Ordinaryness-ness-ness

I guess that's all I'm gonna talk about today--ordinary stuff. Unless I get inspired. Today I've done several different things. For starters, I went with my Lady's Bible Class to an assisted living unit where we put on a big tea party and talked with the residents. It went really well and we all had a good time together. I loved seeing the reactions of all the lady's when I'd answer the inevitable question of when I was due. "Tomorrow" *gasps* Ha ha! So funny. But like I've said all along, I have a feeling she's gonna be late. I guess I have to wait till tomorrow to be proven right, though...

Then I came home and wrote a fair amount of thank you notes. Joe said it seems like I'm always doing this. Well, it did take me for freakin' ever to finish our wedding thank you's (technically, I probably still owe a couple people a thank you note...I'm sorry!), and then with three baby showers this year, I've had a lot more to write since then! Luckily, the ladies at church are super sweet and understanding. They know we've been busy getting the nursery ready and everything else. However, I've just GOT to finish them before the baby comes, otherwise they may never get done! Or I'll just be writing them when I go into labor. ;)

Some exciting news on the horizon: Joe and I have been meeting with the minister of the church we've been visiting and his wife to discuss membership! We've wanted to become members for a while, but being gone so much of the summer kind of pulled us away from it for a while. However, as we've been settling back into a routine here, we really feel God leading us to do this. I have to say, I'm not sure I've ever felt like a part of a church before. Maybe that's due to the fact that I grew up mostly visiting churches for a long time before becoming a member. But even when we'd become members, feeling a part of the church didn't seem to last for long. Whether it was because we moved to another one or I just never felt like I had a place there, I'm not sure. However, with this church I have sensed a strong sense of community and family ever since our first visit there. Even as visitors I have felt like we have some kind of place in the church. We've been treated like family even though we have not formally (or even physically) committed to it. Members have had us come to their house for meals, brought us meals when we moved, helped us move, and even threw a baby shower for me when they found out I was pregnant! We've been overwhelmed by the genuine love and support we've received since the first day we stepped through those doors.

Perhaps another reason I feel more of a place at this church is because this is now Joe and Me. I am not the middle child of a family of eight joining a church anymore. I am now an adult with a husband (and a baby on the way!) looking to join a church. I'm sure that has made a difference in the way we have been treated and in the way I have perceived things. I'm NOT saying I was mistreated by our churches while living with my family--just simply noting the difference in the time and place in life.

So that's all for now. :)

Regrets

We shouldn't have them--but we do. And most of the time I try very hard to either not regret something or deny regret about something. But there are some things I keep coming back to, and I have to recognize them as some form of regret for something or someone.

A regret that has popped up most recently is one concerning people--people I've met in the past. People I wish I knew better. People I wish I had become better friends with when I had the opportunity. People I may or may not have a chance to get to know better. Maybe what I'm regretting really wasn't a possibility anyway, but how can I know that? Of course, being in college meant I met LOTS of new people and made lots of acquaintances in a very short amount of time. Some of those people I kept up with and still do to this day (and it means so much to me!), and others I kept up with for a while, and then we just sort of went our separate ways. Part of that was probably due to our different studies (I was definitely friends with a lot more music majors than any other major). Part of it was also due to our different lifestyles. To be honest, once I met Joe and we started dating, that limited a lot of this one-on-one time with different friends--particularly those who were single. As any music major knows, it's very hard to have much of a life outside the music building, so you either a) purposefully planned to hang out with someone or b) hung out with friends by happenstance. Most of my planned hang out time was with Joe, naturally, as we were eager to get to know each other and hang out together as much as possible. Much of the rest of my hang out time was spur of the moment get-togethers with other music majors or my roommates. I still made efforts, though, to hang out with friends who weren't in my usual circle of friends, because I was truly interested in becoming closer to them. Even so, those hang outs were few and far between, and not running in the same circles sometimes presented challenges for us. For instance, a friend of mine might invite Joe and me to one of their get-togethers, but since we didn't know any of their friends, it would be kind of awkward. Likewise, if I invited one of my friends to one of our group's get-togethers, it would be awkward for them.

Like I said, maybe it wasn't possible to keep up the kind of friendships I desired with all of these girls, but I can't help feeling the loss of those friendships--or rather, the loss of the potential of those friendships. And knowing what I knew of them then and know of them now, I feel an ache when I think of what could have been had our paths not strayed farther away from each other.

Yet who knows? There are some people you drift away from, and then later you're reunited with by very interesting turns of events. You just never know who God is going to bring into your path--or back into your path. :)

Yay Fall!

Happy Autumn! No, the leaves aren't changing colors yet, and I know, we haven't even hit Halloween yet, but fall is in the air! I can feel it when Joe leaves for work in the morning, I can smell it in the cool air, and I can see it in the fantastic blue skies and in the unimpeded orange-red sunsets. :) It's coming...it's on its way. Actually, it's technically here today, according to the calendar. :p And while I'm sad to see summer go (I truly don't mind the heat!), I'm always happy to welcome Autumn back. It is, after all, one of my favorite seasons. :)
I am so freakin' excited about this weekend! I have been looking forward to this Saturday ever since, well, last Saturday! I planned a party to celebrate Joe's birthday last week, but no one could make it, so I rescheduled it for this Saturday. Looks like it'll be a good turn out, and I just can't wait to entertain! I love having company over, and I especially love cooking for people! We're just having snacks, but I plan to put a fall spin on this party, which excites me all the more. :) I'll post some pics of the decorating I've done so far. I plan to serve guacamole (if my other avocado will ever ripen!), chips and salsa, cocktail weenies (Joe requested those), s'mores cookies (been dying to try these!), cake (because it is, after all, Joe's birthday, though he just barely tolerates cake...), coffee, tea, etc. We plan to play some games and just have a good time. I've been looking forward to this so much, and know that Joe has really been wanting something like this for a while, that I've been fervently praying that the baby won't come before Saturday, so that everything can still go as planned! (And yes, I'm still praying she doesn't come before her due date. Call me weird, but I'm just not ready yet.) So far, so good!

Here are some pics of the fall decor I've put up so far.

Yay for clearanced window clings from CVS last year!

Thank you, Dollar Tree, for these lovely leaf vines.

More leaves

And more...

And I think the pink tablecloth throws this look off, but its' still kinda neat.

So that's it so far. Now I have to clean. Joy. Ta ta for now!

So we made it back from PA, and I must say that I'm soooo glad to be back down South again! We had a couple interesting, rather unpleasant experiences with some of drivers up there. Sheesh! Some people just need to calm down. Suffice it to say, we experienced some choice vocabulary and a double display of a certain finger. Yeah...

Here are pics of the finished baby room. Yes, there's no crib or changing table there, but those are coming soon... I'm trying not to freak out about it right now... The point is the color and feel of the room. :)

Nice, isn't it? I really like it. Now imagine white furniture with violet curtains and bedding. That's how it's gonna be.

Ok, now onto other things... Sooo...being pregnant leads to all sorts of frustrating interesting comments from people. I mean, comments that just make you go, "What the heck???" For instance, recently someone asked how I had been feeling and how my pregnancy had been going in general. When I remarked that I felt really great and quite healthy, their response was...I don't know. Rude? I took it rudely anyway (blame it on the pregnancy hormones). She was like, "Well, I hate to say this, but your next pregnancy probably won't be as good! Successive pregnancies tend to get worse and blahdyblahdyblah!" My response was (though I was taken aback) a calm, "You never know..." But seriously! Why do people feel the need to rain on your parade or try to steal your joy? I mean, I'm sooo grateful God has blessed me with such an awesome, wonderful, HEALTHY pregnancy! Why do people seem to act as though no one should have such a good pregnancy, so they feel the need to tell you that it's gonna get worse?!? Why not just rejoice with those that rejoice, or if you DO think things will get worse, then simply keep it to yourself?? I remember around 8 weeks I was talking to a woman who had about six kids and who had recently had twins. She was asking me if I had had morning sickness or food aversions yet. I hadn't, and she was like, "Well, that's great! Maybe you won't get any. Usually it dies out by week 12, so you may just miss it all!" First of all, those comments were super positive and encouraging. I loved that she didn't feel the need to scoff and say (with relish), "Just wait! It'll get worse!" And you know what? When I saw her a couple weeks later and told her that I had recently developed a bunch of food aversions, her response was awesome. She was like, "Yeah, I thought maybe you might still get some, but I didn't want to say anything." How cool is that? Instead of being the bearer of bad news, her comments showed me she wished me the best. I so appreciated her being so positive towards me about that!

So anyway, that's my rant for the day. I probably shouldn't care so much or be so sensitive about it, but it seems like it's happened a lot lately. Oh well. I'm feeling great and healthy and so is my baby, so that makes me happy and grateful! :)

Forever and a Day...

Yes, it seems like it's been that long since I last posted. Gosh! Summertime fun can be so distracting, but sooo worth it! ;) Well, last time I posted I was 18 weeks along. Now, I'm almost double that--34 weeks! Getting close now. A little too close. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited and all. I'm just...not ready yet.

So this weekend we spent painting the baby's room. It's Joe's and my first painting project together, and I think we've done a pretty good job of it! We still have a few last finishing touches to make on it, but then it will be completely done. It's a pale yellow (creamy oat is its name). I just love it! Happy and light, but not an in-your-face kind of yellow. I'm hoping to find some violet curtains to go with it. The only think I didn't factor into the color scheme was the blue-grey carpet. Oh, well. It'll be fine. Maybe we can get a big rug to cover most of it.....

Our travels are not over yet. This Thursday morning (early, think 5am, people!), we will leave for Philly to go to Jake and Rachelle's wedding. I have a feeling this trip is going to take forEVER. Growing up, I was used to long car rides, like those two day trips we'd take to get to Vermont. Yeah, those were fine, even fun sometimes! (Not for the driver, I'm sure.) Well, I've gotten used to our 7+ hour drives back and forth from TN-NC, and those are long enough. So this summer when we went down to FL with my parents, that drive seemed like it would NEVER END!!!OMG, it took soooo long to get there, and we even stayed overnight in AL! (What a wimp I've become.) I think this trip will be about the same in terms of hours (12, I think). Wow. What are we going to do??? I don't look forward to the drive, but I am looking forward to celebrating my brother-in-law's wedding, so that'll be nice. Free food! ;) (Yeah, I still have that college student mentality...)

Ok, here are some of the pics I've taken of the baby room. These are before and during pics. The after pics will come later. :)

 

A First

So today marks the first time since Joe and I have been married that he has taken a trip without me. I suppose it's not the first time we've been separated, since I did go home to NC for my grandmother's funeral last year, but this is different. This time I'm alone and with no family. But it's not that bad! Although I miss him already (I started missing him before he left...), I have friends around here I plan to visit with and who I know will look out for me while he's gone. He's only going to be gone till Wednesday, so it's really not that bad. It's just different being alone here. I plan to use my time wisely and hopefully finish organizing our house! :)

This past week *someone* had a growth spurt. ;) Our Baby hit the 18 week mark. WOW. This is going by a little too fast. It's a little scary when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror when we're out shopping or something. It's like, "Whoa, I really am pregnant and pretty soon (if not already) people will be able to tell, too!" It's not that I'm trying to hide being pregnant because I'm embarrassed about it; it's just that it's such a life changing event that I'm already reminded of it enough by myself without strangers needing to point it out! :p But I'm also really excited about it. I can't wait to hear the pitter patter of little feet in our house as we start our New Family. :)

Here are a few pics of the 18 week mark. Enjoy!

Baby Bump!

My sister Karen has been begging me to post Baby Bump photos, but I've been reluctant to do so, due to the fact that my bloating problem gives a false appearance of how far along I really am. The only true way for me to post a Baby Bump photo is to take it in the morning before I eat--which is hard, because I usually don't think about much before eating, and I certainly don't have make-up on that early in the morning! Anyway, these are the photos I took on Friday that more or less capture the Bump. I'll try to post more this week as I feel like I have (the baby has?) had a growth spurt.

Meh, that's all for tonight, I guess. My bed (and husband) is calling me. Oh, I did run 5.1 miles today. Yay!

Viva Las Vegas

After promising to come and not coming for weeks and weeks, Spring Break finally arrived for Signal Mountain Middle High School! Sooo...off to Vegas we went, from 3/30-4/6, and what a trip we had! We went on so many excursions and got to see so many awesome things. But best of all, we got to spend time with Jonathan, Denise, and their absolutely precious children, Elyana and Jace. WHAT a joy that was!st

Our week was packed with fun things to do and see. To briefly recap, we visited a Mob Museum (Joe is very interested in the history of organized crime), the Strip (duh, and more than once), the Grand Canyon Skywalk (YES!!), Hoover Dam (just wow!), coffee shops, bagel shops, athletic clubs (that was for Joe and me), a truly Vegas-style Buffet (Golden Corral is like port-a-john in comparison!), casinos (oh boy...), etc.! It seems like there was more, so perhaps I'm forgetting some. We ate quite well while we were there, thanks to Denise and the awesome food she made/kept on hand and the great restaurants we were able to go to. Also, Denise made sure I was hydrated--it is so dry there!

While we were there, Jonathan and Denise lent us their Civic so Joe and I could go out together and do some things. This was particularly nice, because Jace was sick some of the time, so we had to cancel some plans. Joe and I visited Hoover Dam together and went to the gym a couple times.

Because I've been working on this post for several days now (shows how focused I've been), I'm going to post a few pics from the trip and sign off.

At the Grand Canyon--Western Rim

                                   

On the bus to one of the three destinations at the western rim

A Shoot off!

                                                

Hiking Trio--Elyana was such a little trooper!

Uncle Joe and Elyana

Parking  at the Strip

                                          

Eating whipped cream from the can!! :) 

Of Packing, Moving, and Settling in...Again

It's been quite a while since I've posted, and I've certainly had good reason for my negligence! For one thing, we moved to another duplex, which made for an insane past two weeks. But we are both so incredibly happy to be out of that place and into a better one! I'll try to recap the past two weeks as briefly as I can.

Saturday, March 10, Joe and I ran the "Run for God 5K," the first in our list of races to prepare us (me, really) for the half marathon in May. Joe ran it in under 24 minutes and I ran it in 32:50. Actually, that is pretty good for me--that's pre-pregnancy run time! I guess races have a way of getting my adrenaline going and pushing me to do better. All in all, I really didn't enjoy the race. It was unorganized, the path was too small, and I started out too fast. There were several turn arounds on the trail, which really threw me some curves (mentally).

We had already talked to our landlord about letting us out of our lease early, due to the fact that we were concerned about the possibility of mold spores in the air and that we did not want to move that late into my pregnancy. Well, God worked out something amazing for us! We found a place we really liked, and our landlord was able to find a renter within a few days of talking to her. On Monday, March 12, the potential renter looked at our place and soon after he left, he said he wanted it. So we said we could be out by the 23rd. With a lot of work on our part, and a good bit of help from dear friends from church, we were able to get fully moved out by the 21st! Sooo thankful that all worked out! In the midst of the exhaustion from moving, three ladies from our church brought us dinner this past week. WHAT a blessing!

In the middle of the move, we had our next race scheduled for March 17. It was an 8K "Run for Education." Let me just say that this was awful timing for a race, but how were we to know we'd be moving that weekend? There was a thunderstorm that morning, and we almost didn't go, but the rain stopped as soon as we arrived at the school. We weren't prepared for this race at all--we didn't eat anything beforehand, we didn't stretch enough, and we had only run maybe once that week. Ugh! I think it went well overall, though. I let Joe run at his own pace, and he ended up getting 2nd in his age division. :) I completed the race in under an hour, which pleased me. (57:17.) It was a tough one for me. I had dreamt about it a few times the past week, and I was definitely nervous about it. The very last two hills nearly had me in the end, but I made it to the finish line and almost burst into tears when I got there. Not sure why... Maybe I was wondering why it was so hard for me? Afterwards, I talked with a seasoned runner who said that the course was deceptive and seemed easier than it was, so that made me feel better. :)

After that, we focused all our efforts on packing up and moving out. Luckily, I didn't have to work this past week, so I was free to do much more around the house.

This Wednesday I have my next prenatal and will get a much clearer picture of the baby! I will be sure to post it when I do. :)

Obviously, I haven't updated my running log in the past two weeks, but that doesn't mean I haven't been running. Yes, I haven't been running as much as I should, but the move and sheer exhaustion (along with health issues that haven't seemed to clear up completely) have made it next to impossible to keep up. This coming week should see us back on our feet again, though. :)

Until next time!

P.S. I tried to post some pics, but stupid ol' IE won't let me. >:( I'll come back and put them in when I can use Firefox.

From Bad to Worse

If you ever played Oregon Trail, do remember when the bad music would play and you'd get a message saying, "So-and-so has taken a turn for the worse"? A lot of times when they'd have a fever or something, I'd look up treatments to see how to handle it. I remember trying to find a treatment for "turn for the worse." Ha ha! Well, I think that wasn't as embarrassing as Mary trying to find more "morale" since they were low on it. :p
Anyway, that's what happened to me. I thought last Thursday was bad...until I woke up again at 3:00am on Tuesday morning. Well, they were both bad, but Tuesday was worse, because by then, I didn't need a doctor to tell me that what I had been fighting for the past week had turned into a full-blown infection. I've never had a sinus infection, but since Joe got over his first a couple months ago, I recognized the symptoms: pressure on and behind my eyes, pressure behind my face, sensitivity to light, headaches. I mean, I was putting hot compresses on my forehead! I also recognized the knife-stabbing pain and fluid in my left ear. Yes, I was going to the doctor as soon as the Minute Clinic opened. Praise the Lord for antibiotics! Although I'm still fighting off symptoms, there was a dramatic change from how I felt Tuesday morning to how I felt Wednesday morning. I kept thinking it was the pregnancy that was dragging things out, but no. I was most definitely wrong. I'm pretty sure Joe thought I lived on our couch for the entire week (kind of true). I had given up cooking and had let three loads of laundry continue to sit in our living room since the weekend. He was so good about it all, though! He took such good care of me and did his best to fend for himself. Thankfully, I am slowly getting things back to normal again. :)

Alright, sickness aside, I have to tell you about last night! Well, rather unexpectedly, Joe took me out for a date night! WAHOO!!! The thing about eating out nowadays, is that I've become a very picky eater (not by choice--it's the baby's fault). :) So I'm always like, "I'm not sure I can eat there" or "Yeah, I think I can find something to eat there." Well, when he mentioned.......

I was like, "Oh, YES!!!" Even though I wasn't sure if I could eat our usual, I knew I could eat the rice. I have been craving rice with soy sauce. Why don't I make it myself, you ask? Well, I don't enjoy cooking right now, and I think I'm just sick of my own stuff. Maybe my brand of rice is wearing on me, or maybe I'm tired of Tamari soy sauce. I dunno. The point is, I would have my craving fulfilled while NOT having to cook to get it! :)

After Joe got back from school and I from work, we went for a run. I took it very easy, considering where my immune system has been. You see, we have a 5K on Saturday, so I wanted to get a run or two in before that. Then we showered and headed to Chatt. OH. MY. WORD. It was ALL so good! I mean, I even at the *GASP* chicken! ("Dad, I don't do chicken.") But I tell myself it wasn't really chicken--it was some sort of wonderful something cooked in some fantastic sauce. :) And the lo mein was so flavorful and the steamed brown rice with soy sauce was the best!!! I just can't say enough about last night's meal! We even ordered a Coke. :) The fact that I could eat everything and enjoy soooo much, and not have to stop eating after a few bites (because my stomach fills up a lot quicker now), or because I was feeling icky about it, was so nice. I really couldn't say enough about it to Joe. It was the best date we've had in a long time. :) And not just because of the food--we just had a wonderful time together! Great conversations, great atmosphere, great time all in all. I went to bed quite contented, except.............I didn't count on the Coke keeping me awake. :p I haven't had caffeine in so long, that I guess it just threw my body for a loop! Oh, well. I was happy. :)

What Happened???

Soooo, Wednesday night was Just. Plain. Miserable. :( I went to bed around 9:15 and couldn't get to sleep. I got up around 9:50 because I was so hungry. So I ate some cereal and went back to bed. I had noticed a slight sore throat after cooking dinner and was hoping it would just pass during the night. It did not. Instead, I was awakened at 1:20 because it had become so severely sore during the night. Now, I know so little about pregnancy right now and what you can and can't take, that I didn't know what to do. I found one Ricoloa throat lozenge in my medicine box, and I figured that was ok (it's pretty natural and all). I went back to bed and tossed and turned. I suppose I may have slept some. I don't know. All I knew for sure was that I was gradually feeling worse and worse. Cold chills and heat spells came over me at different intervals, and my body was beginning to ache so badly. 2:00 came, so I got up to make a cup of tea, thinking Sleepytime Vanilla was alright. As the water was boiling, I browsed the internet to find out things I could take to ease the pain. Of course, I found conflicting information and was completely frustrated by it all. In the end, after seeing all the ingredients in my tea, I nixed that idea and decided to gargle salt water. By the time I got that all together, a wave of nausea hit me and I headed to the bathroom. I came this close the throwing up, but somehow kept it at bay and managed to lie on the bathroom floor for the next hour or so. No, it was not comfortable, but I think I dozed a bit. Eventually, I knew I couldn't get back to sleep in my bed, but I had no doubt that the couch would do the trick. I was right! I got on the couch around 3:45 and managed to fall asleep around 4:00ish. I woke up at 5:00 when Joe came in to turn on the coffee maker. He asked how I was doing, and I told him the kind of night I had. He wanted to stay home with me, but Thursday is his busiest day of the week, and it's not easy to find a sub spur of the moment. I told him I thought if I just rested I'd be ok; however, my first prenatal appointment was scheduled for 10:20 that morning, and I wasn't sure if I should or could make it. I decided to play it by ear and see how I felt later on that morning, and slept some more after he left for school. When I got up, I was not feeling good. I was so sore everywhere! Joe had gotten me some water and yogurt before he left, and I had been trying to get it down for while, but with the sore throat and all, I hadn't downed much of it. Eventually, I went to the bathroom and guess what?? Another wave of nausea hit me! This time I did throw up. Well, sort of. There wasn't really anything left in my stomach, so go figure. But I felt completely awful. So I called Mom (crying), who advised me to get Joe to take me to my prenatal, as she thought my midwife would have a better idea of what I needed than some random doctor. Joe's classes on Thursday (all five of them) are back-to-back, so by the time I called and asked him, it was nearly impossible for him to get anyone to cover for him in the middle of everything. He tried, but no one got back to him. So I called our pastor's wife, but she didn't pick up. I went upstairs to ask my neighbor if she wouldn't mind taking me. She pretty much said yes, but her parents (who have been visiting for the past week) were sitting there and were like, "We could take her--we're heading that way anyway." So they ended up taking me, which was such a blessing! They dropped me off and I had a looooong appointment with my midwife. That all went well and is for another post. :) When I got our, my neighbor called me and asked if I still needed to be picked up. So (bless her!), she came and got me. As soon as I got home, I ate some cereal, took some Tylenol, put on "Cheaper by the Dozen" (the older version), and eventually got comfortable and dozed on and off.
So, that was how my Wednesday and Thursday went. I got better towards the evening, as the body aches and chills wore off. I still don't know what hit me, but I haven't had anything like that happen for a long time. I'm doing better today, though I'm tired and still have a very sore throat. Oh yeah, and we've have a bunch of weather warnings today-- tornado watches, flood watches, pollen alert, and special weather statement. Hah! I just want to stay at home and sleep it all off..............zzzzzzzzzzzz.............
To make this post more interesting than just a sob story about my day, I'm going to give you a treat: the first "picture" of our baby!!! :) Yay!!

Teenie tiny. 1.56 cm with a heart rate of 161 bpm. Pretty awesome.

My Cravings/Food Aversions

Soooo...............being pregnant has certainly changed my palate! What I once considered very yummy foods, I now think on with disgust and near nausea. I can't talk about cooked meats, except for ones I rarely have. Mom's roast still sounds good to me, though, so I must still be me! :) But chicken, ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken just makes me want to hurl. Period. I'm ok with bacon (though I think it gave me heartburn or something the other night), and Slim Jims. Yeah, I know--those are full of fat and bad stuff. But since it's dried and I don't have it often, it doesn't turn me off. Also, at this point my sisters have told me to just eat what sounds good. I've been eating a lot of fresh vegetables. And pickles--with everything! Yes, here was my dinner the other night...

Looks good, right? Mmmm hmmm! Hashbrowns and bacon, complete with a pickle! Somehow Clausson pickles go with everything these days for me! I think it helps balance the blandness of the raw vegetables. I like how juicy they are! But I've also been eating fresh fruits and berry and yogurt smoothies after my runs, so that's good. It's hard to know what I'll like, though. For instance, the other day I bought a bunch of tomatoes and some salad fixings. Well, wouldn't you know? I don't want to eat tomatoes! So... I gave them (along with my once yummy avocado) to my neighbor. End of story. I may end up giving her the lettuce, too, if we don't eat it up soon. It's not that I'm revolted by the idea of a salad, but I've had a lot lately, and I think there's really something about the dressings I have that turns me off. I dunno.

Something else I've been craving.......

Ice cold water with a slice of lime in it! So refreshing. :) Thanks for the suggestion to get a lime, Denise. :)

Ok, so that's all I have to report today. Super interesting. If anybody has some creative ideas for different things to eat, please let me know! I have a hard time thinking outside the box.

Ta ta!

Race Schedule

So the other day Joe came up with a list of races for us to do together as we prepare for my first half-marathon. They are as follows:

March 10 - Run with Trish 5k for Team Hoyt
March 17 - Run for Education 8k (my first 8k!)
April 21 - 44th Annual Chickamauga Chase 15k (my first 15k as well)
And then finally.......
May 19 - Viola Valley Half Marathon (WAhoo!)

So there it is. A schedule of races to help me train and boost my morale and continue to strive to go farther. :)

Hullo, World!

Well, this is a first for me. I have never ever written a blog before, but I finally felt it was time to do it. Maybe it's because of the recent monumental changes in my life that I have given in to this. I thought about creating a blog years ago, but I nixed the idea, thinking that just writing about me would be too self-focused. Now, however, I have someone other than myself to write about, so I can't get too self-absorbed, can I? Also, because I'm living away from all my family and nearly everyone I know, I feel it will be a good way to share with others what's going on in Our Life here.

Sooo...that all being said, I'll proceed to do what I promised to do--write about our life here in Signal Mountain! It's...different. It's good. And most importantly, it's where God wants us--no doubt about that! It has forced both Joe and me to stretch and grow in many, many ways. Joe is a fantastic teacher at the middle school about three miles from our apartment. He continues to impress the principal and other teachers with his leadership, creativity, and enthusiasm. He's pretty much "blown some people out of the water." I'm very proud of him for how hard he works to provide for us and how well he does it.

As for me, I hate my job. Period. I know it's bad to say, and I should be grateful (and I am!), but seriously! It is SO NOT what I thought it would be. I basically sit with two kids after school and try to help them with homework/entertain them/keep them out of trouble until their parents pick them up. That can take up to two hours, people. TWO HOURS! I dunno, maybe I'm being a big whiner, but it's been a lot tougher than I thought it would be.(I've had more kids than this in the program, but some have moved, dropped out, etc.) Also, every  kid that has been in the program except one has had some kind of disorder, which is fine, although it has made it even more difficult for me to know how to handle the myriad of situations that have come up. I basically feel useless, uninspired, and a little embarrassed. Ok, not completely useless, but kind of like, "Really? Do you really need someone to do this job???" It's not what I thought it would be and it's certainly not what I want it to be, but I believe God put me here for specific reasons. Mom pointed out that this is good for me, because it is preparing me to better interact with kids and parents when I start up my studio. That's true. And it's certainly led me to pray for several students and their families, because it's opened my eyes to the hard life that some of them have. However, I cannot wait till summer break and I am done for GOOD!!! The "Hallelujah Chorus" will be playing as soon as I step out that front door!

So yeah...that's a very basic overview of our life here. More details to come... :)