My 100th Post!!!!!!!

2006-05-18T21:03:00.000-05:00

To celebrate: an amusing site that I enjoy.

Song Tapper

You just tap a tune with your space bar and it comes up with the song-almost always.

Kind of cool. Kind of cool.

What? I don't leave for vacation until tomorrow. You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you? :-)

We're all packed. We just need to load the car a little bit. That's it! And then we're out of here. Well, tomorrow. You get the point.

Anywho, I am out of here. Well, not the house, but...you know what I mean. P's watching The West Wing right now. And I have a headache. Now I'm out of here.

(And yes, I call him P...I like the first initial thing. P is such a good one too. R just doesn't sound right.)

VACATION COUNTDOWN: 1 Day

2006-05-18T12:56:00.000-05:00

One more day! It's so exciting. Last night, Paul and I cleaned out the car and packed it up. I just have one more duffel bag to finish packing and load in. It will honestly take only five minutes to pack and then I'm done. Except for Paul's backpack. And that will just have books and directions and stuff like that. Everything except the cooler fits into the trunk. It is so much more organized than last year. I remember going through the checkpoint at the Army base in Carlisle. Those soldiers who inspected our car could have no idea if we had bombs or guns. Which we didn't, but still. It was a disaster.

Right now, I'm ripping songs from CDs into mp3s for our flash drive. The car device won't play wma's. So, I have to rip them all. I'm probably ripping more than will fit on the flash drive, but hey! At least we'll have music! And I'm watching The West Wing, of course. Season Three.

I'm changing the name of Kankakee. To Kanstinkee. On 50 there is an oil factory. When you drive past it reeks. Big time. Like oil. Anyway, normally it's so nice at our house. But there have been two days when the oil smell wandered over to us. Last night was one of them. I think it happens when the wind changes to a Mary Poppins-like state. It gives me such a horrible headache. At least it's only happened twice. Because it's NASTY. Nasty, nasty, nasty.

I still had problems sleeping last night. I was awake until three or so. And I KNOW that I'm going to have problems tonight. Paul was really sweet. It's weird because he usually sleeps so hard, but he was sleeping light last night. It's like he was just barely asleep.

I asked Paul if he thought he was going to be all anxious tonight and barely sleep. He said he probably would. However, I have rarely known Paul to have problems sleeping. I will be like a kid on Christmas Eve. I may just have to get out the Super Nintendo! :-)

One of the birds just flapped his wings. I could see it in here. I don't think he was trying to fly. He was just trying to get the good position in the nasty nest. Paul is surprised they are still here. They most definitely won't be when we get back. They have real feathers and tails. And they chirp when they're getting fed now.

Now the weather in MO is supposed to be mostly sunny with storms on Sunday and Wednesday. It is supposed to reach 93 on Wednesday. Great. Everytime I go on vacation it has to be stinking hot!!! And you know it's going to be humid. Especially if it's going to storm. Crazy!

In this months Backpacker they had an article about ticks. Along with a pull-out identification guide. I thought it was timely since we're going to MO. That's the only place we've ever gotten ticks. It also talked about chiggers and mosquitos. Hopefully we can stay away from the chiggers. Nasty little itchers.

I must go and finish my packing. Tonight we are going to the store to pick up some last minute items. Rope for a clothesline, bug spray, and sunglasses for Paul. We had bug spray. Everytime we touched the can it would spray all over. Needless to say, we chucked it.

I bid you all adieu. Have a nice week and a half!

VACATION COUNTDOWN: 2 Days

2006-05-17T12:07:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that we're leaving the day after tomorrow. It still feels so distant. It feels like it's never going to come. But not in the sense that I am anticipating it so much that I can hardly wait. No, just that it feels like it shouldn't be vacation time.

I am so stinking tired. I did NOT sleep well last night-AT ALL. I wasn't hot and my mind wasn't racing. It was just difficult to fall asleep. So, I heard the birds start singing (4:30am), and I saw the first bit of sun (yes, sun) come up. I fell asleep at about six and even then slept fitfully.

It is really beautiful here today. A few scattered clouds, but mostly sunny and warm. It's actually in the seventies today! What a nice surprise. If I could set it up by myself, I would let the tent air out. The rain fly was wet with dew the last time we put it away. And we intended to let it dry when we got home, but didn't. Needless to say, our tent smells a little musty. And you can't just light a candle to make it smell better. Although it would be kind of funny to watch-if no one got hurt that is!

I have just about everything packed. There are a few things that I can't find, but Paul thinks he saw them in one of the boxes. Tonight we're going to clean out the car. It's been fairly clean, but with the move it's gotten kind of crappy again. We will probably load up the trunk a little bit tonight as well. Just with the tent, sleeping bags and duffel bags.

We will be able to fit everything except the cooler and a plastic tote in the trunk. Honestly, the tote is not a necessity, but we thought it'd be good to store our camp food in.

Anyway, not much going on here. Just getting ready for vacation.

Oh, State Farm is driving us crazy! We went in March to switch our insurance over and get homeowner's insurance. Well, the homeowners is going great. Paul's life insurance is going great. However, we've had problems with our car insurance. They called once at the end of March asking for my driver's license number again. We gave it to them. The middle of April we got a letter saying that our insurance would be cancelled in May due to missing information. So, we called again and gave her the number. After not hearing anything or getting billed, Paul called again. On Monday of this week. They said the policy was inactive, but to call the agent in the morning when the office was open. So, they called Paul yesterday and said they didn't have HIS license number now. So, we had to go in and give it to them. Supposedly, our car should be insured as of this morning. We'll see.

Wanna know what's crazy? They never called. They sent one letter, we took care of that problem. And they just let our account go inactive due to another problem. You would think they would call or something. I guess not! Crazy.

Anyway, I should go. And actually do something. Adios!

VACATION COUNTDOWN: 3 Days

2006-05-16T13:12:00.000-05:00

I'm getting more and more excited. I'm probably just under half-way packed. I have all of our clothes packed except for what is in the laundry right now. I'm also washing a flat sheet. If the weather prediction is correct, we're going to need it. It's supposed to hit 88 a couple of days. I remember last time we were there was in March and it was sweltering. So, we'll see. I keep watching the weather, but there is no accuracy so far in advace. Originally there was supposed to be storms two days, then all sun, now there is supposed to be one day of storms.

Back to packing. I have all of our beach stuff packed in a beach bag. Towels, suits and sunscreen. I also have most of the toilitries packed. All I need is toothbrushes and Paul's shaving stuff.

I really enjoy packing. I love to have everything organized and where it belongs. I hate unpacking. Funny, it's the opposite when we're moving.

I'm so excited to be going. I can hardly wait! The plan is to leave no later than 8am on Friday. I would really like to head out by 7:30, but we'll see how that goes. I'll be up by 6 and I won't have a restful night, I can tell you that. I'm like this when it comes to vacations. I'm like a child anticipating Christmas. Legs all itchy and mind racing. I'm not really worried about Paul, even though he doesn't like to get up early. He can sleep in the car. Honestly, I don't think that he will all that much.

My birds are getting actual wing feathers now. It's amazing how fast they are growing. Much faster than humans. And it's neat to watch.

I sent my pictures to Christine, who's making my scrapbook page. I sent five and told her she could use any or all of them. Today, I sent the journaling. It's fun, because she's picked the focal photo, but I don't know what one she picked. AND, Paul doesn't know what pictures I sent so it will be a complete surprise to him. I love it!

Not much else going on here. My head is starting to ache a lot, and I see some clouds rolling in. I think it's going to storm, or at least rain.

Paul's working long days this week. 8 to 6 each night. He worked noon to 9:15 last night. Long days, but he got to have a much needed three day weekend last weekend. This vacation is a much needed break for him. He's been having a really stressful couple of weeks at work. Inventory is coming up and everyone is on edge. Which puts him on edge. And stresses him out.

Anyway, I had better go. I need to finish packing and also fold my laundry.

My Personality Profile: INFJ

2006-05-15T15:14:00.000-05:00

Welp, here's mine. What do you think? Does it sound like me?

http://typelogic.com/infj.html

http://keirsey.com/personality/nfij.html

I think it's quite accurate. I'd be glad to have feedback or questions. :-)

Paul's Personality: eSfJ

2006-05-15T15:06:00.000-05:00

There are some points that aren't Paul at all. However, there are others that capture him perfectly. Let me know what you think.

http://typelogic.com/esfj.html
http://keirsey.com/personality/sjef.html

VACATION COUNTDOWN: 4 Days

2006-05-15T13:35:00.000-05:00

Four days to go. I am about to grab my packing list and start loading. I also need to do a little laundry so that I'll only have this week's clothes to wash on Thursday evening. It's decently warm here. I mean, not really warm, but comfortable. It's not raining either.

Paul cut the grass yesterday afternoon-in the rain. It really needed to be cut before vacation and it wasn't raining until he started the lawn mower. The ironic part-it stopped as soon as he put the mower back in the garage. So funny!

I got two magazines today! So exciting! I love getting magazines. Well, I love getting mail. But I especially love to get magazines. They make me happy. I'm a pretty simple girl and an easy one to keep happy. All I need is some mail. Even junk mail.

I got a package from CEF the other day. In it was the same song visual that came with my 5-Day Club kit. I was like, what in the world? Well, today they sent a little note that said they sent new visuals to everyone who had ordered the kit. The reason: in the first one there is a blue missionary and blue children. I noticed it the first time, and thought it was stupid and alien looking. However, I figured it was just those old visuals to blame. Nope, it was a printing mistake. So now I have two. The alien version and the non-alien version.

I'd better go. I have some stuff to do. Laundry, unpacking, and packing! Fun, fun, fun , fun, fun!

I'm Lucky!!!!

2006-05-15T13:28:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I don't believe in luck. However, if I did you would want me around for good things. I have won three contests in the past week!

First, a contest on a scrapper's blog about how many pages she made at a crop. I was the closest. So, I won some scrap goodies!

Second, I won another contest and get to have a layout made by a well-known scrapper-using my pictures! So cool. I haven't decided what pictures I'm going to e-mail her, but it's such a cool unique thing.

Third, I entered a mother's day contest on Rebecca Cooper's (another scrapper) blog and won some chocolate! So cool.

Totally made my week. Paul is going to be so jealous when he finds out!

VACATION COUNTDOWN: 5 Days

2006-05-14T22:36:00.000-05:00

Only five days yet. Tomorrow I will officially allow myself to begin packing. I mean, I really need to get packing, but I don't like to do it prematurely. Evangeline on the other hand, would've been packed for a month!

I have my list and don't need to pack much. I just need to collect up all of the camping supplies: lanterns, sleeping bags, camp stove, etc. I also need to make up a little first aid kit and gather a few other things. My goal: pack as light as I can. I'm not really an excessive packer anyway. I just like to be prepared. I have my list all made (of course, a list) and ready to go. I just need to remember to add a couple of things that I previously forgot.

In other news:

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM AND PAUL'S MOM!!!!

More Bird Pics

2006-05-14T22:16:00.000-05:00

These are from a few days ago. Literally probably no more than five. They grow really fast.

These are from yesterday and today. I can see the difference each day. They are so funny to watch. They act like human siblings sometimes. They fight for the good positions. They love to be pet between the eyes and on their heads. I can pet them right to sleep.

And FYI the momma still comes and feeds them (so does the daddy), she doesn't reject them because I touch them. They seem to like it and I love them. Oh, and they all have slight differences on their beaks, so I can tell them apart a little better now.

Isn't it crazy how much they've changed? They have dark beaks now, with red inside their mouths. And little tongues that sometimes come out when they're dreaming. They also open their mouths and "chatter" noiselessly when they dream. AKA they move their beaks open and closed-rapidly.

So cute. So amazing. I'm really going to be sad when they fly away.

VACATION COUNTDOWN: 6 Days

2006-05-13T17:26:00.000-05:00

Less than a week to vacation! It still doesn't seem like it's actually going to happen.

My birds are getting so stinking large. They barely fit in their nest any more. They are also starting to get some tiny tail feathers. They are so sweet! My little babies.

Anywho, I have a new phone now, so you can call me. And, there shouldn't be any problems with it turning off! So, you can call and should actually be able to get through to me! What a concept. A phone that you can actually talk to people on!

Well, I guess I'd better go. We got all of the books unloaded. We also have all of my music (trust me, you don't want to know how much I have) and notebooks (again, need we go there?) unloaded. The scrap room is almost finished. We only have a couple more boxes and jazz.

It started raining again. It's supposed to rain until we leave for vacation and beyond. I really need to cut the grass. I guess I'm going to have to cut wet grass when I have a patch of no rain. I really don't want to have obscenely long grass while we're on vacation. Can you say no one's home?

Paul and I took a personality test the other day. I'll post the results on here later. Strangely enough it hit me on the head and I think that except for the introvert part Robbie is the same as me. Paul doesn't think so, but I do. We'll see. The other strange thing, Paul's profile is what they say clergy generally are. Kind of cool.

gtg! peace.

VACATION COUNTDOWN: 7 Days

2006-05-13T01:24:00.000-05:00

Only 7 days until vacation! Whoo Hoo!

It has been so stinking cold today, it's unbelieveable. 45 degrees. Feels like 41 degrees. My little birds are all huddled in together. I wish I could bring them inside. And cuddle with them. I've pet them. They feel so soft and precious. They are so beautiful. They have wing feathers now and a lot of down. They still look kind of funny because they don't have tail feathers yet. They do have eyes. I mean, eyes that open. Normal bird eyes. Small ones, but still. You get the point. They look at me sometimes and then I pet them. Because I want them to be used to me. I wish they could be my pets. They are my little babies. Except I wouldn't want to clean up their poop. It's nasty and smelly. But, hey, at least they don't poop in their nest. They stand up and over the edge of the nest. Anyway, they're my precious baby birds and I love them. I'm going to miss them on vacation. Hopefully they don't all leave me while I'm gone!:(

Paul and I got a lot of unpacking done today. Which is so SO SO SO so nice. The kitchen is actually half empty now. Such a refreshing feeling.

My cyst came back today. It progressively got more irritating until it popped. Thank Heaven for small favors. I was dreading having Paul poking at it all night again.

Well, I had to wash my jeans and so I just threw them in the washer after pretreating them. After the wash finished, we heard a humming noise. Coming from the washer. Well, we'd never heard a noise like that before so we unplugged it. It was still making the noise. I was all like, "Is the washer possessed? Why would Satan make the washer hum? For goodness' sakes if you really want to scare me stick to having demons look at me in the night." Well, I finally realized that it wasn't Satan possessing the washer. It was my cell phone which was in my jeans pocket. Needless to say, you may not be able to call me for a while. You can get ahold of me through Paul-when he isn't working. (Which is like two hours each night between 7pm CT and 9pm CT.)

I'll let you know when I get a new phone! I needed one anyway-mine kept turning off. In my pocket. When I answered. When I hung up. Randomly. That is the possessed machine!

Anyway, I should go. It's kind of late and last night we stayed up way to late. We didn't get up until too late this, er morning. Yes, that's right late this morning. Don't ask.

VACATION COUNTDOWN: 8 Days

2006-05-11T13:23:00.000-05:00

Our vacation seems kind of surreal. I'm not sure why, but it feels like it's not really going to happen. Strange, huh? I mean, I'm still really REALLY excited. I can't wait! Eleven days of fun and rest! The downside, I really don't think it's going to be warm enough to swim. Paul is really looking forward to going to White Water, but I don't know if we'll be able to. It should be upper 70s, so we'll see. I got my swimsuit! I ordered it from Lane Bryant and I have to say that I LOVE it! It fits and it's actually flattering. Oh, and it's cute! It's just black, but it's a halter suit. Normally, I wouldn't go for a halter suit. I just want to have my back and shoulders fully exposed so that my acne will clear up a little.

Yes, I have acne on my back and shoulders. Generally, when I swim it will clear up slightly. I think it's probably from the combination of chlorine and water and fresh air. I'm hoping that it will clear up more by being bare.

Here is what Paul is most looking forward to on our vacation (in order):

Time off of work (including no phone calls, no worrying, etc)
Time with me (aw, that's sweet)
White Water
The Great Passion Play

Those are the things that he would pick to do if we could do nothing else.

I hope, for his sake, that it is warm enough to swim. The campground has a pool and if you look at Branson on a map you will realize it's surrounded by lakes. Lakes that look like rivers. Taney Lake. Table Rock Lake. These lakes don't have sand or even dirt bottoms. These lakes have rocks for the bottom. Painful little pokey rocks. That is why we have water shoes. Because even my tough little run-outside-over-sticks-and-stones-without-pain feet can't take it!

What I am most looking forward to:

Spending time with Paul
Silver Dollar City
Sharing "my childhood" with Paul

I can't wait! I'm a little worried that beacuse I'm older it won't feel as magical as it did when I was a child. However, I honestly think it probably will. Those mountains are in my blood. In my DNA. In my soul. They are a part of me.

I am watching the West Wing Season 2 right now. Paul would be jealous to know that. It is one of our favorite shows of all time. I love politics. I would love to be able to be on Senior Staff at the White House. We were discussing this last night. I told Paul if I wasn't a doctor I had decided (in HS) that I wanted to be the White House Press Secretary. Paul said, "You could do it. You would do it well." I said, "I know." I know, I'm smitten with myself. No, but seriously. I would love that job.

AND I love the USA. No one has much more pride for our country than I do. Except maybe Michael W. Smith. Well, I guess it's not love. He just thinks we're invincible. Have you heard his song "There She Stands". I can't stand it. Not "God will be forever although everything else will pass away." No, instead, "The US will always be there no matter what. God will protect us." Stupid arrogance. I have pride for the US, but we are not sovereign.

Anyway I've rambled enough about nothing in particualr.

Word.

VACATION COUNTDOWN: 9 Days

2006-05-10T10:17:00.000-05:00

It's kind of chilly here right now. And humid. It's supposed to rain/storm later. Man was it hot and humid last night. It was the first night that it actually was keeping me awake!

Paul has overslept the past two days. He said to me (last night), "I can't stay up too late or I'll oversleep and be late for work." It turns out that the alarm was on the wrong setting. It wasn't loud enough and was on radio. It wasn't tuned to a station, so it was just a low hum. I don't know how he did it two nights in a row!! So funny!

A couple of movies we just saw in the past couple of weeks:

The Cave-so not worth my time. I'm so glad I was scrapping and not really watching. Paul slept through most of it. It had a horrible plot and they didn't develop the characters enough. During the first twenty minutes Paul and I were trying to figure out who was who. They didn't let you get to know the characters before throwing them into danger.
My rating: 2
Paul's rating: Nothing, he slept

Fun With Dick and Jane-cute, funny movie. I really did like it quite a bit. Not so much that I would want to own it, but it was pretty clean and all.
My rating: 7
Paul's rating: 7

King Kong-I really liked this. It was really well done. You have to like the sci-fi/fantasy genre, but I really enjoyed it.
My rating: 8
Paul's rating: 6 (too long)

An Unfinished Life-A really nice movie. I'm not a big J Lo fan, but I thought she was good in this. Perfect for the part. It was funny and touching.
My rating: 8
Paul's rating: 7

Dreamer-What an incredible movie. I really like Dakota Fanning and hope she turns into more of a Drew Barrymore (minus all the addiction and crap) rather than a Lindsay Lohan type. She has such talent. Paul LOVED it!
My rating: 9
Paul's rating: 9 (which is like an 11 on a normal scale!)

Mostly we've been watching the West Wing. Man do I love that show. And I totally got Paul hooked. It's so funny because Bartlett is a democrat (I am more conservative), but I would so vote for him. Of course, I wouldn't know what I know from the show, but still. I seriously would.

Yes, we watch a lot of movies. Hey, we don't EVER watch tv!! I am so loving not having tv reception. I honestly don't even miss it. I don't even want it. It gives us so much more time-quality time. So nice. So refreshing.

Music I'm loving right now: Jadon Lavik (yes, I still love him!), Kristin Chenowith (whom I've LOVED for years!!!!!), Bethany Dillon, Barlow Girl and the Isaacs.

It looks like MO is supposed to be sunnier this week. No rain forcasted after today (forecast up to next Friday). So, we'll see what happens next week.

Painful Relief

2006-05-09T13:44:00.000-05:00

If you don't want to read about cyst stuff skip the next paragraph. It's mainly to let my mom know what happened!

Man oh man. Paul poked my cyst like 3 times and it wouldn't drain. So, I got in the bath and let really hot water numb it up more. It also made it puffier, which is what I wanted. Then Paul poked it again and it drained a little bit. Not much though. He tried poking it like 8 more times over the course of the night. And it was getting inflamed from all of the poking. So, I was crying like a big baby. I mean SOBBING-it hurt so bad. But it still wasn't gone or really any smaller. In fact, it was getting swollen from the irritation. So, it was a rough night. I had so much trouble sleeping. This morning when I woke up it felt a little better. Turns out it popped itself during the night. Thank goodness! I cleaned it out and put some antibiotic ointment and gauze on it. It's still there, but small and draining. I am SO glad. I was going to find an urgent care center tonight to go to-or the ER. I just couldn't take it anymore. Man oh man. It's still sore, but not NEARLY as much. I can sit with some comfort and walk with no pain!!

It's cloudy today. It is going to rain. I can tell. It's been storming in MO this week and last. So, I hope it gets it all out of it's system by next Friday. That would be really crappy. However, God's in control and if it storms there will be a reason for it. So, I can't complain. Maybe the farmers and trees and flowers all need the rain!

Not Much Going on Here

2006-05-08T19:22:00.000-05:00

Really. I just finished two albums. They're for Katelyn and Madeline. I'm so lovin' them! They rock. I haven't gotten much done today. My stupid cyst is back.

I had a cyst on the end of my tailbone in high school. It would get all infected and puss and bleed and such. So, I had to have surgery to remove it. Every now and then that area will get sore again, but usually it goes away. I'm always very careful to keep that spot clean so I don't have to deal with it again.

Well, it's back. In full-blown fury. It's like a big water blister and it hurts so bad that I kind of waddle when I walk. It hurts to sit. It hurts to lay down. It hurts to move. Period. It's amazing how you don't realize just how connected everything in your body is. When I twist my upper body, it hurts. Why? Because my spine moves when I turn which sends pain to my tailbone. Which is where my cyst has taken up residence. So, now what? Paul is going to have to pop it when he gets home. And then comes the task of keeping it clean and medicated (antibiotic ointment). Fun, fun, fun. I sure hope it goes away and heals by next week! I really don't want to go to the doctor! And I really don't want to waddle on my vacation.

And what a vacation it is going to be! Whoo Hoo! I can hardly wait. Would you like to know our plan? Would you? Would you? Okay, I'll tell you!!!

We're camping at The Wilderness. It's $14 a night and I get 15% off each night!
We're leaving between 7 and 8am on Friday the 19th.
We have to pick up tickets from the Branson Tourism Center on our way into Branson.
We should be at the campground by 5:00 or 5:30pm.
We're going to pick up groceries that night.
Saturday the 20th- We have absolutely NOTHING planned-so nice!
Sunday May 21st-Exotic Animal Paradise (car safari), Pizza for lunch, and Celebration City!
Monday May 22nd-The Great Passion Play in Arkansas
Tuesday May 23rd-We may visit Rockaway Beach and Theodosia-who knows?
Wednesday, May 24th-Silver Dollar City
Thursday, May 25th-The Shepherd of the Hills and lots of free time!
Friday, May 26th- White Water (weather permitting)
Saturday, May 27th-We have absolutely NOTHING planned-again so nice!
Sunday, May 28th-Sunday Gospel Jubilee in the early afternoon. Nothing else planned
Monday, May 29th-We must return home! :-(
The only things that are set in stone are: The Passion Play, Shepherd of the Hills, and the Sunday Gospel Jubilee

I am so excited. I haven't been there since 2001. So, really I'm not that off. We generally went every few years or so. I do have to say that it is one of my favorite places on the planet. I love the land, the Ozarks, the hillbillies. But mainly, it has such wonderful family memories. And THAT is what makes it such a special place to visit.

Some people will put down hillbillies and mountain people, but I love them. They are some of the most helpful, kind people you will meet. Sure, they might meet you at the driveway with a shotgun in hand, but they just need to protect their own. KWIM? :-) I love the simple life. I envy it at times. That's why I'm glad we don't live in a huge city. Or really that close to one. I love simple, slow country life.

A week from Friday-I can hardly wait!

To The Dad

2006-05-08T19:11:00.000-05:00

Who thinks it's a great idea to take his young (6-8 yrs) son riding on his motorcycle down my street,

This is the second time I've seen you out here. Granted it's a neighborhodd and I don't know where you're coming from. AND I know there's no helmet law in IL, but for the sake of your son's life-WOULD YOU PUT A HELMET ON HIM! I know he was in front of you this time, so he couldn't fall off. However, the first time I saw you he was behind you. His little arms couldn't even reach all the way around your waist. NOT EVEN CLOSE!! I know that you're a grown man, but he is just a little boy. You have to make the decisions for him. He is pretty fearless. He doesn't realize that it wouldn't take much for him to fall off the back because his little arms got tired. He doesn't know what a closed head injury is or what it can do to him!!! He needs a helmet and I would think that the police would agree!! At least don't ride past my house if you choose to continue this! I may have to just get into a biker fight with you when you slow down on the corner. Heck, I'd even be willing to BUY the helmet for you! Just think about things a little bit-Genius.

Sorry, he just rode by again. I don't understand it. Total moron!

Let Me Introduce To You

2006-05-06T22:51:00.000-05:00

Hermie (if it's a girl she will be Hermione)

The "twins" BB and PP

Wet One

This is Wet One again

This is Pokey being covered by his siblings.

And here's Pokey.

Aren't they so cute! I love them so much. They still don't have their eyes open yet and they don't make any noise. They just lift their heads up and open their mouths. They are so cute and special. Hermie hatched on Thursday. The twins hatched Friday morning. Wet One hatched Friday afternoon. Pokey hatched this morning. They are my little bird babies. Robbie told me to take care of them before she left, "They ARE my nieces and nephews after all!" It was so funny. With how much I go on about them and look after them you would think they were my very own offspring!! :-)

HAPPY NSD!!!!!

2006-05-06T22:48:00.000-05:00

Today is National Scrapbooking Day. Seriously! I've been having fun doing challenges at 2 Peas all day long! This is my self-portrait entry. I don't know why it's all pixelly. This is my entry for my favorite smell. It's Paul's neck, especially behind his ears. I don't know why, it just smells comfortable to me! It's pixelly too! Sorry.

Dumpster Diving

2006-05-06T22:45:00.000-05:00

Robbie and I went dumpster diving on Thursday! We got a rolling cart, two cork boards, a desk lamp (with the bulb), two purses and a full bottle of laundry detergent. Gotta love the wastefulness of American college students! It's so sad, but we got some good stuff.

Concert Pictures

2006-05-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

Paul and I at the David Phelps concert!!

Paul and David Phelps-after the concert!(Paul looks small and pale :-))

Nothing

2006-05-02T21:18:00.000-05:00

I haven't really been feeling so hot all day. Not flu-like. Just a really bad headache. I got rid of my photoblog, since my free trial was almost over. I don't really want to pay for a site when I can post pictures here for free. Although I really like TypePad better than Blogger!

Paul is feeling perfectly normal again, so he went to work today. We're planning on going to Chicago on Saturday. I'm not sure if we will, since we really need to unpack. We aren't planning on doing anything except walk around anyway, so we could put it off until everything is done.

Here is my plan for tonight and tomorrow:
1. Take a shower before bed.
2. I would like to wait for Paul to fall asleep and then unpack some stuff, but I don't know if I'll have the energy.
3. Get out of bed early (hopefully at 5:30 or 6:00, I have a lot to do).
4. Get dressed in some clean clothes.
5. Brush my teeth.
6. Do my hair. I'm thinking of flipping it out or something cute like that.
7. Put makeup on. Yes, makeup.
8. Clear off the washer and dryer.
9. Start laundry. (This will go on until it's done-including bedding and the Red Wings blanket)
10. Bring the bookshelves in from the garage. Yes, I am going to do this all by myself unless Robbie is here. They aren't very heavy.
11. Unload all of the books onto the bookshelves.
12. Get everything that needs to be in the office/scraproom, in there-and organized.
13. Put the drawer into the entertainment center.
14. Clean out the drawer.
15. Organize DVDs into the drawer.
16. Hook up DVD player and surround sound.
17. Sort through VHS movies.
18. Organize/box VHS movies.
19. Clean the office/scraproom and living room.
20. Pick up the sticks from the yard.
21. Mow the lawn.
22. Clean out the cooler.
23. I'm not sure from here on out, but today my goal is to get at least half of the boxes all unloaded and put away where they belong. Well, not the boxes, but the things in the boxes.

And that's my plan. I'll be taking another shower tomorrow night as I'll be needing one to cool off and remove my sweat! The next day I'm going to do the same thing all over again. Minus the laundry and the lawn-which means even more boxes will get done! Whoo Hoo!

Turkey Hunting and a Concert

2006-05-01T22:21:00.000-05:00

Turkey hunting was great. We got to my Mom's house at about 2:30 Friday morning. Scott got me up at about a quarter to five. I didn't get much sleep, maybe twenty minutes. I just couldn't sleep!

The stars were just stunning as it was so clear out. No moon though, so it was really dark walking out in the woods. The tent worms were crazy in our spot. I went out four times. Two mornings and two evenings. We spooked a flock of turkeys at one point, but didn't see any besides that. We did hear some, but not many. There were signs of them everywhere-they just weren't appearing! So, I didn't get a turkey. The woods were beautiful though. Sitting really still was hard a couple of times. My legs were falling asleep, but I did pretty good! :-)

We left on Saturday night for Paul's mom's house. We got there at about 11:30 or 12:00, I can't really remember now. We went to Warrendale for church the next morning. It was nice to see everyone. The girls have all grown so much! And baby Joshua is now 4 months old. I'd only seen him when he was 3 days old. Everyone seemed happy to see us and I played the piano for the hymns for Tyrone. It was nice.

We went to dinner at Paul's dad's house and it was nice too. Then we went back to Paul's mom's house to visit with Matt, Karla and the girls. I love spending time with them!!!

At 5:45 we went to the David Phelps concert with Paul's mom. It was a really good concert. I enjoyed it. We got our CD signed, and I have a picture of Paul with David. I'll post it soon, I just haven't really had time to unload the car completely.

We decided to drive home after the concert. We got started at about 10:00 our time. So, we figured we'd get home at about 2:30AM. Paul had to be at work at noon the next day. Paul's had bad allergies and they were worse all weekend. Anyway, on the way home we had to stop on the side of the expressway so that Paul could puke. Needless to say, he has the flu. He's only thrown up twice (which is weird for him), but he's felt miserable all day. He's had a fever and the chills and just been achy.

To make it worse, today they were getting two trucks (instead of the usual one) to unload. So, he felt really bad. Then, they called (I'd called in for him) and said they got three trucks instead of two!! So, now he thinks that they think he's faking to get out of the hard day of work. Which they shouldn't because Paul is one of the hardest-working most dedicated people I know. And I'm not saying that from a biased opinion. He really wants to do his job right and do it completely. He doesn't punch out until everything is taken care of. (Something I might complain about occasionally, but really adore!)

He's sleeping now. He requested some Tylenol PM so that he could sleep and wake up feeling better. Hopefully he feels better tomorrow although I don't know if he'll be ready to go back to work. Sometimes when you're sick you need a day to recuperate from being sick. KWIM (Know What I Mean)?

Anyway, such is the life right now. Not much else going on. Trying to get Paul to drink is like pulling teeth, although he did eat half of a grilled cheese sandwich earlier. His request, not my choice! I'd better go wake him up and put him to bed! Oh! He also knows that the Wings are out-as I predicted. That knowledge didn't really help! :-p

Good night to you all. I'm beat and need some sleep!!

Before Pics

2006-04-27T13:50:00.000-05:00

Here are our before pics. Sorry for the wonky focus, I was trying to take them fast before we started painting. The after pics will be up asap. I cannot take them right now as our house is a disaster. I mean, I'm not waiting for it to be perfect, but you can't see the floor or walls for all of the boxes and crap everywhere. So, I'll try to get it all unpacked and unloaded and then you can get some good views of our house as we know it now! I'll also take some outdoor pics and the upstairs pics as well. Hope you like it. I know that we LOVE it so much.

This is our kitchen. Paul is standing in the bathroom doorway.

Another kitchen shot. See our oven/stove from the 50's. Seriously though, it is old. The dishwasher is nice.

This is our side door. The door you would come in. Yes, this is our utility room/sun room/mud room. Whatever you want to call it. There are three of those windows on the left, all in a row.
This is where our washer and dryer are now. I love the shelves above, so nice to hold all of our cleaning supplies and laundry stuff.
To the left is the entryway to the sun room. This is our kitchen/dining room.
More of our kitchen. The door at the end goes to the living room and stairway. The door with the cat-door goes to the basement.
Our bathroom.

Before Pics Cont.

2006-04-27T13:35:00.000-05:00

Our tiny bathroom. This is off of the kitchen. It's small, but seriously-how many people need to fit in at one time? AND- how long are you going to stay in there for? Remember, they used to just have one hole in the ground and nothing else!

This is the hallway going upstairs. It's between the kitchen and living room. We haven't done anything to this, so this is how it is now. The door at the top is to the only closet upstairs. Our "linen" closet. Our room is on the left, Robbie's on the right. Sorry, I don't have any pics of the upstairs yet.
This is the living room. The doorway on the left goes straight to the kitchen, and turns left to go upstairs.
Another shot of the living room. The windows are so nice to have, they bring in so much light!
There are only two windows. The white door is our front door-it goes out to our porch. The smaller door on the right goes into the little bedroom (our office/scraproom/homework room).
Again, the door goes to the little bedroom. This is the corner that our sectional is in now.
The small bedroom. I don't have many before pics. The wall on the right is the one straight ahead of you when you walk in.
My big closet space! There is morethan you can see, I'll take some pics next week with the "after" pics. This houses my scrap stuff, printer cart, card table and chairs.

House Pictures

2006-04-27T00:24:00.000-05:00

They are coming. I won't be able to post them until next week, but I'll get them on ASAP. Tomorrow we have to finish moving-I'm going to work on it while Paul's at work. And then we leave for Michigan for the weekend. I have tons of pictures to upload AND I'll be sure to take some more as soon as there aren't boxes everywhere.

The house looks like a tornado hit and instead of taking the house left boxes. We have about 15 boxes of varying sizes in our kitchen. Our kitchen is really large, but we don't have much showing right now! :-) We got a lot accomplished today. We brought six car-loads today and have about two tomorrow. I also have to clean up the apartment before we leave.

Paul and I were so tired. We just sort of curled up to watch a movie at 10:00 tonight. Now, of course, I can't sleep so I decided to blog a little!

My momma bird is still sitting on her nest. All of her eggs are still fine, I check them a couple of times a day. I swear, I'm like the godmother of those eggs. Am I crazy or what? I watch them so carefully. I'll even sit inside on a beautiful day just so she can sit on the eggs. I don't want them to get too cold. The way I go on about them, you would think they were my children. Birth is just such a cool thing. So glad to be able to witness it firsthand. I can't wait to watch the little birds grow and fly off on their own. And they will be beautiful. Just look up House Finch on Google and you can see that the males are so pretty. And the females aren't bad looking either.

So, I'm off to hunt my turkey this weekend. A huge old tom (hopefully two) will be biting the dust! HaHa! Roosted ain't roasted! Right Scott? I really am exited. I want to see if I can get a bigger one than Scott got! We'll have a Thanksgiving-style dinner for twenty-nine and a half with my turkey. Okay, whatever. I'm just slap-happy because it's getting late.

I guess I'd better get to sleep.

Happy Monday!

2006-04-24T11:27:00.001-05:00

The computer is fixed now, which is sooooo nice! I hate me some stinkin' viruses!

This weekend was really nice. Paul's mom came to help us get some more painting done. The bathroom is now painted and so is the little bedroom. I love them both!

I especially love the little bedroom. It is so bright and cheerful! Some people will probably think we're crazy for using such bright colors, but we love it. It's such a cool space for creating. I think that if you are using a space for creating that it needs to be different than "standard" wall colors. It's inspiring! Also, when you're doing homework and studying you need something to keep your stamina and spirits up. Paul's mom says that it's a happy room. I agree. It's a wonderful space! I can't wait until my desk and stool are finished and installed!

I unloaded all of my scrap stuff into the closet yesterday. I have to say that the shelves I'm using were made for scrappers. The cubby-holes are the perfect size for my 12x12 paper and albums! It's quite amazing. Eventually I'm going to paint the shelves to match the walls, but for now I'm trying to get boxes out of the kitchen.

Tonight Paul and I are going to try to move as much as possible from the apartment to the house! Hopefully, we can get the rest of it on Tuesday evening, but I don't know. We have to have it all done on Wednesday since we'll be gone this weekend. Paul has Wednesday off just in case we need to get it finished that day. Otherwise we'll unpack and probably play outside a little! :-)

One of the things on my life list is to visit all 50 of the United States. I've been going through all of my Backpacker magazines and logging day-hikes and canoe routes in a notebook. This way, when we are planning a vacation somewhere we can simply pull it out and pick what we want to do. I love the beauty that God gave us! Really, it's awesome!

One of my favorite vacations was when we drove to Seattle. We stopped at Yellowstone, drove through the Badlands and went to the ocean and the rain forest. So cool. Yellowstone is one of the most amazing places that I have been. The different things there are just crazy! Hot springs, geysers, and so many cool things.

I don't know. I guess I'm different than a lot of people (especially city-people). I love looking at leaves-standard leaves. And lately I've been pondering everything in my heart. Our river, for instance, looks like a "city" river. Not really beautiful, lots of buildings and bridges around. But I just think it is so amazinly beautiful! I love to sit on the porch and watch it flow. Especially when the sun is glinting off of it!

And I love the south. I know my brothers will be pulling their hair out as they read this, but I really do. We're not really that south, but things are different here. And I love it. I love the fields and the smells and the sunsets. I can't wait until our vacation to Missouri! I love the south. I really do!

Okay, why I got off on those tangents, I don't know! :-)

Anyway, if you haven't made a life-list you really should. My plan is to accomplish one thing every year beacuse it does no good to have a list if you're not going to do anything on it! A site that will help you make one and keep track of it is www.43things.com. It's really kind of cool.

Okay, enough for today I talked your ear off! Shalom!

I'm Baaaaack!

2006-04-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry to be gone so long. Our computer had some viruses that needed to be removed. Anywhoo, I'm back and I'll be doing my regular posting and uploading pics to my photoblog tomorrow!

Watering my plants

2006-04-18T11:26:00.000-05:00

I went to water my hanging basket plant and this is what I found. I checked just to make sure, since the birds love to be in the flowers. I can't catch a good view of the bird, so I'm not sure what kind they are. They're really small, like 1/2 inch or a little smaller even. I looked up sparrow eggs, but they don't really look like them. They aren't as spotted. They are white with a few black specks. I'm on a vigil to catch an image of the bird. I love it because I get to watch them when they're babies. I'll be sure to share more pictures. There's a closer picture on my photoblog today as well. Not much else happening here! Please let me know if you know what kind of bird laid them.

Happy Easter!

2006-04-17T13:47:00.000-05:00

We had a really nice weekend in Michigan.

We left at about six on Thursday evening. Sat in traffic on I-80 for an hour and a half or so, then got cruisin'. We arrived at Paul's mom's house at about 12:00 our time (1:00 her time), or something like that.

Friday we went to visit Matt, Karla, and the girls. They are getting so big. Paul was so excited to see them-I have to say that I think he misses Katelyn the most. He loves to play with her, and will ask if she'll remember him quite often. We had dinner all together at Paul's mom's house, which was wonderful and delicious.

On Saturday we visited Paul's grandpa, uncles, and cousin. It was nice to be able to see them again. Then we went to lunch at LaShish! Whoo Hoo! I got some Shwarmas, which I have been craving for awhile now. Paul got me some to go too! Then we headed to my parent's house. We had pizza and just hung out.

On Sunday we went to church with my mom. The service was nice. After that we had dinner which was just great! Robbie, Paul and I played frisbee. E-Quay tried to join in whenever she could. She was so worn out from following the frisbee from person to person! It was so funny to watch her. We played Aggravation and Sequence and went for a walk on a portion of the North Country Trail (goes from NY to N Dakota and runs right past my parent's house!). We stayed the night again and got up at eight (ET) this morning.

We left at about 8, I guess a little after. We took a new way home and I loved it so much better. 1. It's more scenic.
2. You miss the construction on I-80.
3. No tolls to pay.

It was nice. Now I'm really tired and would like to sleep, but I want to be able to sleep tonight. Paul went in to work at 1 and will be home at about 9:30 or so tonight.

It was a good Easter weekend. And now we have to get back to work on the house and moving and all!

Hot Hot Hot

2006-04-13T17:10:00.000-05:00

It is currently 84 degrees out. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 85 (of course, when we're gone). Oh well. It's all good. Welcome warm weather. Sorry to you all in MI who are getting colder weather on Sunday and next week!

From our Front Porch

2006-04-12T11:36:00.000-05:00

Last night, when Robbie got home from the apartment, she said that she saw a racoon go down into the sewer in front of our house. Me, being the wildlife lover that I am, decided to plant myself on the porch with my camera to catch them coming out. After a bit of time (45 minutes or so) I figured they weren't coming out. So, I put my camera back inside and Paul sat out on the porch with me.
Not long after we were out there Paul says to me, "What's that?"
I turned my head and said, "What?"
"It looks like a dog."
"That's not a dog. That's a coyote!"
Sure enough, standing right under the streetlight on our corner was a large coyote. Looking at us. Stupid me didn't have the camera, but Paul went to get it. As soon as he moved the coyote ran up the road like lightning.
We missed it. Several minutes later a head poked out of the sewer drain. A large racoon came squeezing out of it. Soon another one, a little smaller than the first, followed. The second one was such a scaredy cat. He would go back down at every little sound. It was so funny to watch them. They came in and out and wandering, over and over, for a half an hour or so. Then the first one wandered down three houses. Something must have scared him good because he was just a blur of motion as he raced back down the sewer. And they didn't come back up after that.
We made some popcorn to enjoy our "show"-hoping the coons would come back out and entertain us. We had just finished it and were taking our trash inside when I caught a big rat-looking thing up the road a few houses. Yes, the rat-thing was an opossum. They are some of the ugliest creatures that I have ever seen. And nasty mean too! It was a huge opossum. I don't know whether it's because of the weather or the corn, but the coons and opossums were the biggest I've seen in a while.
Then we went for a walk, hoping to catch a glimpse of the coyote again. We walked up to the dead end, walked the alley back and then crossed the highway to the river. It was so beautiful and warm last night, that we wished we had a blanket to just sit down there. We saw some geese and walked along the sandy bank.
We got back really late, but it was the best evening and time that I've had with Paul in a long time. It was wonderful. And God brought some awesome animals for us to watch. You can guarantee that we'll be out there again tonight if it isn't storming!
Having no tv has more benefits than I could've ever imagined!

I'll post pictures of our little coons later!

I Can Go Barefoot!

2006-04-10T13:49:00.000-05:00

It is so beautiful out today I can't even describe it. Okay, so I can. It is 67 right now and as clear as can be. The sun is shining with all of its might and the robins (among other birds) are hopping and chirping all over the place. It must be spring break around here because all of the kids are out playing. It's breezy, but not a cold wind at all. It is so amazing. Yes, I am sitting on the porch. I see a bunch of people walking in the park on the other side of the river. What a glorious day! It really is.

We moved in our big stuff today. I have to say that Paul worked his butt off. It was just he and myself and he rocked! We got it all in before he had to be at work (he was a few minutes late)! Now we just have to get it where it belongs (we couldn't do this without making Paul really late). It is so nice to have almost everything over here. We can actually sleep in our own bed tonight and Robbie can actually sleep in her room (in her bed)! The air mattress is really comfy, but nothing beats your own bed. Except maybe your sleeping bag in a tent on a beautiful warmish night of camping in the beauty of nature. I mean that.

I can't wait until Canada this year, or Missouri for that matter. We're really looking forward to having some time away to relax and enjoy each other for a little while. Plus, Silver Dollar City is one of my most favorite places in the world, so of course that's a plus!

Saturday we up and decided that we were going to Schaumburg, IL. What's in Schaumburg you may ask? Well, lots of things. But the reason we were going was to visit Ikea. We got some light fixtures and I spent the last of my birthday money on a scrapbooking table. It's really cool. It mounts to the wall and then you can fold it down against the wall when you need to. We're going to mount it high so I can stand or sit on my stool (Paul got it for me from Ikea for $15.00)! Paul said we can't come to Ikea very often because he has a shopping problem there. Isn't that amazing? Mr. I Hate Shopping, Why are you Dragging Me Here actually loved Ikea! So funny. It's a long way away anyway, but when you need good, cool furniture it's the place to go for a bargain! We ate at the Rainforest Cafe (which totally isn't worth the money), but we had a couple of credit-like gift cards to use, so it didn't cost us much. It was a fun day! We all loved it.

Our plans are to be moved in by Easter, but I don't know if that will happen. We'll see. I know that it can-it will just take a lot of work. When we are all settled and everything is painted and where it needs to be-I think we need to reward ourselves. We have worked hard on this house and I think it is looking amazing.

Oh! I have some very big news to share with everyone! Brace yourselves.

No, I'm not pregnant. Did you think I'd post that on my blog? And that may never happen anyway. No, the news is that we have dandelions! Which, according to my mom, means that I can now go barefoot! Whoo Hoo! Barefoot! Of course, I'll go barefoot anytime, but it's officially barefoot season! Now if it would just hit 80 degrees, it would be swimming weather!

Look how the sun in shining!

2006-04-08T12:25:00.000-05:00

It is beautiful, albeit chilly, outside today! Paul and I had our pictures taken and they turned out really nice! I was really worried because I hate pictures of myself, but it was all for naught.

I don't know what we're doing today. On Monday we are going to do the last of our moving! We have a truck reserved for us and everything. I can hardly wait!

BTW I watched all of the special features on the Chronicles of Naria Disc 2, and it was awesome! I love that movie. Now I just need to read the books again. Some of my favorite memories are of my mom reading those to us as we all laid around the living room.

That's all folks!

Thunderstorms?

2006-04-07T10:21:00.000-05:00

It did not thunderstorm last night. It sprinkled a little, but no storms. When we went to bed it was warmer than it had been all day. And, it was supposed to thunderstorm with a high of 59 today. Um, it's 10AM and sunny-really sunny and 67 degrees already. Crazy! Today is going to be a beautiful day. I couldn't sleep last night-I was too hot. Once the window was open I slept really well.

Paul worked until 8PM last night. It's been crazy late lately, so hopefully tonight is different.

I'm about to watch the Chronicles of Narnia. Whoo Hoo! I'm actually going to watch the "Narnia Fun Facts" version. It's like Pop Up Videos (where facts pop up onto the screen), but with facts about CS Lewis, the movie, Narnia-things like that. I started to watch them last night (as I was falling asleep) and some of them go so fast you cannot humanly read them without the trusty pause button. Yes, we have the two-disc Collector's Edition. Yes I'm going to look at every single one of the special features.

I'm sad beacause I guess they have a wardrobe that belonged to CS Lewis at Wheaton. (Above it hangs a sign that reads, "Enter at your own risk"!) We were there, but I had no idea. So now, we're going to have to stop by when we're in that area.

Ah well, good stuff. Good stuff. Not much else going on here. We're both excited to be in MI next weekend, so it will be all good.

Bwaahaahaa!

2006-04-06T14:42:00.000-05:00

Last night we watched Legally Blonde. After the movie was over Paul was showing us his bend and snap! It was hilARious! Really. Paul got off of work really late last night (got home at 7:30pm), so we weren't going to get anything from the apartment. We did go and loaded up our car. Robbie got some of her stuff, we got everything from the bathroom (Whoo-hoo! One room done!) and the linen closet (Whoo-hoo! One closet of five done!). We also got a laundry basket of dirty whites and a couple of other things. Today we're going to go and grab some more stuff! I'm so excited to be all moved in. I can't wait!

Paul and I are getting our pictures taken at Sears on Saturday. Yes, it's a little bit of a splurge. However, we haven't ever had our pictures done (except by David at our wedding). Next year I'm hoping to get them done really specially. Like engagement pictures. They're just so expensive, but that's what we would really like done.

I've been using the new Listerine teeth whitening stuff before I brush and I have to say it's already working. And I LOVE it. I'm also going to be using Crest White Strips as well. I'll probably start them tomorrow morning, or maybe tonight.

A big thank-you to Heather. She e-mailed me the location of some slammin' root beer here in Illinois. You can't get it around Detroit. And you can't get it around Lowell. Scott can get it near Cadillac. And now we can get it in Oswego. I know it's one and a half hours away from us, but I have to say it is worth the drive. We'll stock up! Can you say I've found my reward! I'm going to reward myself for working out and eating right. I know, like Root beer is healthy, but you don't understand! Unless you've had it before!

Ah well, I guess I should do something productive with my day. So long, fare thee well, pip-pip, cheerio, I'll be back soon!