Six Word Saturday

From "The One-Minute Writer"--Describe your life in six words:

Day off, enjoying my alone time.



Have a great Saturday.

Little Changes

This weekend has been a fun one. Whenever I have the opportunity to buy stuff to decorate the house, I take advantage of it. I received a hefty payout for my sales performance last quarter at work, so Chris and I talked about using a portion of that to buy bedding and decor for our guest bedroom. As you can imagine, I was thrilled to be able to do this. I have been wanting to decorate that room since we moved in, but decorating the rest of the house took priority over the guest bedroom. On Saturday, I went shopping with my dear friend Sharai (who also found some great finds for her new house). I ended up getting a sweet quilt that was brown, cream, and red, some delicious red sheets to match, chocolate brown curtains, and a few wall hangings for the guest room. The only drawback was that I accidentally bought the twin-sized quilt, and when I went back today to return it, they didn't have the full-sized one. I thought I could just order it online, but no luck there either. So my search continues for a comforter (I would love a quilt) that is red and brown to tie the whole room together. Next on my list is paint. :)

Take a look at my cute finds so far.

Chocolate Curtains


Darling Wall Hangings




Lastly, for our wedding, a close friend of the family gave me and Chris a dresser, mirror, and chest of drawers for our master bedroom. It was a huge blessing at the time because we couldn't fathom paying for our wedding, our new house, and everything to make our house a home along with new bedroom furniture. So we have used that furniture in our master since we've gotten married. When I came home from my successful shopping day, I was showing Chris all the great stuff I found and was asking him if he thought I should buy some basic furniture for the guest room. He told me that he thought it was a good idea for us to move the furniture we have into the guest room, and buy brand new furniture for our master. I am super thrilled about that. I love that we have been able to decorate our house little by little. Anyway, that is what is going on right now. I will definitely keep ya'll updated on our guest bedroom.

Potato Soup

Today a cold front came in. It was humid all day long until about 4:30. On my way home, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees! When I got home around 6:00pm, Chris had every window open in our whole house. He loves cold weather and celebrates it! lol In honor of the cold weather, I decided to make potato soup. I haven't made it since our first summer together (which was cool enough to make it, because it rained everyday that summer. It was such a romantic summer, and perfect for us to learn each other...but that is another story ;)). Anyway, I found a great recipe, and it was delish!

1-1/2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Approximately 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced in thin chunks
2 to 2-1/2 cups water
2 cups milk
Extra butter and freshly ground pepper

1) In a 3-quart pot, stew the onion in butter until soft. Don't brown it, just let it soften while you peel and slice the potatoes.

2) Add the salt, potatoes, and water to barely cover the potatoes. Let the soup simmer until the potatoes are just about done, 15 or 20 minutes.

3) Stir in the milk and simmer until the potatoes are really tender, another 15 minutes or so. (Don't' worry about breaking the potatoes as you stir. In fact you want them to break so they dissolve and thicken the soup.)

4) Season with salt and ladle into bowls.

***I also seasoned with garlic and freshly ground black pepper. I topped with (real) bacon crumbles and sprinkled some shredded cheese on top. My hubby also included a dollop of sour cream.

I

Lazy fun weekend.

I have had such a blissful weekend. I was blessed to have the day off on Saturday and did lots of fun things! Saturday morning, I woke up early and Mom, Mariah, and I went to get our hair cuts. I love the girl who does my hair--she is amazing--and I wanted to give Mom and Mariah an opportunity for her to cut their hair. So we all got our hair cut and we all LOVE our new dos. After that, we all stopped at Starbucks for some yummy fall lattes. Mom and I had pumpkin spice lattes (with soy milk), while Mariah had a white chocolate mocha something. After getting our drinks, we moseyed around a nearby Bath and Body Works. We had such a pleasant morning together and it made me realize that we need to start spending time like that more often.

After my special morning, I went back home and relaxed. I won't lie, I am a really chill person and I love laying around the house. This weekend was really rainy and chilly, so it gave me an excuse to cuddle up on the sofa and watch tv. Chris got home a little later that afternoon, and we decided that we wanted Subway for dinner. So we picked up our sandwiches and went home for our scary movie-a-thon....which ended up being two movies...really one and a half for me! ;)

Oh...on a side note, Chris and I went to the movies on Friday night and saw 'Couples Retreat'. It was freakin' hilarious!!!! We laughed the whole time! Now Chris will randomly walk by me and slap my bum and say "Encouragement". HAHAHAHA Go watch it! Its great!

So to top this weekend off, Chris and I went to church this morning and it was great! We love the church we are currently going to and are really blessed to be a part of it in this chapter of our lives. We don't know what God has for us in our future, but we are really trying to seek him and let him guide us....and right now, we feel like we are in the right place.

Tall Glass of Water

I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that Chris and I are trying to make a lifestyle change and become more health-conscious. Well, we are on week 2 and going strong. I have found that I can still enjoy the foods I love but in moderation and through the process of elimination. Chris and I ate at a burger joint this weekend and we substituted the burgers for grilled chicken sandwiches and shared fries. I know that's not a complete 180 but it is definitely better than us both eating cheeseburgers and fries of our own. We have also been drinking what seems like 46 gallons of water a day!! It's fantastic; this morning I poured myself a glass of apple juice and after the first sip, I decided that I'd trade my super-sweet (but 100%) juice in for a tall glass of water!

Tonight Chris prepared dinner (a salad, baked chicken, broccoli, and corn), we did yard work, and then went for a suuuuuper long walk. One bonus to this lifestyle change is that we spend sooooo much more quality time together. I am loving it!!! We are able to talk to each other and just spend time with each other without any distractions.

Now I am off to shower! I am all sweaty from our [brisk] walk.

Ta Ta!

"Ohhh Sweet Wind, Come and Blow Over Me.."

Chris and I started going to a new church that our close friends--James and Tara--go to. We also found out through attending, that some of our other friends go there too. Soooo far, we love it. The worship is so great, and they really allow (well, that's not exactly the right word for it) the spirit to move throughout the service. At some other churches we have visited, it seems that structure overpowers the spirit (don't get me wrong, I do think church needs some structure) and I have felt that the spirit was stifled because church needed to end at EXACTLY noon--not a moment later. Chris and I are still praying about where God wants us to be serving, but since He hasn't told us to move one way or the other, we are really enjoying being still here. It's also really nice to be attending a church where we have a deeper relationship with some people in the congregation (ie, Tara and James, Greg, Kasie and Jimmy).

That is my little update for the night. I am soooo excited to see how the Lord moves and reveals the next step into our spiritual life. Now I am off to read I Peter before I get my beauty rest.

I hope everyone has a great week!


Oh, one more thing, the title of this blog is a song that I learned at summer camp many many many years ago about the Holy Spirit that popped (I totally spelled 'pooped' the first time) into my head as I was writing this blog. ;)

Dinner for Two

Chris and I have great news!!! We are going to Dallas in a week and a half to visit Megan, Josh, Jocey, and Rora!!!! I am sooooooo excited! I haven't seen Megan in OVER a year, and before that, I hadn't seen her since my wedding! We made our reservations and are ready to go! We'll be up there from Sunday the 19th to Tuesday the 21st. I can't wait.

In other news, Chris's mom came over on Monday night while he and I were out getting his haircut. When we drove up to our house, her car was in the driveway. I was confused. I asked Chris what she was doing here, and he gave me no answer....he says I ask too many questions. I do. I asked again. He said that I needed to just "go with the flow". That's totally not my nature. I am VERY inquisitive about EVERYTHING. Anyway, by this time, we walked in the house, and she was cooking something. I asked her what she was cooking for and she replied, " I never was able to have a birthday dinner for you (which is a family thing she does for everyone in the family), nor did I do anything for your anniversary." So she was making us dinner for that evening. She asked Chris and I too take a seat in our bedroom (we have a very large bedroom with a sitting area) where she had set up a table covered in a beautiful table cloth and candles and two chairs. We sat at the table that was already set with her beautiful place setting, while she poured us some wine, and brought out a yummy salad for each of us. After we ate the salad, she brought out a huge lobster for each of us, rice, and broccoli. Everything tasted wonderful!!!! That wasn't even the end of it. She made dessert too....of course, and it was my favorite: tiramisu!!!! We were stuffed by the end of it! After she took our dessert plates, she washed the dishes, packed her stuff, and went home. It was great to have the fancy restaurant come to us! What a nice change of pace. After that, we continued on with our romantic evening...but I'm sure you aren't interested in details! ;]

I'll keep everyone updated on our vacay!

My Wolverine :)

Nikki recently created an email account for her eldest son Everett. She encouraged all her friends and family to email him so he could learn how to use it. Knowing how much Everett loves XMEN right now, Chris and I wanted to send him something along that theme. We decided to recreate Wolverine--my Wolverine. I think he did pretty good! :)

Anniversary Adventure

Chris and I celebrated our two-year anniversary on Tuesday. We really only spent about fifteen minutes together that day! We both had to work and had separate plans scheduled for that evening, so we decided to celebrate our anniversary over the weekend. Chris and I both took the day off on Friday, and he surprised me with a trip out to Enchanted Rock in/past Fredericksburg!!! We stopped by Jamba Juice for breakfast smoothies, and then headed on our little adventure to Enchanted Rock! We spent the afternoon hiking and climbing and sweating and talking! It was soooo much fun! Hiking is one of our favorite things to do together, and is so special for us. Some couples love getting all fancied up [which we enjoy on occasion], but hiking is more our thing. After we hiked four or five miles, we were super hungry!! We stopped off at a little burger joint we have been wanting to try for some time. I guess our style is a little more casual. :) We had a really great time together reflecting on our first two years of marriage. It has truly been bliss!

Enchanted Rock at a distance.


Mexican Hats decorated our path.


Chris on the path with Enchanted Rock in front of him.


Chris pointed out a cactus heart...covered in bugs!


Nice view!

Mustard??? Yeah, Mustard!

Tonight I made Megan's famous "Butter Chicken". This is a recipe that my dear friend Megan shared with me. It was my second time making it, and WE LOVE IT!!!! We also had brown rice, and sugar snap peas. Yummo! I could talk about food all day. I love cooking (and I am learning to be more adventurous). One of my favorite things to do is have (or go to) dinner parties. Chris and I are trying to host one dinner party a month. We had one last month with a couple from church. We had Italian night, and it was great! It was a fantastic way to get to know the other couple better, and eat yummy food at the same time. If anyone is interested in coming to a dinner party at our home, please let us know! We'd love to have you over!

Going along with the food theme, I thought I would post a few pictures from our weekend. Chris and I went to Port Aransas with my family Sunday. Chris, Mariah, and I were taking some goofy pictures on these parking post things, and when Mariah stepped off one of them, she stepped on a bee and it stung her foot. Like the responsible, knowledgeable big sister I am, I immediatley told her to rub mustard on it!! Ha ha ha! I'm not sure if it worked but she stopped crying! HA HA HA HA

Enjoy!

Lots of Surprises!

This has been an incredible week, and its not even over yet! Yesterday my hubby surprised me at work (via Nikki and my godsons) with a huge bouquet of white and red roses! I was super excited! I had them on my desk all day and enjoyed the sweet remarks and evil eyes of my coworkers! HA HA!

I came home after work, and tidied up around the house until Chris came home. He had asked me to make dinner, but I wasn't feeling really creative so I just moseyed around the kitchen until he decided what HE wanted for dinner. He suggested pancakes, bacon, and eggs to my surprise!! (Side Note: I love breakfast for dinner and pancakes are my FAVORITE food. Chris thinks its weird to eat breakfast foods any other time than morning [unless we are at IHOP], so when he suggested this, I was up and ready to start cooking!) I started preparing the pancake batter and thought cinnamon would be super yummy in them, and also substituted Soy milk for regular milk. Most of you know that I don't drink regular milk that often because it hurts my stomach, so I drink soy instead...and I think it tastes better. ANYWAY, I didn't know how the pancakes would turn out with the soy milk, but they were glorious!!!

So when dinner was ready, Chris asked me if I wanted to watch a movie. I didn't really want to because I was watching "Bridgett's Sexiest Beaches" (which I LOVE), but he proceeded to put a dvd in anyway. I didn't know what movie he put in, I just patiently sat waiting to see what it was. When I did finally realize what it was, I teared up. It was our wedding video!!! My uncle filmed our wedding, but we just had never taken the time to convert it to a dvd, and when we did show interest in doing it over a year ago, we had some technical difficulties with the sound and picture. I just forgot about it, but I guess Chris had been working on it for awhile. He had a former coworker fix it and edit it. It was a beautiful thing to watch together. Chris and I both teared up a few times, and laughed like crazy too. I told him I will probably watch it EVERYDAY for the next few months! HA HA HA. I would love to share it with anyone who wants to come over and watch it!

SO right now I am waiting for Nikki and the boys to come over so we can have a picnic by the lighthouse. I have a bottle of wine, and some fancy cheeses, and some crackers and I am really excited to spend some time with them. Tonight, I am going to the KENNY CHESNEY concert with Mariah!!!!! YAY!! Mariah called me a few nights ago and asked me what I was doing on Friday (today) and I told her about the picnic, and said I didn't have any other plans after that. She then asked me if I wanted to go to the Kenny concert, which I have been wanting to go to for the last few months...of course I said yes!! So that is what we will be doing tonight! I can't wait!

I need to get ready for the picnic now! I will definitely update ya'll on the concert and the rest of my birthday weekend!

I work so hard

A coworker of mine took this picture of me the other day at work. My bestie Nikki gave me some 3D glasses, and I found them in my purse yesterday and was just playing around. Enjoy :D

Have a Wacky Wednesday!!

Faith

Last night Chris came home and told me that he wanted to talk to me about some things. Naturally I thought I was in trouble for not 'calling so-and-so' or 'forgetting to do such-and-such'. I am the biggest procrastinator AND for some reason, it is hard for me to get the motivation to do ANYTHING unless it seems important to me at the time. It is definitely something I need to work on, but this time I was off the hook. This was something serious though.

Chris basically told me he was not going to be working with the school he is employed with right now next year. He has had a lot of issues with this organization and a few of his employers this year. I'm not going to go into great detail about it all, but he has had a road block in the form of his principal ALL year. She is the most unpleasant woman! She is on a feminist power trip and challenges a lot of the men in the organization, Chris especially, and is not making some very integral decisions.

Anyway, the point is that Chris will not be working there next year, and he does not have a job lined up in its place. He has some options that he is looking into, and we will be more than okay if he has to go without a job for a few months because of our investments, but the unknown is kind of unsettling. Well, last night as Chris and I were laying in bed, I felt God soo strongly tell me to pray for Chris. **A little side note--I am very self-conscious about praying out loud, EVEN in front of my husband...I just feel like I sound stupid, and that my prayers are really basic. I know, I know, I really need to work on that. As I was laying next to Chris, I was battling God in my head. I didn't want to make myself vulnerable. Finally, I said (in my head, of course), "God, I'm not going to be selfish. Who am I to keep your word from Chris. If he needs to hear this, use me." I held Chris in my arms and I prayed. It wasn't a long prayer, nor was it an eloquent one. I thanked God for his love and his blessings. I told him that Chris and I aren't afraid of what is gonna happen in our future, and that we know that HE is our provider, not our employers. I thanked him for always meeting our needs. That was it. With that one small prayer, everything felt so much better. I felt more confident about our future, and I think Chris felt more at peace.

Yay for listening to God and being proactive. God, you rock.

Little Update

WOW this has been a busy couple of weeks! I finally have a day of and all to myself today! YAY! I have been sitting on my couch cuddled up in a fluffy blanket all day, drinking pink lemonade and watching trash tv. I have been sooooo exhausted for a while now because of work, keeping up the house and other commitments, and haven't really had time to recharge. Last night I fell asleep at 9:30pm, and I didn't wake up until 9:30 THIS MORNING!!! I can'e believe I slept 12 hours. Needless to say, I feel great today.

Since I last blogged, my godson, Caedmon, had his first birthday, Chris and I spent a blissful day at the Botanical Gardens, and we had a wonderful Easter celebration at my sweet grandma's house with lots of family.

Here are a few pictures from Chris and my little botanical adventure.













Have a Terrific Thursday!

Thirsty Thursday

This is a countdown of a few of my favorite beverages to date.

5. Apple Juice
4. Sweet Leaf Tea: Half and Half
3. HEB's Organic Original Soy Milk
2. Jamba Juice's Banana Berry Smoothie
1. Sonic's Sweet Tea

I have such a thirsty mouth and am ALWAYS drinking something. These are some of my favorite things to drink right now(besides water, of course).

Have a great evening and drink something yummy!

Sunday Picnic

Today Chris and I slept in instead of going to church. We had a pretty busy week, and had some friends staying with us for a few days. I woke up at about 11am to my husband sneaking back into bed behind me, holding me tight, and kissing the back of my head and my shoulders. He asked if everything was okay, and if I was feeling alright. I think lazy mornings are my favorite pastimes with Chris. We don't get those very often because of our busy work schedules; so when we actually do, I really cherish them. Around 2 o'clock, Chris and I went for a stroll in the neighborhood and talked, and enjoyed the beautiful sunlight. There is definitely something to be said for sunlight affecting a person's mood. I would like to think that I am a pretty happy person, but just being in the sunlight was intoxicating, and made me feel GREAT! Shortly after our walk, Shelly (my sister in law) and her friend Laura met up at our house, and we all piled up in my car for a day trip to Austin. Chris's older sister and her hubby had a picnic at their house to announce their baby news to all of their friends and family. About 30 people showed up. Roger and Kristi made some homemade fried chicken, and sides, and about 4 pies. Needless to say, we ate really well!!! It was a perfect day in their backyard.

Side Note: Chris and I saw "The Knowing" with some friends on Friday and it was PHENOMENAL!!!!!! It was a great plot, with some interesting camera angles and very artistic elements. The movie itself was very spiritual in that it would touch you in some way no matter what you believe about life and the after-life. It is definitely a must-see.

Love Love Love

Just taking a stroll down memory lane. What a great journey this has been. :)

The Motions

Today on my way home from work I was listening to K-Love (which I have a love hate relationship with). Usually I am not interested in a lot of the songs they play. I am not a big pop music fan in general, and when I hear Christian pop music, I want to tear my hair out. Anyway, I heard a new song by Matt Redman called "The Motions" and WOW! This song explains how I want to live my life in about three minutes. I never want to get caught up in motioning through my life, particularly my relationship with God. I want to always have a consuming desire for Christ and never forget how desperately I need him. I wrote the lyrics down below. Read them, listen to the song, and pick out what you need.



This might hurt
It’s not safe
But I know that I’ve gotta make a change
I don’t care
If I break
At least I’ll be feeling something
‘Cause just ok
Is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything?
Instead of going through the motions

No regrets
Not this time
I’m gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love
Make me whole
I think I’m finally feeling something

Take me all the way
Take me all the way
Take me all the way

My day off.

I had the day off from work today and I enjoyed every (well, almost every) moment of it. Last night I thought to myself, "Oooo, its my day off tomorrow, I wanna sleep in until 10am.." So much for that: I woke up at 8:30, then 9:00...and laid in bed until 10am. I got up, showered, and then went to the pharmacy to pick up my Nuvaring. At noon, I met my sister-in-law, Shelly, for lunch at Chili's. They have this fantastic lunch special called "The Express Lunch" or something like that. It consists of all-you-can-eat chips and salsa, soup, and salad. It was soooo yummy. After that, Shel and I decided to get the choco-chip paradise thing...super yummy. I had SUCH a good time with her. We really haven't spent much time together since before she moved back to town(which was almost a year ago!!). I love being with her. She makes my heart happy.

After lunch, I went up to the mall (ha...I was about to spell my name) and shopped around a bit. I bought some cute gold sandals and a sexy secretary black collared-shirt (not to be worn together). I would have shopped longer, but the cute red heels I was wearing were hurting my baby toes. Lol. After leaving the mall, I went over to Nikki's house to work out....that was fun! We talked about all the upcoming birthdays.

I got home a little later and then Chris and I made a cobb salad for dinner. Today would have been perfect if it wasn't for the constant power struggle between Chris's mom and sister that they insist Chris be in the middle of. Honestly...they ask him to "mediate" and then get angry with him when he gives them level-headed unbiased answers. Anyway, just say a little prayer because there are going to be a lot of changes in the next coming weeks.

Side Note: Chris's oldest sister, Kristi (who is not involved in the family drama) is pregnant! Yay!!!!

My Mini-Vacay.

This week, I took off Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from work for Spring Break. On Monday Chris and I went to the movies and say "Taken" which was a GREAT movie. Chris and I really enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you go out and watch it. On Tuesday, Chris and I drove up to Fredericksburg. Chris and I have been there a few times together, and everytime we go, we always have soooo much fun!

About five years ago, Matt, Mariah, my dad, and I went up to Fredericksburg and found this little place called Wildseed Farms. They have fields and fields of wildflowers, herbs, and trees. You can even purchase a pail and some clippers, and clip as many wildflowers that will fit in your pail and take them home with you. That day was so special to me that I wanted to relive it with Chris. Tuesday was really dreary, but we decided to make the trip anyway. We had a great drive up there: talking, singing, dreaming, and laughing together. Despite the lack of sunshine, it was a very scenic drive. When we got to the farm, we walked around looking at different kinds of plants and flowers, and played "Guess that herb" (we would rub the leaves and make each other smell them, and guess what they were...don't judge; it was fun!!). They whole time we were intoxicated by the smell of the mountain laurels (which is the kind of tree we planted in our yard on V-Day). They smelled glorious!! As far as the fields and fields of wildflowers, we were two weeks to early to experience their full splendor, but that was okay, we still walked through the fields. After a couple hours, it started to drizzle so we decided it was a good time to leave. We stopped off in Boerne to have a late lunch, and then went to Mom and Rex's for some family time.

Today Chris and I had a lazy day. We held the sofa hostage and watched some movies. I made pigs in a blanket, and we didn't get up to do anything until about six o'clock.

This has been a fantastic mini-vacay, and I'm kind of sad that I have to go back to work tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from Tuesday: ENJOY!

Cuhh-razy!

This is soooooo ridiculous! This woman owned a chimpanzee (the one from the Old Navy commercial), and had lived with him for years with out any problems. In fact, she ate dinner with him, drank wine with him, bathed with him, and even slept with him. Some say that she was even intimate with him...ANYWAY, one day last week he went crazy and attacked her best friend. The friend did survive the attack, but has NO FACE. Travis ripped it off! She is in critical condition, but may not survive. Travis was shot and killed by police.

I'm Off.

I'm off from work today and I don't know what to do with myself! So far I washed dishes, and ate last night's leftover Olive Garden for lunch. Right now I am hooked on the "Women Behind Bars" marathon. Later on today I will be doing Tae Bo. I love days off from work!

Not Your Average V-Day

Happy Belated Valentine's Day everyone!!! This week has been a pretty crazy one. From Chris and my outrageously busy work schedules, our recreational commitments, Chris' last minute trip to Austin, and Valentine's weekend, it's been hard to just get an hour of relaxation. As some of ya'll know, Chris' dad is going through chemotherapy right now. He is the hardest working man I have ever met. He is always moving around, building something, or tearing something apart. Well, since he has been on chemo, he has become significantly immobile. Chris has been pretty strong during it all, but Thursday night broke down. He went up to Austin (where his dad is being treated) on a last minute decision to visit him. His dad was having a surgery to insert a feeding tube, and Chris' sister told him that he had been pretty down lately. So Chris went up there, and spent some time with him. His dad isn't in dying condition, but is no where near his normal self.

That night was particularly hard on me. This may sound selfish, but whatever. I have never spent the night alone in our house, and going to sleep without Chris next to me was soooo hard. I talked to Chris on the phone, I talked to my mom, and even tried to get Matthew to come spend the night with me just so I wouldn't be alone. I eventually had to just suck it up and fall asleep. Well, around 3am, I heard a noise which startled me awake. It sounded like someone breathing. I was facing the door and looked around and didn't see anything. I turned around to look at the alarm clock, and saw Chris laying next to me. I didn't believe my eyes. I thought I was still dreaming, so I reached out my hand to touch him. He felt real. I was sooo confused and couldn't understand why he was in our bed, so I just fell back asleep. The next day, he told me that he realized that he needed to be home with me, so he drove back. That was really special.

Friday night Chris and I went to Zio's for dinner and we had SUCH a great time. He had the never-ending pasta bowl, and I had crispy shrimp scampi (which is VERY hard to say quickly lol). We had great conversation too, which reminded me of why we fell for each other in the first place--we are such good friends. We talked about our past relationships and how we grew from them, and how/when we knew that we wanted to marry each other. It was the sweetest thing.

Saturday, Chris had to work. He accepted a position at the bowling alley on the weekends as the director of the youth bowling league. He is already in charge of a league on Monday nights, and really has a heart for youth as well, so when this position was offered to him, he jumped at it. It's just another hobby he enjoys--Lord knows he's not doing it for the money.

Anyway, while he worked, I was able to sleep in a couple hours. When I woke up, I cleaned our WHOLE house!!! Ahhh! It took me until 3:30!!! Chris came home a little while later and we planted my Valentine's Day present from him! He bought me a Mountain Laurel tree!!! Mountain Laurels are my favorite trees because their purple blooms have the sweetest smell in the world. So we spent all afternoon and part of the evening planting that thing! It was definitely not your typical Valentine's Day. After that we made dinner together. We had steak, scallops, baked potatoes, veggies, and some great wine. Later on, I gave Chris my gift to him, but I can't really give any details on that. Lets just say that it got pretty steamy in the Shaw house last night! ;]

Here are some pictures of our first tree! Disregard my very tired appearance!

Girls' Night

Last Night was Girls' Night! Nikki, Sharai, Megan and I went to BJ's for the evening! We had sooooo much fun and ate some yummy food. BJ's happens to be one of my absolute favorite restaurants...ask the girls, I think I have eaten about everything on the menu! HA HA BJ's brews their own beer and rootbeer, they have great food, and a really trendy atmosphere. Anyway, the girls and I had a great time! Here are some pictures from the night!

A Dose of Hope

This morning I got an email from my mom. She sent me this video and said, "We watched this video this morning in a meeting. It is very encouraging. Grab a box of tissues." I wasn't able to open it at work, but I sent it to my home email and decided to watch it when I got home. I just watched it right now and WOW. It was amazing. Watch this video and stay encouraged!

Stuff

I had a great day today. I, along with a couple of my coworkers, were treated to lunch at Salt Grass by our store manager for meeting our goals. I made six sales today. I also worked out with Nikki this evening. We did Bunny Boot camp and Kendra's work out (both from The Girls Next Door). It was pretty intense. Anyway, I came home, spent some time with my hubby, decided to delete my myspace account, and now we are off to watch LOST in our bed!

Hands of GOD.

Last night, I went to bed around 11:30, and slept soundly until I woke up around 2am to shooting pains in the nape of my neck, and a pounding migraine behind my eyeballs. I get migraines pretty frequently, but I never really take anything for them. I usually sleep them off, throw up, and sleep some more. If they are unbearable, I will resort to taking some Aleve, and usually that does the job. Last night I just couldn't shake that migraine. I tossed and turned, I prayed, I wimpered, and CRIED. I finally got enough strength to slip out of bed and get some Aleve. I didn't end up falling asleep until 5am. That is completely unacceptable. If you know me, you know that I need AT LEAST 8 hours (preferably 9) of sleep to even function. I woke up around 8:30am and my migraine was gone, but my head was still really sensitive. I got ready for work, and as I was blow drying my hair, I flipped my head upside down, and immediately regretted that decision. My head felt like it was going to explode!!!

Despite the way I was feeling, I decided to go to work. I ended up get one of my coworker's to close for me, and thought it would be a great idea to get a massage today (Chris bought me a gift certificate to this fancy spa for Christmas). I called the place, and made an appointment for 6:30. When I got there, I had to fill out an information form, and then waited for my masseuse. The whole time I was waiting, I kept praying, "Dear God, please let me have a woman masseuse, PLEASE." I thought it would be weird and kind of uncomfortable to have a man give me a full body massage. And as luck would have it (if I believed in luck), Jordan--a male masseuse--greeted me by name and walked me down the long dark hallway to an empty room! He told me to undress and lay on the table, and that he would be back in a couple minutes. I was a little nervous, but did as I was told.

When he came back in the room, things totally changed. He talked to me about some things I filled out on the form, about my occupation, about traveling, and other things. It was completely comfortable and not weird at all. there was soft music playing in the background, and I had chosen some lavender aromatherapy. Along with the full body massage, I opted for some hot stone therapy (they were really hot). This made my skin, my muscles, and my body melt on contact. It was the most relaxing thing I have ever done. I also mentioned to Jordan that I had a migraine last night, so he focused a lot of the massage on areas of my body to ease and dissolve the tension I was feeling. He massaged my neck, the back of my head, my shoulders, and even my face. I left there feeling like melted chocolate!!! I am sooo happy I didn't try to get a female masseuse. He was soooo worth it; he had hands of GOD! Ha Ha Ha

Anyway, I am feeling much better now. I came home, took a bubble bath, and am now ready for some beauty sleep.



Oh, one more thing, before I left, Jordan also showed me some massages that Chris can do to me during a migraine. YAY!

Mexican Train

I had to work today, and Chris did as well. I noticed that my inspection sticker on my car was expired so Chris offered to get my new one, the only drawback here was that I had to drive his truck to and from work. It shouldn't be a big deal because it is a stick shift, just like my Mazda 3, but it drives soooo much differently. The stick is much bigger, not to mention driving a truck is a lot different than driving a little car. I got over it though, and actually had fun driving it. After work, I went over to Mom's house, and Chris met me there. Chris spent some time with Rex, while I was able to run some errands with Mom, Mariah, and Yaya. It was really good just to spend some time with the women in my fam. When we returned to the house, Rex had dinner prepared, and Clara showed up. We ate yummy BBQ, veggies, potato wedges and had great conversation. Matthew was there too, and, of course, made us laugh like crazy. After dinner, Matt left, and we taught Clara how to play Mexican Train (a domino game). Needless to say, Clara learned very quickly, and she and Mom kicked my and Rex's butts!!! (Chris helped Mom and Clara, but didn't actually play). We had sooo much fun! We don't get to spend much time with Clara, so it was a treat to spend half the day with her.

Anyway, it was a great day, and I look forward to another great day tomorrow for the Super Bowl!

Ten Items or Less

Chris and I went grocery shopping this evening! YAY!!!! We have not gone grocery shopping in almost a month and a half!!! :O (Well, we did pick up some milk, and butter, and bananas and stuff every now and then, but we didn't do our monthly shopping for over a month and a half.) I love grocery shopping. Chris and I ALWAYS go together and really have fun doing it. I usually make the list and check things off as we get them (I also have a bad habit of putting extra things in the cart :]). Usually we spend about $160 dollars a month on groceries, but tonight we spent $240!!!! AHHH! We NEVER spend that much! We had to buy some cleaning supplies, body wash, face cleanser, and other stuff like that which we don't usually buy every month, so its really no big deal. Also, we have been trying to buy better quality products and not just what is cheaper. A couple months ago, Chris and I started buying a different kind of seafood everytime with do our shopping. This is pretty neat because not only do we get to eat something yummy, but we are learning new ways to prepare the seafood. Last month we bought some scallops (MY FAVORITE SEAFOOD), and this month we bought some shrimp, and MORE scallops! I can't wait to find a new recipe!

ANYWAYYYYY, we had a great shopping excursion, and lots of delish treats to last us a month!

Thanks for reading!

He's come over to the dark side!

I am a LOST fanatic, so I was incredibly excited when my hubby finally agreed to watch the first episode of the first season of Lost with me. He liked it, I think. Tonight he even asked me if we were gonna watch the second episode! Yay! I will keep everyone updated on our Lost viewings!

This and That

Chris and I have been super busy lately with both of our jobs, his bowling, my working out, praise team practice, and still leaving a little bit of time for our friends that our schedules have been jam-packed! I love that we are so active, but I get sooooo exhausted! We have been cooking significantly less since I have been working, mostly because I wanna crash when I get home. So we ate 50 piece nuggets (the first time I spelled that, I spelled it "nugger" HA HA HA), and broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and corn. Those were pity veggies, by the way, to make me feel not-so-gulity! FYI, we did not eat all of the nuggets!

I think it's funny that I just read Megan's blog which talks about her family's dinner for tonight. I used to be such a good house-wifey. Honestly, if I could still be a house-wifey, I totally would be. I don't think God's incredible plan for women was to work in a bank. I believe I have a much deeper calling....but what can you do when you are 30k in debt from school.

I am looking forward to this weekend. This will be the first Saturday I have off from work in a long time! YAY! I hope I can just sit on my butt all weekend and watch Snapped!

A Large Price for Beauty.

Yesterday, Chris and I attended our niece's first birthday. We left the party around 6:30 pm and drove home (separately because I had gone to the party after I got out of work). We were driving down a two-lane road, and I was just overtaken by the moon. It was BEAUTIFUL! It was full and yellow! It was so amazing that I thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of it with my phone. What I didn't realize, at the time, was that it is very difficult to focus on an object, take the picture and drive at the same time! I totally swerved into the oncoming lane and almost hit a car coming at me! Praise God that I saw his headlights in time. The things I do for a little bit of beauty! I looked at the picture shortly after that, and it was blurry. Crap.

The funniest thing about it all was that Chris was driving behind me the whole time, and when we got home, he was like, "Are you okay?" He saw the whole thing and thought I was crazy.

I'm so cool.