April writing.
I DO still BLOG!!! It has just be B U S Y...and it's not technically FALL yet either! Usually Fall into Winter is major crazy busy time for us...but it's seemed to have come a bit early this year!
Last week is still a bit of a blur in my mind...and my body is still very much recovering from the 12-Hour-Blitz on Friday night...however...I will catch you up best I can.
Monday-Thursday work was insane this week. Granted, it kept me really busy so the week flew by but it was a bit high stress craziness for a hot second there!
Friday I took off work to complete some last minute planning and prep for Brittany's Shower (on Sat) I did get to meet up with my favorite boyfriend and his mom, my favorite Terri for lunch, but then it was back to the hecticness...which included mailing about 22 packages for some winning auctions from eBay...sheeewwwww!
Then it was off to the 12-hour-blitz. (that's right...12 hours locked in the church with students....7 pm-7 am....ahhhhhh! The night before Brittany's shower...am I NUTS?!?!) This would be our second one, last year we had an IBA-IBA blast and I was sure this year would be just as fun. We had about 42 students and it was awesome. The best game....by FAR...was Underground Church. Basically the students had to go all over the church (and if you have been there, you know it is large) and find special bibles that had been hidden earlier that had a cross in the front cover. They had to keep the bibles and try and make it back to camp by the end of the game without getting caught by the Leaders whop represented the KJB. This game was insane. Of course we had a few groups that didn't do very well...i.e. some of the middle school girls who wouldn't know stealth if it slapped them in the forehead and a few guys who thought splitting up when caught was the best option!! (Even if it meant running smack into each other!) Ashley and I teamed up to make the super KJB team....overall I believe we caught and confiscated about 37 bibles at my last count...I almost clotheslined of the kids in my my daring and awesome capture...and I am pretty sure we scared the *p* out of about 6 middle school girls trying to hide out in the bridal room! haha!
But let me tell you...due to all the army crawling and running and crouching...I am CRAZY sore. Like my sides are sore, my arms are sore, the top of my head is sore...all the way down to my stinkin' pinky toes!! But it was SO worth it. I think we played for over 2 hours...and the best part was the students really got into it!!! After that we filled the rest of the night with Barbarians, Hide-N-Go-Seek, Do you Like your Neighbor, Honey Do you Love Me and about 5 different versions of Dodgeball...including one with marshmallows. I do have pictures to share...but at this point I am realizing that I left my camera and Jason and Brittany's house tonight so that won't be possible to share them with you at this time. Boo I know.
Then Saturday morning came...7:30 am and I was outta there...running home to eat breakfast and sleep a little before the shower. Which went off very nicely...I still wish I would have done some things differently...I really wanted it to be nice for Britt and I hope it was... but I am a bit of a party perfectionist and it didn't hold up to my higher standards...but I did allow it to sneak up on my fast at the end there and all my lose ends didn't get tied up as nicely as I would have wished...oh well. She got alot of diapers and cute clothes...and it brought us one day closer to Miss Tessie's arrival so I will just focus myself on that!!! :)
By the end of the shower I was ZONKED....physically that is. My mind was doing pretty good. Although my spelling was suffering while making the gift list! haha! I went home and took about a 45 minute nap, caught up with Cory a bit and then cleaned the kitchen...I know...super fun.
Sunday rolls around...I am SO tired...I made sure to get caught up on my sleep but still found myself at 8:15 not able to function quite like I should be able to...so I begged Cory to let me meet up with him at church for the in-between scene, he was happy enough to oblige and although I did sleep through 30 minutes of my alarm, I did make it in time. Super sore back and all...Am I really getting so old that I ACHE when I wake up now...man staying up all night never took a toll that lasted this long on me before!
After church I went to lunch with my family and then we headed over to Sarah and Kyles house to help them move...as they are homeowners now!! YEAH!!! After that fun work, I headed over to Jason and Brittany's house to help...er...watch Jason and Cory put together some nursery furniture. Glad I got to spend a little time with them...soon it will be the Harris 3...and our no-baby-friends will soon be a baby-in-tow family, so soaking in some couple-to-couple time is good :)
I am now home...supposed to be sweeping for the family labor day party tomorrow...but I am thinking sleep sounds more fun. So the morning will bring me sweeping, tidying up and grilling time before the fam gets here....yeah!
Well, that's about it....you are caught up...so I hope you all had a great week...and I am back on the blogging ball...so no worries. Have a great Labor Day and see you all soon.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Simple Pleasure Thursday....
Cory Writing.....
Yes it is that time again. It seems like the weeks are just whizzing by and before you know it, it will be 20 degrees outside and I will be blogging about how I hate the winter, but for now it is Simple Pleasure Thursday.
So my simple pleasure this week is "Having your favorite cold soda at just the right time." We have all experienced going to the refrigerator or cooler and grabbing your favorite soda and taking a drink. You get that totally awesome burning sensation going all the way down your throat and you feel so refreshed. That is my simple pleasure.
You guys did a great job last Thursday with your responses. Lets see if we can get a couple new people leaving us with their simple pleasures.
Yes it is that time again. It seems like the weeks are just whizzing by and before you know it, it will be 20 degrees outside and I will be blogging about how I hate the winter, but for now it is Simple Pleasure Thursday.
So my simple pleasure this week is "Having your favorite cold soda at just the right time." We have all experienced going to the refrigerator or cooler and grabbing your favorite soda and taking a drink. You get that totally awesome burning sensation going all the way down your throat and you feel so refreshed. That is my simple pleasure.
You guys did a great job last Thursday with your responses. Lets see if we can get a couple new people leaving us with their simple pleasures.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
April writing...
First off, let me start by saying...the weather...is gorgeous today. And that can only mean one thing (well it could actually mean a few things....but anyways!) FALL IS ON IT'S WAY!!!
In fact the first day of fall is September 22nd and I am SO excited! There is so much to look forward to this fall...and I will share a few of those wonderful things with you in this post.
#1 - The birth of one Tessie Leigh. I am so eager and excited to see her. Our friends Jason and Brittany are due very soon. In fact she got some news today, because of some recent blood work she will be having Tessie a little sooner than the 25th. If she hasn't delivered by September 9th, they will induce her. So our prayers go out to them. That everything will come together, that she will get loads of gifts at this weekend's baby shower and that Tessie is a healthy beautiful little bouncing bundle of joy!!
#2 - This one is super exciting for me! I just got approved to be an Independent Certified Instructor for the Baby Signs Program! YEAH!!! This means I will be able to teach baby sign language as a second job!! :) This is going to be SO much fun!!! AHHH so if you have any friends or if you yourself wanted to learn to teach your baby sign language in order to encourage early communication, I can soon help!!
#3 - The Super-Hero-Ween Bash. I am terribly excited for this. The students (peer leaders) at Verb have been begging for a Halloween Party or Bonfire for a while...so we have decided and been approved to do it!!! We are so excited! It is going to be a carnival type atmosphere, with games and fall-ish things to do. As well as a costume contest...Make your own SUPER HERO...hopefully they will really get into it and bring their friend along!!! It's going to be GREAT. And the best part, it's for Middle School and High School kiddos only!!!
There is so much more....but it's getting busy for me at work again...I will talk more about it all later! Hope you are all having GREAT days!!
First off, let me start by saying...the weather...is gorgeous today. And that can only mean one thing (well it could actually mean a few things....but anyways!) FALL IS ON IT'S WAY!!!
In fact the first day of fall is September 22nd and I am SO excited! There is so much to look forward to this fall...and I will share a few of those wonderful things with you in this post.
#1 - The birth of one Tessie Leigh. I am so eager and excited to see her. Our friends Jason and Brittany are due very soon. In fact she got some news today, because of some recent blood work she will be having Tessie a little sooner than the 25th. If she hasn't delivered by September 9th, they will induce her. So our prayers go out to them. That everything will come together, that she will get loads of gifts at this weekend's baby shower and that Tessie is a healthy beautiful little bouncing bundle of joy!!
#2 - This one is super exciting for me! I just got approved to be an Independent Certified Instructor for the Baby Signs Program! YEAH!!! This means I will be able to teach baby sign language as a second job!! :) This is going to be SO much fun!!! AHHH so if you have any friends or if you yourself wanted to learn to teach your baby sign language in order to encourage early communication, I can soon help!!
#3 - The Super-Hero-Ween Bash. I am terribly excited for this. The students (peer leaders) at Verb have been begging for a Halloween Party or Bonfire for a while...so we have decided and been approved to do it!!! We are so excited! It is going to be a carnival type atmosphere, with games and fall-ish things to do. As well as a costume contest...Make your own SUPER HERO...hopefully they will really get into it and bring their friend along!!! It's going to be GREAT. And the best part, it's for Middle School and High School kiddos only!!!
There is so much more....but it's getting busy for me at work again...I will talk more about it all later! Hope you are all having GREAT days!!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Told you I'd be back...
April writing...
Well this is another informative Blog.
After my last post about Unexplained Infertility, you should basically be caught up on where we are currently. But to bring you a little more up to speed, allow me to explain our next step.
*note* this blog will be filled with links, so if your interested, follow the links to get more details about this process. Some links may be graphic in their description, however knowledge is power! :)
We are going to be doing an IUI. This is the basically the most logical next step in a series of processes that many women with fertility issues go through. We have already done three round of med only/Clomid and trying it all the natural way. Usually after 3-4 rounds on Clomid the doc wants you to rest for a month or two, to build up some natural elements in the women to help aid in implantation. I have been resting since the beginning of June. My doc didn't recommend doing any more rounds of Clomid, he thought in order to increase our chances of a pregnancy, we would look into IUI. So that is where we are.
Now, this isn't just a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am kinda deal. There will also be doctors appt's (one every 2-3 days), medications (including daily shots) and sonograms at most of those appt's. Let me tell you a little about the meds I will be taking.
Follistim - This will be a daily injection that I give myself in the stomach. This drugs basic job is to stimulate Follicle growth. Thus increasing the odds of fertilizing the eggs, as there may be more eggs to choose from. This drug also increases the chance of multiples by about 10-12% according to most research I have seen.
Ovidrel - This drug seems to do the same job as the Follistim, and I am not quite sure yet of it's job as used in conjunction with the Follistim. So I will be finding out more about that when I meet with my Doctor.
Prometrium - This is basically progesterone. Which is needed to promote the fertilization of an egg along with a healthy uterine wall lining.
With all that being said, it is alot to take in. Alot of reading and research that I have been doing. I am both nervous and excited. Cory and I are of course excited about the possibility of getting pregnant, but if it happens or not this time around...we understand that we are in God's timing. We have been graced with great insurance...so we will do what we can as we can until we are blessed with our own little baby or babies (as Cory would like!).
Keep us in prayers...it's going to be an interesting next few weeks. We are hopeful and putting the situation in Gods hands. So know you all know what the plan is...and hopefully if I complain about some side effects or I seem a little off...now you may know why. My body will be doing some changing and I am going to do my best to keep up!!! I will update as I can.
Adios!
Well this is another informative Blog.
After my last post about Unexplained Infertility, you should basically be caught up on where we are currently. But to bring you a little more up to speed, allow me to explain our next step.
*note* this blog will be filled with links, so if your interested, follow the links to get more details about this process. Some links may be graphic in their description, however knowledge is power! :)
We are going to be doing an IUI. This is the basically the most logical next step in a series of processes that many women with fertility issues go through. We have already done three round of med only/Clomid and trying it all the natural way. Usually after 3-4 rounds on Clomid the doc wants you to rest for a month or two, to build up some natural elements in the women to help aid in implantation. I have been resting since the beginning of June. My doc didn't recommend doing any more rounds of Clomid, he thought in order to increase our chances of a pregnancy, we would look into IUI. So that is where we are.
Now, this isn't just a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am kinda deal. There will also be doctors appt's (one every 2-3 days), medications (including daily shots) and sonograms at most of those appt's. Let me tell you a little about the meds I will be taking.
Follistim - This will be a daily injection that I give myself in the stomach. This drugs basic job is to stimulate Follicle growth. Thus increasing the odds of fertilizing the eggs, as there may be more eggs to choose from. This drug also increases the chance of multiples by about 10-12% according to most research I have seen.
Ovidrel - This drug seems to do the same job as the Follistim, and I am not quite sure yet of it's job as used in conjunction with the Follistim. So I will be finding out more about that when I meet with my Doctor.
Prometrium - This is basically progesterone. Which is needed to promote the fertilization of an egg along with a healthy uterine wall lining.
With all that being said, it is alot to take in. Alot of reading and research that I have been doing. I am both nervous and excited. Cory and I are of course excited about the possibility of getting pregnant, but if it happens or not this time around...we understand that we are in God's timing. We have been graced with great insurance...so we will do what we can as we can until we are blessed with our own little baby or babies (as Cory would like!).
Keep us in prayers...it's going to be an interesting next few weeks. We are hopeful and putting the situation in Gods hands. So know you all know what the plan is...and hopefully if I complain about some side effects or I seem a little off...now you may know why. My body will be doing some changing and I am going to do my best to keep up!!! I will update as I can.
Adios!
Fireproof
April writing...
Cory mentioned this movie to me on Wednesday after seeing an advertisement for our church going to see it together the day after it opens. I thought it may be kinda cheesy, but then I saw it was made by the same people who made "Facing the Giants" which I too thought would be cheesy, but it turned out pretty good!
So here's the trailer for it...Check it out!
I think it looks awesome...and it's a challenge to truly Fireproof our marriages. I am in for seeing it...however I can't make the showing with my church on the 27th due to a "scrapworthy" scheduling conflict...But I am in for scheduling a time to go see it on the Friday it opens, the 26th. Anyone want in?? I am going to find out where it is showing...and barring any late births for Miss Tessie Harris we can go see the movie together! So let me know!!!
In other news (oh I will just never get over the giggles when I say that!) Amazing Glaze last night was loads of fun...again. And I didn't make a flower pot as previously mentioned. I actually made two candy dishes for my LR that match the plate I made at the June ladies night. I am quite excited for them and my fingers are crossed for no 'glaze-issues' this time :) Here are some things we learned last night:
1. You CAN eat too much bread.
2. Dana is really Rachel.
3. Trying to line up tile blocks on a tummy doesn't work so well.
4. Two T's are better than one...especially if one is a baby t.
5. Never lose your receipt.
6. Amazing Glaze girls get amazingly frazzled when customers do #5.
7. Cinnamon Scones are from Baby Jesus.
8. Don't use the lizard stencil.
9. Adding dots to any design makes it super snazzy.
and
10. A fun night out with the girls is worth looking forward to!!
Looking forward to next time!!!
Ok I am gone for now...Google Reader has just notified me that I have 4 new blogs to read. So I am off...and I may be back :)
Cory mentioned this movie to me on Wednesday after seeing an advertisement for our church going to see it together the day after it opens. I thought it may be kinda cheesy, but then I saw it was made by the same people who made "Facing the Giants" which I too thought would be cheesy, but it turned out pretty good!
So here's the trailer for it...Check it out!
I think it looks awesome...and it's a challenge to truly Fireproof our marriages. I am in for seeing it...however I can't make the showing with my church on the 27th due to a "scrapworthy" scheduling conflict...But I am in for scheduling a time to go see it on the Friday it opens, the 26th. Anyone want in?? I am going to find out where it is showing...and barring any late births for Miss Tessie Harris we can go see the movie together! So let me know!!!
In other news (oh I will just never get over the giggles when I say that!) Amazing Glaze last night was loads of fun...again. And I didn't make a flower pot as previously mentioned. I actually made two candy dishes for my LR that match the plate I made at the June ladies night. I am quite excited for them and my fingers are crossed for no 'glaze-issues' this time :) Here are some things we learned last night:
1. You CAN eat too much bread.
2. Dana is really Rachel.
3. Trying to line up tile blocks on a tummy doesn't work so well.
4. Two T's are better than one...especially if one is a baby t.
5. Never lose your receipt.
6. Amazing Glaze girls get amazingly frazzled when customers do #5.
7. Cinnamon Scones are from Baby Jesus.
8. Don't use the lizard stencil.
9. Adding dots to any design makes it super snazzy.
and
10. A fun night out with the girls is worth looking forward to!!
Looking forward to next time!!!
Ok I am gone for now...Google Reader has just notified me that I have 4 new blogs to read. So I am off...and I may be back :)
Thursday, August 21, 2008
J & B Baby Pool
April writing...
Hey everyone!
Who wants in on Jason and Brittany's Baby Pool?
Here are the details.
There are 4 Categories:
1. Date of Birth (September 20th)
2. Time (i.e. 5:25 pm)
3. Weight (i.e. 8 lbs, 6 oz)
4. Length (i.e. 19 inches)
You can put as many guesses in for as many categories as you would like to!
It's $1 per category and the money is due as soon as possible.
If your guess is right in any of the 4 categories, then you get your $1 back for every correct guess!
The rest of the money goes to the proud parents of Tessie Leigh Harris!!
Contact me today with your guesses!!
Hey everyone!
Who wants in on Jason and Brittany's Baby Pool?
Here are the details.
There are 4 Categories:
1. Date of Birth (September 20th)
2. Time (i.e. 5:25 pm)
3. Weight (i.e. 8 lbs, 6 oz)
4. Length (i.e. 19 inches)
You can put as many guesses in for as many categories as you would like to!
It's $1 per category and the money is due as soon as possible.
If your guess is right in any of the 4 categories, then you get your $1 back for every correct guess!
The rest of the money goes to the proud parents of Tessie Leigh Harris!!
Contact me today with your guesses!!
Blah Blah Blahsssss
April writing...
So, let's see how I am doing on my list of things to do:
Finish stuff for Jason/Verb - CHECK (see below for some additional fun!)
Coupon/Grocery Store research - CHECK (see below for that bundle of awesomeness!)
Project for Amazing Glaze - CHECK (see below for my idea)
So not bad. In fact I will need to head to lunch here soon and head over to Food Lion to get my snacks for tonight.
Ok onto the continuation of the above:
Verb: I am just excited to say that our Halloween plans are a GO...and I am super-stinkin' excited about it! More to come on that later I am sure!!! But it is going to be "super" awesome! haha!
Coupons: Ok so I called around and checked some of the local grocery stores. I called Food Lion, Superfresh, Giant, Weis and Bloom. I found out the following:
Food Lion - Does NOT double coupons
Giant - Does double coupons every day up to $.50
Superfresh - Does double coupons every day up to $1.00
Weis Markets - Does double coupons every day up to $.50
Bloom - Does NOT double coupons
I am def. digging Superfresh's outlook on coupons!!! haha! So my plan is to get Sundays paper and see what I could find. I also ran across a couple other really neat websites that I may look into. They are GroceryCoupons.com and Centsoff.com. Both of these sites offer memberships per year and you go in and select the coupons you want and they mail them to you already clipped out. So you can do that on top of clipping Sundays coupons and really save a bundle! Like I said in my earlier post...one lady saved over $184 on her grocery bill and only paid $3.02!!! I am so there...I am all over that!!! Seriously! :)
So, now let's see...onto the Amazing Glaze project...I am thinking of doing a flower pot...and it will be sitting in my bay window...so I kinda want to go with the theme in my LR and DR. So I am thinking of doing a black pot and decorating it with white puffy paint swirls all over. (not sure why I am going to burden myself with the stress of puffy paint again, cause it nearly killed me last time!) The only difference this time is I won't be needing to match it up to the opposite side of my project. They can all be in their own design and shape. Sooo I am excited.
Alrighty, well I just had some work plopped down on my desk so I am going to get to work on that...then head to the store. Talk to you soon!!!
So, let's see how I am doing on my list of things to do:
Finish stuff for Jason/Verb - CHECK (see below for some additional fun!)
Coupon/Grocery Store research - CHECK (see below for that bundle of awesomeness!)
Project for Amazing Glaze - CHECK (see below for my idea)
So not bad. In fact I will need to head to lunch here soon and head over to Food Lion to get my snacks for tonight.
Ok onto the continuation of the above:
Verb: I am just excited to say that our Halloween plans are a GO...and I am super-stinkin' excited about it! More to come on that later I am sure!!! But it is going to be "super" awesome! haha!
Coupons: Ok so I called around and checked some of the local grocery stores. I called Food Lion, Superfresh, Giant, Weis and Bloom. I found out the following:
Food Lion - Does NOT double coupons
Giant - Does double coupons every day up to $.50
Superfresh - Does double coupons every day up to $1.00
Weis Markets - Does double coupons every day up to $.50
Bloom - Does NOT double coupons
I am def. digging Superfresh's outlook on coupons!!! haha! So my plan is to get Sundays paper and see what I could find. I also ran across a couple other really neat websites that I may look into. They are GroceryCoupons.com and Centsoff.com. Both of these sites offer memberships per year and you go in and select the coupons you want and they mail them to you already clipped out. So you can do that on top of clipping Sundays coupons and really save a bundle! Like I said in my earlier post...one lady saved over $184 on her grocery bill and only paid $3.02!!! I am so there...I am all over that!!! Seriously! :)
So, now let's see...onto the Amazing Glaze project...I am thinking of doing a flower pot...and it will be sitting in my bay window...so I kinda want to go with the theme in my LR and DR. So I am thinking of doing a black pot and decorating it with white puffy paint swirls all over. (not sure why I am going to burden myself with the stress of puffy paint again, cause it nearly killed me last time!) The only difference this time is I won't be needing to match it up to the opposite side of my project. They can all be in their own design and shape. Sooo I am excited.
Alrighty, well I just had some work plopped down on my desk so I am going to get to work on that...then head to the store. Talk to you soon!!!
I'm warm.
April writing...
It's hot in my office. Boo. If you know me, you know I hate being hot. HATE IT. So I just went and turned down the air...again...and it finally cut on. I know it is such a nice day outside, but I opened my window and it was doing little to help me. Boo. Ok I'm over it now.
So I didn't do the Wordless Wednesday like I was supposed to do last night...I choose rather to go to bed. Seriously. I was tired. So my b...I will catch ya next Wed!!
I am going to do a little something neat that I saw on Regina's blog. Wordle.net. Go do it...it's fun. Here's mine on Love and Marriage (yep, I hear you all singing the theme song to "Married with Children" now...oops.
I am not sure why it's so small...and I can't figure out how to fix it...but it's neat. You should go try! :)
Ok what else is on the agenda today...now that I got a little boredom out of my system. It is looking to be sloooooow day at work. I got here and there was nothing on my desk waiting for me. So I can finally get to the list of stuff to get done for Jason!!! I also plan on doing some coupon and grocery store research. I watched Oprah last night and there was a lady on there that used coupons on a double day at the store and her grocery bill was $187, but she only spent $3.02. AMAZING! I am so driven to try that now! I always get so excited at BJ's when I save lots of money with coupons. I believe my record is $46!! Not bad! Let's see...then I am filling out an application for a potential second job that I am super-de-duper excited about. I will be posting more on that at a later date!! :) I have to plan for my Amazing Glaze project for tonight's Ladies night. I believe that I will be making a flower pot...but I am not too sure yet! :) And that's about it for now...although I always find something to fill my time with!! :)
Be back later gators!!
It's hot in my office. Boo. If you know me, you know I hate being hot. HATE IT. So I just went and turned down the air...again...and it finally cut on. I know it is such a nice day outside, but I opened my window and it was doing little to help me. Boo. Ok I'm over it now.
So I didn't do the Wordless Wednesday like I was supposed to do last night...I choose rather to go to bed. Seriously. I was tired. So my b...I will catch ya next Wed!!
I am going to do a little something neat that I saw on Regina's blog. Wordle.net. Go do it...it's fun. Here's mine on Love and Marriage (yep, I hear you all singing the theme song to "Married with Children" now...oops.
I am not sure why it's so small...and I can't figure out how to fix it...but it's neat. You should go try! :)
Ok what else is on the agenda today...now that I got a little boredom out of my system. It is looking to be sloooooow day at work. I got here and there was nothing on my desk waiting for me. So I can finally get to the list of stuff to get done for Jason!!! I also plan on doing some coupon and grocery store research. I watched Oprah last night and there was a lady on there that used coupons on a double day at the store and her grocery bill was $187, but she only spent $3.02. AMAZING! I am so driven to try that now! I always get so excited at BJ's when I save lots of money with coupons. I believe my record is $46!! Not bad! Let's see...then I am filling out an application for a potential second job that I am super-de-duper excited about. I will be posting more on that at a later date!! :) I have to plan for my Amazing Glaze project for tonight's Ladies night. I believe that I will be making a flower pot...but I am not too sure yet! :) And that's about it for now...although I always find something to fill my time with!! :)
Be back later gators!!
Simple Pleasure Thursday.......
Cory Writing.......
OK I was very disappointed with the Simple Pleasure Thursday results from last week. Where are all those people that read this blog? Think of you simple pleasures and post them. It is amazing how blessed you will feel by just thinking about a simple pleasure every week.
My simple pleasure this week is a nice warm/hot shower.
We went to our leadership get a way last weekend and the shower was cold. Unless you were someone that could shower in a yucky shower or you were cool enough to figure out how to turn the handle in the other shower. I wasn't any of these people, so I had a freezing shower.
There it is...... please post your simple pleasure.
OK I was very disappointed with the Simple Pleasure Thursday results from last week. Where are all those people that read this blog? Think of you simple pleasures and post them. It is amazing how blessed you will feel by just thinking about a simple pleasure every week.
My simple pleasure this week is a nice warm/hot shower.
We went to our leadership get a way last weekend and the shower was cold. Unless you were someone that could shower in a yucky shower or you were cool enough to figure out how to turn the handle in the other shower. I wasn't any of these people, so I had a freezing shower.
There it is...... please post your simple pleasure.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Work it out Girl, work it out.
April writing...
So I did my second "Easy Pilate's" work out last night. It is only 25 minutes of some of the basic moves, but for me it is enough for now. I will slowly move my way up to the 35 minute one, then onto the 45 minute one. The pose above...that was the hardest and easiest pose to do. I know you are thinking that doesn't make much sense, so maybe if I say it like this. It was strenuous to do, but I actually did it!! Like I didn't falter at all...now my insides were shaking from holding my "powerhouse" so tight...but I did it!!
Cory promises that he will start doing the Pilate's with me on his next set of days off. So I am glad that I have till Sunday to perfect the poses so I look like a pro when he is rocking every which way during his first workout like I did! I am also gonna need to get a mat. I used a blanket last night (cause we have hardwood floors) and that was just an invitation for my dogs to lay next to me as I was trying to do the exercise. At one point Pickle laid under my head while it was up and when I came down I had a nice pillow and Olive tried laying on my legs; but that wasn't gonna work for me. So sad to say I had to lock the pups out for the duration of the Pilate's session.
My plan/goal/challenge is to do this every day at some point during the day for two-three weeks, then bump myself up to the 35 minute workout. That will be of course if I feel comfortable enough. I really want to master the basics before I move up...there is really no need to progress too fast.
I will also be hitting the treadmill again, three days a week. I am gonna try and do the "Couch-Potato-to-5K" workout. I really want to get my legs into shape again. They used to be my best feature (according to me) and they are well...let's just say they are lacking in that department currently. With my 34 pounds gone...there is a little bit extra all over, but especially in the thigh department. So that needs some work.
I have to kick my boo-tay back into gear this Wednesday. I weigh-in and start my 33rd week on Weight Watchers. I have hit a wall, but it's been my own fault. I have been slacking at tracking my points and kinda getting dangerously bored-snacky. I just want to get myself under 200 and keep it there for a while...of course going even further under that goal would be nice each week. I am currently hovering around 201...and I am over it. So BUTT...you are on notice, a good kickin is headed your way!!! Be ready!!
And congrats to my Mom who also bit the bullet and joined Weight Watchers!!! I think it will be great for her too!! She lost 2.4 (hope I got that right Ma) after her first week!! YEAHHH!!! Also, congrats to my birthday bro Dave, he has lost 15.6 pounds after I believe one month with WW!!! It's awesome!!!
So here's to GOALS and CHALLENGES and VICTORIES with both!!!! Talk to you soon!! (it's feeling like a long day today so I will most likely be back!!)
So I did my second "Easy Pilate's" work out last night. It is only 25 minutes of some of the basic moves, but for me it is enough for now. I will slowly move my way up to the 35 minute one, then onto the 45 minute one. The pose above...that was the hardest and easiest pose to do. I know you are thinking that doesn't make much sense, so maybe if I say it like this. It was strenuous to do, but I actually did it!! Like I didn't falter at all...now my insides were shaking from holding my "powerhouse" so tight...but I did it!!
Cory promises that he will start doing the Pilate's with me on his next set of days off. So I am glad that I have till Sunday to perfect the poses so I look like a pro when he is rocking every which way during his first workout like I did! I am also gonna need to get a mat. I used a blanket last night (cause we have hardwood floors) and that was just an invitation for my dogs to lay next to me as I was trying to do the exercise. At one point Pickle laid under my head while it was up and when I came down I had a nice pillow and Olive tried laying on my legs; but that wasn't gonna work for me. So sad to say I had to lock the pups out for the duration of the Pilate's session.
My plan/goal/challenge is to do this every day at some point during the day for two-three weeks, then bump myself up to the 35 minute workout. That will be of course if I feel comfortable enough. I really want to master the basics before I move up...there is really no need to progress too fast.
I will also be hitting the treadmill again, three days a week. I am gonna try and do the "Couch-Potato-to-5K" workout. I really want to get my legs into shape again. They used to be my best feature (according to me) and they are well...let's just say they are lacking in that department currently. With my 34 pounds gone...there is a little bit extra all over, but especially in the thigh department. So that needs some work.
I have to kick my boo-tay back into gear this Wednesday. I weigh-in and start my 33rd week on Weight Watchers. I have hit a wall, but it's been my own fault. I have been slacking at tracking my points and kinda getting dangerously bored-snacky. I just want to get myself under 200 and keep it there for a while...of course going even further under that goal would be nice each week. I am currently hovering around 201...and I am over it. So BUTT...you are on notice, a good kickin is headed your way!!! Be ready!!
And congrats to my Mom who also bit the bullet and joined Weight Watchers!!! I think it will be great for her too!! She lost 2.4 (hope I got that right Ma) after her first week!! YEAHHH!!! Also, congrats to my birthday bro Dave, he has lost 15.6 pounds after I believe one month with WW!!! It's awesome!!!
So here's to GOALS and CHALLENGES and VICTORIES with both!!!! Talk to you soon!! (it's feeling like a long day today so I will most likely be back!!)
Monday, August 18, 2008
What a weekend!
April writing...
Friday afternoon, I was picked up from work and whisked away on a Youth Leadership weekend in Frederick, MD. I was prepared for this and pretty excited! We got into our FARMHOUSE and got settled into our bunk beds, then we headed down for dinner and our first meetings. And that about wraps up the weekend...eating...meeting...and laughing! ha! (well you could probably say tooting too) haha!
No really, we got a TON of stuff accomplished and discussed. We are all pretty amped about the upcoming year and what God has in store for the VERB Youth Ministry! I am just praying that we can really get the kiddos behind it all and get them amped too! We talked about everything from how to get students in from the community all the way down to getting them into peer leadership. It's a long trek for most of them, but we plan to be there and encourage them the entire way!
We also did the ropes course together as a team. And I have one word for ya...Ouch. Seriously. I bit it on the little trapeze-balancing-triangle-thingee. I was getting farther than any one else had so far, and I was really concentrating and trying to reach the end. I got halfway through the really wobbly or rather jiggly line and lost my balance. I should have let go of the rope and caught myself on my feet (we were only like 3 feet in the air). but instead I held on for dear life (cause that is what my brain was telling my body to do) and I flew around, eventually landing on what was thought to be my pretty padded backside, then I proceeded to slam and bounce my head on the ground...thus letting go of the rope finally. Ouch. When I opened my eyes I see little heads bouncing into my view standing over me asking if I was ok. I was ok, but immediately sore and pretty dizzy. When I sat up it hit me how much that hurt and I did cry a little...I am not a wuss...but it did get me a little.
So then I went to nurse my wounds sitting on the balance floor. Brandy came and joined me, sitting on the other side of the floor and we balanced it out. That was until she started jumping around and up off the floor to get away from a bug. Without me realizing that my foot and ankle were propped underneath the floor getting ready to be slammed by the weight of the floor coming back down on my side (think of it as a big see-saw). Ouch again. So a few jokes were made about me not having much luck...and we proceeded to finish the rest of the course. I was able to do a few more things...and with no more injuries on my part! yeah!!
We wrapped up the weekend by planning a hopefully approved upcoming event!!! So I will be very eager to share more about that should it be approved (fingers crossed, hoping and praying!!!) and then we headed out to Cracker Barrel. Yes, thank you Baby Jesus. We needed some good food...didn't we ya'll?!
Overall it was really a great weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I def think it should be a yearly occurrence! :)
The rest of the weekend went pretty well...Cory and I had a full day together on Sunday. We sat together just enjoying each other, which was needed for us. It came at the perfect time. I love how God steps in just when it is needed and stretches us, thus equalling a stronger love for each other! My time with my hubby made me really proud to call him my soul mate. Things don't always go the way we've planned, or the way we would have hoped but I love him no matter what. I know that God has huge plans for us...growing together daily, touching other peoples lives through youth ministry and being an elder, starting a family, being great parents and friends and just becoming the couple together that God designed for us to be. I love you CJE with all my heart, always remember that! :)
Friday afternoon, I was picked up from work and whisked away on a Youth Leadership weekend in Frederick, MD. I was prepared for this and pretty excited! We got into our FARMHOUSE and got settled into our bunk beds, then we headed down for dinner and our first meetings. And that about wraps up the weekend...eating...meeting...and laughing! ha! (well you could probably say tooting too) haha!
No really, we got a TON of stuff accomplished and discussed. We are all pretty amped about the upcoming year and what God has in store for the VERB Youth Ministry! I am just praying that we can really get the kiddos behind it all and get them amped too! We talked about everything from how to get students in from the community all the way down to getting them into peer leadership. It's a long trek for most of them, but we plan to be there and encourage them the entire way!
We also did the ropes course together as a team. And I have one word for ya...Ouch. Seriously. I bit it on the little trapeze-balancing-triangle-thingee. I was getting farther than any one else had so far, and I was really concentrating and trying to reach the end. I got halfway through the really wobbly or rather jiggly line and lost my balance. I should have let go of the rope and caught myself on my feet (we were only like 3 feet in the air). but instead I held on for dear life (cause that is what my brain was telling my body to do) and I flew around, eventually landing on what was thought to be my pretty padded backside, then I proceeded to slam and bounce my head on the ground...thus letting go of the rope finally. Ouch. When I opened my eyes I see little heads bouncing into my view standing over me asking if I was ok. I was ok, but immediately sore and pretty dizzy. When I sat up it hit me how much that hurt and I did cry a little...I am not a wuss...but it did get me a little.
So then I went to nurse my wounds sitting on the balance floor. Brandy came and joined me, sitting on the other side of the floor and we balanced it out. That was until she started jumping around and up off the floor to get away from a bug. Without me realizing that my foot and ankle were propped underneath the floor getting ready to be slammed by the weight of the floor coming back down on my side (think of it as a big see-saw). Ouch again. So a few jokes were made about me not having much luck...and we proceeded to finish the rest of the course. I was able to do a few more things...and with no more injuries on my part! yeah!!
We wrapped up the weekend by planning a hopefully approved upcoming event!!! So I will be very eager to share more about that should it be approved (fingers crossed, hoping and praying!!!) and then we headed out to Cracker Barrel. Yes, thank you Baby Jesus. We needed some good food...didn't we ya'll?!
Overall it was really a great weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I def think it should be a yearly occurrence! :)
The rest of the weekend went pretty well...Cory and I had a full day together on Sunday. We sat together just enjoying each other, which was needed for us. It came at the perfect time. I love how God steps in just when it is needed and stretches us, thus equalling a stronger love for each other! My time with my hubby made me really proud to call him my soul mate. Things don't always go the way we've planned, or the way we would have hoped but I love him no matter what. I know that God has huge plans for us...growing together daily, touching other peoples lives through youth ministry and being an elder, starting a family, being great parents and friends and just becoming the couple together that God designed for us to be. I love you CJE with all my heart, always remember that! :)
Friday, August 15, 2008
Google saved me $2,650
April writing...
I am on my A game creepy dude...*this is kinda lengthy but I am angry, so learn from my almost mistake!*
So let me get you caught up...
So, Cory and I decided to sell our bedroom furniture on Craigslist. I took pictures and listed it on Sunday for $600. Monday morning, I got 6 hits. The first guy, David offered $600 and an additional $50 if I would take the listing off and promise it to him. He would send me a certified bank check for that full amount. Then he would send his 'movers' to come pick up the furniture. All I needed to do was send him my information (name, address and phone #) for the check.
I agreed to that amount (yeah an extra$50!) but I have been burned before and I didn’t remove the listing...ehh a little dishonest I know. (don't worry I almost paid for my dishonesty) and I sent him my info.
One...Two days go by…nothing from him, no email and no check. I start to get a little worried. Just because why hasn't he at least written back to say, got your address the check has been mailed, blah blah blah. So on Wednesday, I email him and basically say, I gave you all my info…when will I be receiving the check? When is pick up? Nothing...Wednesday night, not reply, Thursday am...no reply...finally Thursday evening I get a response.
He says, he checked in with is secretary and she wrote the check out for $2650 instead of $650. She claims that is the amount he told her to make the check out for cause she was supposed to be sending money to his movers to pay for the pick up too..but instead of two checks, she put it all on one check and is sending it to me. So he asked if I would get the check for $2650, take out my $650, plus an additional $50 for the trouble. The trouble part I guess pays for his next request. He asks that I take the remaining $1950 and money gram wire transfer it to his movers to pay for pickup and some previous other moving services they did. Then they will be buy to pick up the item.
I get a little pit in my stomach and I call Cory into the office to read the email and see what he thinks. We talked it over and agreed that there didn't seem to be any harm. Not that we would necessarily trust a perfect stranger with that of my money to pay someone else...but if he is, then we are honest people. We just want to sell the furniture. So, I emailed this "David" and agreed to accept the money and wire the extra money to his movers. I asked him for his movers info and when we would be setting up the pick-up. But I still had the pit in my stomach...
So today, Friday am and no reply from him, but by this point I am consistently seeing that he takes a day or two to respond, and it doesn't make me feel any better. So I talked to a couple of co-workers who said they would seem just as uneasy about it as I was. I went to lunch with Terri and she kinda hinted that he was a "sketchball" and all that. So when I got back to work I decided to do some research.
Here's where Google saved me $2,650. I went to Google and typed in "man on Craigslist had me wire money", Enter. About 10 pages of entries popped up. The second one was titled "Wire Transfer Scams" and listed Craigslist in its details. So I clicked on it.
And wouldn't you know, this was the very first thing mentioned:
"Craigslist Tips: counterfeit cashier's check & money transfer scams
1. distant buyer offers a high-value (but fake) cashier's check in exchange for your item
you receive an odd email offering to buy your item site unseen.
-cashier's check is offered for your sale item, as a deposit for an apartment, or just about anything else.
-value of cashier's check often far exceeds your item - buyer asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service
-banks will often cash these fake checks AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE WHEN THE CHECK FAILS TO CLEAR
-scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc)"
WOAH!!! That is like EVERYTHING this dude has asked for! Immediately the pit in my stomach turned to anger and I texted Terri to say this dude was scamming me, and I emailed Sarah to tell her and I called Cory. Oh no dude. Your scamming days are numbered in my book. I am not helping you steal money!!
So I emailed him back and said this, "David, I have done some talking with my husband...and we did some research online. All things are pointing to this over-priced check and wiring money situation to be a scam. I am an honest person and I do not wish to be involved in anything where we will be taken advantage of or do something illegal. I truly just want to sell my furniture and get this situation taken care of.
At this point, please disregard my last email agreeing to wire the money. We won't agree to anything like that. If you want, when I receive the check I can mail it back to you. If you still wish to purchase the furniture I would have to ask that the $650 be sent to our account via PayPal or delivered in cash when the furniture is picked up.
So please respond in a timely manner as to how we will complete this purchase. If I do not hear from you by Saturday evening at 9 pm I will take it that you have decided not to continue with the purchase and I will be moving on to find another buyer.*Please know that if there are any problems with this situation I have copies of all our email transactions and will not be held responsible for any wrong doing.*"
So I am sure now that this dude is NOT going to respond to me...especially if he is a scummy scammer. I am so angry...I mean seriously, WHO DOES THAT??? I mean it's horrible!! And I am SO glad that I caught it...that I finally followed my intuition and did some research! So take this as a lesson. CASH only on Craigslist people and FOLLOW your intuition!!!
I am on my A game creepy dude...*this is kinda lengthy but I am angry, so learn from my almost mistake!*
So let me get you caught up...
So, Cory and I decided to sell our bedroom furniture on Craigslist. I took pictures and listed it on Sunday for $600. Monday morning, I got 6 hits. The first guy, David offered $600 and an additional $50 if I would take the listing off and promise it to him. He would send me a certified bank check for that full amount. Then he would send his 'movers' to come pick up the furniture. All I needed to do was send him my information (name, address and phone #) for the check.
I agreed to that amount (yeah an extra$50!) but I have been burned before and I didn’t remove the listing...ehh a little dishonest I know. (don't worry I almost paid for my dishonesty) and I sent him my info.
One...Two days go by…nothing from him, no email and no check. I start to get a little worried. Just because why hasn't he at least written back to say, got your address the check has been mailed, blah blah blah. So on Wednesday, I email him and basically say, I gave you all my info…when will I be receiving the check? When is pick up? Nothing...Wednesday night, not reply, Thursday am...no reply...finally Thursday evening I get a response.
He says, he checked in with is secretary and she wrote the check out for $2650 instead of $650. She claims that is the amount he told her to make the check out for cause she was supposed to be sending money to his movers to pay for the pick up too..but instead of two checks, she put it all on one check and is sending it to me. So he asked if I would get the check for $2650, take out my $650, plus an additional $50 for the trouble. The trouble part I guess pays for his next request. He asks that I take the remaining $1950 and money gram wire transfer it to his movers to pay for pickup and some previous other moving services they did. Then they will be buy to pick up the item.
I get a little pit in my stomach and I call Cory into the office to read the email and see what he thinks. We talked it over and agreed that there didn't seem to be any harm. Not that we would necessarily trust a perfect stranger with that of my money to pay someone else...but if he is, then we are honest people. We just want to sell the furniture. So, I emailed this "David" and agreed to accept the money and wire the extra money to his movers. I asked him for his movers info and when we would be setting up the pick-up. But I still had the pit in my stomach...
So today, Friday am and no reply from him, but by this point I am consistently seeing that he takes a day or two to respond, and it doesn't make me feel any better. So I talked to a couple of co-workers who said they would seem just as uneasy about it as I was. I went to lunch with Terri and she kinda hinted that he was a "sketchball" and all that. So when I got back to work I decided to do some research.
Here's where Google saved me $2,650. I went to Google and typed in "man on Craigslist had me wire money", Enter. About 10 pages of entries popped up. The second one was titled "Wire Transfer Scams" and listed Craigslist in its details. So I clicked on it.
And wouldn't you know, this was the very first thing mentioned:
"Craigslist Tips: counterfeit cashier's check & money transfer scams
1. distant buyer offers a high-value (but fake) cashier's check in exchange for your item
you receive an odd email offering to buy your item site unseen.
-cashier's check is offered for your sale item, as a deposit for an apartment, or just about anything else.
-value of cashier's check often far exceeds your item - buyer asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service
-banks will often cash these fake checks AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE WHEN THE CHECK FAILS TO CLEAR
-scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc)"
WOAH!!! That is like EVERYTHING this dude has asked for! Immediately the pit in my stomach turned to anger and I texted Terri to say this dude was scamming me, and I emailed Sarah to tell her and I called Cory. Oh no dude. Your scamming days are numbered in my book. I am not helping you steal money!!
So I emailed him back and said this, "David, I have done some talking with my husband...and we did some research online. All things are pointing to this over-priced check and wiring money situation to be a scam. I am an honest person and I do not wish to be involved in anything where we will be taken advantage of or do something illegal. I truly just want to sell my furniture and get this situation taken care of.
At this point, please disregard my last email agreeing to wire the money. We won't agree to anything like that. If you want, when I receive the check I can mail it back to you. If you still wish to purchase the furniture I would have to ask that the $650 be sent to our account via PayPal or delivered in cash when the furniture is picked up.
So please respond in a timely manner as to how we will complete this purchase. If I do not hear from you by Saturday evening at 9 pm I will take it that you have decided not to continue with the purchase and I will be moving on to find another buyer.*Please know that if there are any problems with this situation I have copies of all our email transactions and will not be held responsible for any wrong doing.*"
So I am sure now that this dude is NOT going to respond to me...especially if he is a scummy scammer. I am so angry...I mean seriously, WHO DOES THAT??? I mean it's horrible!! And I am SO glad that I caught it...that I finally followed my intuition and did some research! So take this as a lesson. CASH only on Craigslist people and FOLLOW your intuition!!!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
l o g o s
April writing...
So I came home from work today and while waiting for Cory to wake up I did some more work on my Heartscape Designs logo. Here are two that I came up with...what do you think?
So I came home from work today and while waiting for Cory to wake up I did some more work on my Heartscape Designs logo. Here are two that I came up with...what do you think?
and for the more linear look...
Well??? Am I on the right road...do you likey?? Let me know what you think. Also...does the tagline work?? Hmmmm ok.
My simple pleasure
April writing...
My simple pleasure is having lunch made for me! This morning I got up, got ready and gathered my stuff to head off to work. When I got to the front door my lunchbox was hanging there with lunch made for me. I was so excited that I almost opened it up then and there to find out what Cory had made me for lunch...but I waited...ALL the way till I got to work!!
As soon as I got in...I opened it to find...Chips, PB & J (my fav), Kudos bars and PB crackers with a little note that read "Babe, I hope you enjoy your lunch. There isn't much here for a weight watchers lunch. Love You, Cory."
Aweee...he tried to make it WW friendly. You see there aren't many WW snacks at home, cause I bring them all to work...cause it is usually work where I feel 'snacky.' So I guess I will be needing to keep some at home so my hubby can continue to make me yummy lunches for work!
Thanks sweetie...I am eating my PB & J sandwich and chips now...and I will have my crackers later for a snack...you're the BEST!!! :)
My simple pleasure is having lunch made for me! This morning I got up, got ready and gathered my stuff to head off to work. When I got to the front door my lunchbox was hanging there with lunch made for me. I was so excited that I almost opened it up then and there to find out what Cory had made me for lunch...but I waited...ALL the way till I got to work!!
As soon as I got in...I opened it to find...Chips, PB & J (my fav), Kudos bars and PB crackers with a little note that read "Babe, I hope you enjoy your lunch. There isn't much here for a weight watchers lunch. Love You, Cory."
Aweee...he tried to make it WW friendly. You see there aren't many WW snacks at home, cause I bring them all to work...cause it is usually work where I feel 'snacky.' So I guess I will be needing to keep some at home so my hubby can continue to make me yummy lunches for work!
Thanks sweetie...I am eating my PB & J sandwich and chips now...and I will have my crackers later for a snack...you're the BEST!!! :)
*only slightly* Wordless Wednesday
April writing...
*let me prefaces this blog by saying I TRIED to upload this LAST night, actually on Wednesday and actually after I told Cory I would be blogging again* (Please see his post...this is my response!)
Anyways...here is LAST nights post...finally Blogger started working with me!
*Bathtime joy*
*let me prefaces this blog by saying I TRIED to upload this LAST night, actually on Wednesday and actually after I told Cory I would be blogging again* (Please see his post...this is my response!)
Anyways...here is LAST nights post...finally Blogger started working with me!
*Bathtime joy*Simple Pleasure Thursdays
Cory Writing....
I didn't think about this until after I blogged already, but I am going to start a new weekly tradition that I hope all of you will participate in.
If you live in Maryland and you have ever listened to 93.1 WPOC and heard Laurie Deyoung's morning show you will know what this is. Every Thursday she does Simple Pleasures and that is what I want us to start doing.
Here is how it works. Every Thursday I will give you my simple pleasure and then you leave a comment with your simple pleasure. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it is your simple pleasure.
My simple pleasure today is The Olympics and the competition of the Olympics. The fact that most of these athletes are truly only doing it because they love the sport and love the competition.
There you have it now please share yours with all of us.
I didn't think about this until after I blogged already, but I am going to start a new weekly tradition that I hope all of you will participate in.
If you live in Maryland and you have ever listened to 93.1 WPOC and heard Laurie Deyoung's morning show you will know what this is. Every Thursday she does Simple Pleasures and that is what I want us to start doing.
Here is how it works. Every Thursday I will give you my simple pleasure and then you leave a comment with your simple pleasure. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it is your simple pleasure.
My simple pleasure today is The Olympics and the competition of the Olympics. The fact that most of these athletes are truly only doing it because they love the sport and love the competition.
There you have it now please share yours with all of us.
What Im Looking forward to.
Cory Writing....
First of all I would like you all to notice I am on a roll with this blogging thing.
Second think after all the nice things I said about my wife, she goes and lies to me. She made me read her blog today and I told her I didn't want to because I read it at work, but she made me and said I will blog again. That is where the lie comes in she didn't blog again, so here I am left with nothing to read. HMMMMMMMM.
On to more important things like my blog. I have several thinks that I am looking forward to. The first thing is this weekend. As a youth group leadership we are going away for a little bit of planning, team building exercises, and a lot of fun. It should be a great time, plus I get to hang with my two favorite people (no offense meant to anyone else) Jason and Brittany. I feel like I haven't hung out with them in forever.
The next thing I am excited for is teaching my leadership class. I am teaching a leadership class at church for our youth peer leaders. I am really excited about doing this because I think it is going to stretch me, but in a way that I am excited to be stretched. You see I would love to teach classes, but it kind of scares me. So I am trying to overcome my fears and I am excited about it.
The next thing that I am excited for is a long term goal, but hopefully not that long term. My wife and I have sat down and made a pact that we are getting debt free and I mean it.... does anyone want a peanut. We have a plan and we are putting it into action and soon we will be free from the chains of debt. Rock on with our bad selves. I can't wait for all the people we will be able to help and all the things we will be able to do for others. (Anyone asks for a handout in your comments you will be taken off the help list ha ha).
So those are the things that I am looking forward too. Oh by the way before I go 1443 days till Jason, Brittany, April, and I go to London for Olympics 2012.
Until Next Time Peace, Love, and Hair Grease.
First of all I would like you all to notice I am on a roll with this blogging thing.
Second think after all the nice things I said about my wife, she goes and lies to me. She made me read her blog today and I told her I didn't want to because I read it at work, but she made me and said I will blog again. That is where the lie comes in she didn't blog again, so here I am left with nothing to read. HMMMMMMMM.
On to more important things like my blog. I have several thinks that I am looking forward to. The first thing is this weekend. As a youth group leadership we are going away for a little bit of planning, team building exercises, and a lot of fun. It should be a great time, plus I get to hang with my two favorite people (no offense meant to anyone else) Jason and Brittany. I feel like I haven't hung out with them in forever.
The next thing I am excited for is teaching my leadership class. I am teaching a leadership class at church for our youth peer leaders. I am really excited about doing this because I think it is going to stretch me, but in a way that I am excited to be stretched. You see I would love to teach classes, but it kind of scares me. So I am trying to overcome my fears and I am excited about it.
The next thing that I am excited for is a long term goal, but hopefully not that long term. My wife and I have sat down and made a pact that we are getting debt free and I mean it.... does anyone want a peanut. We have a plan and we are putting it into action and soon we will be free from the chains of debt. Rock on with our bad selves. I can't wait for all the people we will be able to help and all the things we will be able to do for others. (Anyone asks for a handout in your comments you will be taken off the help list ha ha).
So those are the things that I am looking forward too. Oh by the way before I go 1443 days till Jason, Brittany, April, and I go to London for Olympics 2012.
Until Next Time Peace, Love, and Hair Grease.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Trying my hand
April writing...
Well I am giving it a shot. Trying my hand at an online store.
I ran across this opportunity on some blogs that I read regularly. The potential to make some extra money creating one of a kind products is pretty high. In just playing around with it today I designed two shirts and a pair of shoes.
And they are all available for purchase!! (I don't set the prices however, so that is a little ehh...but according to one of the blogs...people STILL buy!)
So I am gonna try it out.
I am going to work on some designs for birthday cards, mom and dad cars, invites, etc. We'll see how it goes.
Take a look at some of my products and let me know what you think. Be honest about the whole thing...it won't hurt my feelings.
create & buy custom products at Zazzle
Well I am giving it a shot. Trying my hand at an online store.
I ran across this opportunity on some blogs that I read regularly. The potential to make some extra money creating one of a kind products is pretty high. In just playing around with it today I designed two shirts and a pair of shoes.
And they are all available for purchase!! (I don't set the prices however, so that is a little ehh...but according to one of the blogs...people STILL buy!)
So I am gonna try it out.
I am going to work on some designs for birthday cards, mom and dad cars, invites, etc. We'll see how it goes.
Take a look at some of my products and let me know what you think. Be honest about the whole thing...it won't hurt my feelings.
create & buy custom products at Zazzle
I think I will try to plan it.
Cory Writing.......
I am thinking about trying to plan and attend the Summer Olympics in 2012. In case you didn't know where the Summer Olympics were being held in 2012 it is London. They are going to be held from July 27 through August 12, so I have exactly 1444 days to save up the money and plan my trip.
I think it would be a really cool thing to do, but I don't even know how much money it will cost to go. I know that I will have to buy airfare and hotel, but I am not sure how all the events go. I guess you would have to buy tickets just like any other event that you would like to attend. Well, I think I will discuss it with April, but I think it would be really cool to attend.
Tell me what you think...
I am thinking about trying to plan and attend the Summer Olympics in 2012. In case you didn't know where the Summer Olympics were being held in 2012 it is London. They are going to be held from July 27 through August 12, so I have exactly 1444 days to save up the money and plan my trip.
I think it would be a really cool thing to do, but I don't even know how much money it will cost to go. I know that I will have to buy airfare and hotel, but I am not sure how all the events go. I guess you would have to buy tickets just like any other event that you would like to attend. Well, I think I will discuss it with April, but I think it would be really cool to attend.
Tell me what you think...
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Tuesday...blah blah blah.
April writing...
Yeah for Cory! He has blogged three times since last Monday!!! Yeah sweetie!! See you CAN do it!! Even when you have a rough shift!
Now onto the headache part. So I decided to wear a headband today. I haven't worn this headband before so it hasn't exactly been 'worked out' yet. It is squeezing the life out of my huge brain and now I have a headache. But I can't very well take it off, cause then my hair will look pushed back without a headband and that's not cool. EHHHHH!!! Oh well.
I spoke with my BABY Nurse yesterday, Sonya. (She is amazing by the way. She makes up for the docs kinda quiet and dry bedside manner) Anyways, she has ordered my medicine and I will be going in to see them sometime around the 26th-27th. So I am excited...yipps. Cory on the other hand is not super excited. I mean he wants a baby, but pretty much up until now I have been having to do all the hard work...and by hard work I mean...surgeries, procedures, sonograms, bloodwork, traveling to Baltimore in the morning before work and being poked and prodded. Well now he has to be poked and prodded a bit. And he's not liking it! :) haha. I am not laughing AT you baby...just at your reaction. It's like a kid that doesn't want to go to the dentist! But you will survive...and you will be doing your part for a healthy baby too! :) So...more prayers please! :)
I have been looking at ways to spruce up and excite my home business. Starting back in the summer of 06, I decided to look into becoming a custom scrapbook and memory designer. I set up my business model, gave it a name, Heartscape Designs and to date have completed three projects for three customers. I have one customer now that I am awaiting pictures from...(Melissa!!) I am eager to work on her wedding scrapbook! I would say since earlier this year I have kind of let this settle and worked on some other projects.
Well, I am gearing up again and here are just a few of the things I am excited about offering:
- Scrapbooking: 12 x 12, 8 1/2 x 11, 8 x 8, 6 x 6 Albums with pictures/Premade (Baby, First Year)
- Postcards, Note Cards, Thank You Cards, Invites, Announcements, Labels, Business Cards, etc. (Digitally created and printed)
- Blog Extras - Headers, Footers, Title Boxes (premade or especially designed)
- Frames, Shadow Boxes & Tins
I am looking for some 'test' customers. This would be at no cost to you...but I am looking for some people that would be willing to let me use some of thier pictures and basically set up a 'mock' project to use for my portfolio and website as samples. Here are the areas that I need testers:
1. Baby Announcements (if you have some sweet pics of the little ones with thier birth info and name)
2. Graduation Announcements (have a family member that has graduation and have a pic of them and the date)
3. Baby's First Year Scrapbook (I am gearing up to make a baby's first year scrapbook, looking for a boy and a girl with pictures from newborn up to 12 months)
4. Other: anything you wish to try.
Each tester will get a copy (for free, if it is a scrapbook, this does not include the album) and I will use the project as a sample for my business. I would love it if anyone would be interested. So just let me know and that would be a HUGE help to me!!!! Oh and of course if you are willing to be an actual customer and you have a project that you would like completed I am available as well. Thanks guys!
Yeah for Cory! He has blogged three times since last Monday!!! Yeah sweetie!! See you CAN do it!! Even when you have a rough shift!
Now onto the headache part. So I decided to wear a headband today. I haven't worn this headband before so it hasn't exactly been 'worked out' yet. It is squeezing the life out of my huge brain and now I have a headache. But I can't very well take it off, cause then my hair will look pushed back without a headband and that's not cool. EHHHHH!!! Oh well.
I spoke with my BABY Nurse yesterday, Sonya. (She is amazing by the way. She makes up for the docs kinda quiet and dry bedside manner) Anyways, she has ordered my medicine and I will be going in to see them sometime around the 26th-27th. So I am excited...yipps. Cory on the other hand is not super excited. I mean he wants a baby, but pretty much up until now I have been having to do all the hard work...and by hard work I mean...surgeries, procedures, sonograms, bloodwork, traveling to Baltimore in the morning before work and being poked and prodded. Well now he has to be poked and prodded a bit. And he's not liking it! :) haha. I am not laughing AT you baby...just at your reaction. It's like a kid that doesn't want to go to the dentist! But you will survive...and you will be doing your part for a healthy baby too! :) So...more prayers please! :)
I have been looking at ways to spruce up and excite my home business. Starting back in the summer of 06, I decided to look into becoming a custom scrapbook and memory designer. I set up my business model, gave it a name, Heartscape Designs and to date have completed three projects for three customers. I have one customer now that I am awaiting pictures from...(Melissa!!) I am eager to work on her wedding scrapbook! I would say since earlier this year I have kind of let this settle and worked on some other projects.
Well, I am gearing up again and here are just a few of the things I am excited about offering:
- Scrapbooking: 12 x 12, 8 1/2 x 11, 8 x 8, 6 x 6 Albums with pictures/Premade (Baby, First Year)
- Postcards, Note Cards, Thank You Cards, Invites, Announcements, Labels, Business Cards, etc. (Digitally created and printed)
- Blog Extras - Headers, Footers, Title Boxes (premade or especially designed)
- Frames, Shadow Boxes & Tins
I am looking for some 'test' customers. This would be at no cost to you...but I am looking for some people that would be willing to let me use some of thier pictures and basically set up a 'mock' project to use for my portfolio and website as samples. Here are the areas that I need testers:
1. Baby Announcements (if you have some sweet pics of the little ones with thier birth info and name)
2. Graduation Announcements (have a family member that has graduation and have a pic of them and the date)
3. Baby's First Year Scrapbook (I am gearing up to make a baby's first year scrapbook, looking for a boy and a girl with pictures from newborn up to 12 months)
4. Other: anything you wish to try.
Each tester will get a copy (for free, if it is a scrapbook, this does not include the album) and I will use the project as a sample for my business. I would love it if anyone would be interested. So just let me know and that would be a HUGE help to me!!!! Oh and of course if you are willing to be an actual customer and you have a project that you would like completed I am available as well. Thanks guys!
Mixed bag of blog.
Cory Writing......
The first thing that I want to blog about is how great my wife is. She is more than understanding with my annoying idiosyncrasies. She understands when I am
unavailable to go with her to things because of my work/sleep schedule. She is doing a great job keeping dinner exciting and she is making great new stuff. She does a great job keeping our house clean and well kept. She is overall the greatest wife and I am the luckiest man alive to have her by my side. Thank you April Renae Eslick for being a great woman and wife.
The second ting I want to blog about is how much it sucks when your week starts of horrible. My week started off very hard this week. As you know if you read my wife's blog I got drafted to come into work 4 hours early, but what made it rough is the fact that it was the first day back to work after my days off. The four hours were very very busy and then I went into my normal work day and I had a rookie officer assigned to me. That made it more difficult because I had to be on my A game because I was training. That was a really long day. Then I had Tammi's birthday party. Then I went back to work that night and had court in the morning, so I didn't get home until 11:00 a.m. So I officially have worked three days and I feel like I worked a full shift already.
The third thing I want to blog about is how much I am looking forward to this weekend. We are going away for a couple of days with the youth group leadership for a little bit of team building. I think it is going to be a very exciting weekend and I am looking forward to it.
The final thing I want to blog about is how much I love the Olympics. I was originally upset that the Olympics were being held in a Communist country, but after watching the Olympics for the last several days i think I am OK with it. We have gotten a chance to see a side of China that we would have never seen without the Olympics being held there. I just love the Olympics and I feel that it brings the country together and what better time to have them then during war time. GO USA.
I hope this blog makes since after all it is 3:56 in the morning and I have had a rough week. Thanks for listening or reading my rambles.
Until next time.....
peace, love, and hair grease.
The first thing that I want to blog about is how great my wife is. She is more than understanding with my annoying idiosyncrasies. She understands when I am
unavailable to go with her to things because of my work/sleep schedule. She is doing a great job keeping dinner exciting and she is making great new stuff. She does a great job keeping our house clean and well kept. She is overall the greatest wife and I am the luckiest man alive to have her by my side. Thank you April Renae Eslick for being a great woman and wife.
The second ting I want to blog about is how much it sucks when your week starts of horrible. My week started off very hard this week. As you know if you read my wife's blog I got drafted to come into work 4 hours early, but what made it rough is the fact that it was the first day back to work after my days off. The four hours were very very busy and then I went into my normal work day and I had a rookie officer assigned to me. That made it more difficult because I had to be on my A game because I was training. That was a really long day. Then I had Tammi's birthday party. Then I went back to work that night and had court in the morning, so I didn't get home until 11:00 a.m. So I officially have worked three days and I feel like I worked a full shift already.
The third thing I want to blog about is how much I am looking forward to this weekend. We are going away for a couple of days with the youth group leadership for a little bit of team building. I think it is going to be a very exciting weekend and I am looking forward to it.
The final thing I want to blog about is how much I love the Olympics. I was originally upset that the Olympics were being held in a Communist country, but after watching the Olympics for the last several days i think I am OK with it. We have gotten a chance to see a side of China that we would have never seen without the Olympics being held there. I just love the Olympics and I feel that it brings the country together and what better time to have them then during war time. GO USA.
I hope this blog makes since after all it is 3:56 in the morning and I have had a rough week. Thanks for listening or reading my rambles.
Until next time.....
peace, love, and hair grease.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Am I awake?
April writing...
Monday...stinkin...morning. Always comes so quickly doesn't it?! Oh well, here's to another week. Hope it's a great one for everyone!
So this weekend was pretty decent. Saturday Cory and I slept in...(so nice!) and when we got up we had lunch (yeah we slept in that late...but we WERE up till 4 am! Cory had overtime and I watched movies till he got home!) Anyways...then we headed out to Ikea to pick out new bedroom furniture. We will be selling our old bedroom furniture to get them...so if anyone is interested in buying, let me know I can send you pics! It's two night stands, one skinny six drawer unit, a 6 drawer chest, 3 drawer chest and a wardrobe unit. All matching.
This is what we WANT...
This mirror will actually be going long ways above the 8 drawer chest.
And of course...here is the 8 drawer chest.
Our bedside tables... 
The other chest, 6 drawers...
And of course the bed frame...but this will be coming later. Our bed will actually be sitting higher than this pic does. It looks like they just have the mattress down where the boxspring should be. hmmm. 
Monday...stinkin...morning. Always comes so quickly doesn't it?! Oh well, here's to another week. Hope it's a great one for everyone!
So this weekend was pretty decent. Saturday Cory and I slept in...(so nice!) and when we got up we had lunch (yeah we slept in that late...but we WERE up till 4 am! Cory had overtime and I watched movies till he got home!) Anyways...then we headed out to Ikea to pick out new bedroom furniture. We will be selling our old bedroom furniture to get them...so if anyone is interested in buying, let me know I can send you pics! It's two night stands, one skinny six drawer unit, a 6 drawer chest, 3 drawer chest and a wardrobe unit. All matching.
This is what we WANT...
This mirror will actually be going long ways above the 8 drawer chest.
And of course...here is the 8 drawer chest.Our bedside tables... 
The other chest, 6 drawers...
And of course the bed frame...but this will be coming later. Our bed will actually be sitting higher than this pic does. It looks like they just have the mattress down where the boxspring should be. hmmm. Anyways...so I am really excited about that. That will mean that the bedroom is ONE step closer to being complete. (minus new paint and carpet...coming eventually!)
Then Saturday evening I did some work out in the yard while Cory headed into work 4 hours early. (my bad baby!!) You see, he got called in and if I hadn't have answered the phone on accident...well let's just say...he wouldn't have had to go in. Oops! After Cory left, I joined up with Brittany and Jason to help put up some pictures from the Puerto Rico missions trip in the Grand Hall for people at church to see during the In-Between Scene. So that was my Sat. night.
Sunday was of course church in the am, then I headed home to bake a cake for Tammy's 30th Birthday!!! yeah TAMM!!! We went over their house on Sunday night and had Burgers and Hot Dogs and lots of cake! :) Tamm's sis-in-law, Chrissy made this awesome cake. You see Tammy is kind of laid up right now after having surgery on her ankle. So Chrissy took a barbie doll, cut it's hair short, put a fake cast on the leg and sat the barbie on the cake with the leg on a whoopie cushion. The cake said, "turning 30 stinks!" haha! It was too cute! I jumped on the trampoline with the kiddos for about 25 minutes...(woah am I paying for that this morning!) but it was a nice night.
So here we are again at the beginning of the work week. I actually don't have all that much going on this week (thank heavens.) I will be doing some errands for Brittany's Shower and then we have the Youth Leaders Retreat on Friday evening and Saturday. This week looks to be pretty mild, and so far the weather is matching. It was a glorious 72 degrees outside and no humidity this am. How nice. I actually got to ride to work with the window down!!! Hoping that sticks around, because I am really ready for FALL. The summer has flown by and I am kinda glad. It's just been miserably hot and nasty. So I long for some time to spend outside in the cooler weather with no mosquitoes!!!
Alrighty...it's early so you may hear from me again. Have a GREAT Monday either way!
Friday, August 08, 2008
Pops or Bites...whatcha like? :)
April writing...
We were finally successful in the cupcake pops...well cupcake bites department. Aren't they too cute!?!? I think it is pretty much similar to the other idea...just not in lollipop form, and a little easier too...a few less steps. I am pleased.
I hope these little bites make a sweet addition to Brittany's shower...one that is quickly approaching might I add...eeeekkk!!
Now...in other news (ahhh I just had to) from our baby front since I haven't updated in a while and babies were the topic of my last conversation tonight. At the end of this month we SHOULD be proceeding (finally) with the IUI process (Intra-uterine insemenation) I will have to take some shots and lots of sonograms for about 10 days and then well, they do thier part and we wait. I say 'should' because it will all depend on some bloodwork and a few let's call them prerequisites. We are very excited and hopeful, yet grounded.
*allow me to get a little serious with you*
From the start Cory and I have always had a firm, faith-led belief that this pregnancy will happen in God's timing...and we continue with that belief. We have peace and understanding that all things happen for a reason, including and especially pregnancies. We have decided as a couple not to let this 'trying to get pregnant' consume our relationship. We have seen too many couples get entangled in the emotional ups and downs of this process, to then let ourselves get tripped up the same way. There are two many couples who get so caught up in the timing of it all that they lose who 'they' are together. Our time together is already so valuble to us, that taking it down a notch or two by saying things must be timed 'just so' just isn't something we are willing to do.
I know that there are people in our life that probably believe that we just must not really want it that bad...or we would be a little more proactive or stressed. After all it's been three years of trying! But what they aren't seeing is that we have a completely healthy and faith-filled outlook on this situation and we will continue to have that outlook.
Yes, I worry at times and yes, we both long to be parents and yes, there are times where I feel like it can't happen soon enough and yes, there are times where I get frustrated with the process and think 'why can't it just happen the normal way.'...but if I...if WE...allowed ourselves to get entangled in that web, well then we haven't actually progressed in life and in our relatinoship nor have we prepared ourselves for anything other than heartache.
My heart does ache for women that 'cannot have children' and over the past three years the thought that I may be one of those women has crossed my mind, I am human. But why in the world would I want to dwell on the negative? Especially after hearing soo many people say 'don't get stressed about getting pregnant, it only makes it harder to do so.' The funny part is, I feel abnormal because I am not stressed, and many of those same people who made the above statement seem to think we are living with our head in the clouds unwilling to face the fact that there may actually be something to be stressed about.
That's just not how we are. I believe in prayer and understanding of God's timing in my life. I welcome as many prayers as you could think to throw up to the 'big guy' on our behalf...I welcome advice and thoughtful words...we appreciate it all. Just know, we are dealing with this situation the best way we beleive God has created us to. And what we look forward to the most is being supported for what we believe and how we choose to travel this journey together as a couple.
I certainly hope this doesn't come across that I am angry or upset...I just want to set the record straight for any who may be wondering...do not fear for us, do not stress for us...just pray for us and rejoice with us that each day we all have together is blessing enough, should that be all that God chooses to BLESS us with. Thanks for allowing me to be a bit vulnerable with you.
*so much for just a simple blog about cupcake bites!!! teehee :) *
Cupcake Pops...yikes
April writing...
*photos courtesty Cory E.*
OK OK...before you say or think ANYTHING...I didn't read the directions as we were going. (always important)
Here are a few mistakes in the long list of mistakes that were made leading up to the monstrosity you see above.
#1 - too much cream cheese frosting in the mix. too gooey I think.
#2 - we didn't freeze them long enough.
#3 - my flower cookie cutter was too big to make the 'cupcake' shape on the bottom.
#4 - we didn't freeze them before the frosting step.
#5 - we didn't stick the lollipop sticks in before the chocolate dried.
...and it just went DOWN HILL from there...
SO with that said. They have potential. I am going to try again tonight with the leftover cake that I have. We will see how it goes. Lesson learned. Read all the directions before and as you go through the process. Oh well. ha!
SYTYCD *Spolier Alert*
April writing...
The So You Think You Can Dance finale was last night...
America decided on their winner...
I had decided that the top two would be...
Katie & Joshua.
I was wrong.
The top two was actually...
Twitch and Joshua.
But I was still happy.
*I am trying to go far enough down for those who haven't seen it yet to realize that I am about to announce the winner and I do not want to ruin it for anyone...*
I hope they have stopped reading...
JOSHUA WON!!!!!
I am really happy! I liked him alot. I think he always put alot into what he did and he was very well-rounded and just seemed to be an all around nice guy. Granted, Twitch had the 'personality' but I think that Joshua had a pretty funny one too. He was always honest, when it was tough and he did his best. Plus the man had a big booty and wore tight pants on a few occasions! :) haha.
Good for Katie too though...she ended up walking away with $50k!!! (Just for being the last girl in the competition) Man, I bet Courtney is kicking herself. I think that the girl race was pretty tight there at the end. Between Courtney and Katie...they both pretty much kicked butt. Although they got the gayest routine to dance from Tyce Diorio. Why do the guys get cool fighting and energetic routines and the girls get...parasols? Hmmm.
I did enjoy the Russian routine with Joshua and Twitch. And man is Twitch a lucky man, he got to kiss Katie like a woman should be kissed for the second time on stage...haha! Go Twitch.
The So You Think You Can Dance finale was last night...
America decided on their winner...
I had decided that the top two would be...
Katie & Joshua.
I was wrong.
The top two was actually...
Twitch and Joshua.
But I was still happy.
*I am trying to go far enough down for those who haven't seen it yet to realize that I am about to announce the winner and I do not want to ruin it for anyone...*
I hope they have stopped reading...
JOSHUA WON!!!!!
I am really happy! I liked him alot. I think he always put alot into what he did and he was very well-rounded and just seemed to be an all around nice guy. Granted, Twitch had the 'personality' but I think that Joshua had a pretty funny one too. He was always honest, when it was tough and he did his best. Plus the man had a big booty and wore tight pants on a few occasions! :) haha.
Good for Katie too though...she ended up walking away with $50k!!! (Just for being the last girl in the competition) Man, I bet Courtney is kicking herself. I think that the girl race was pretty tight there at the end. Between Courtney and Katie...they both pretty much kicked butt. Although they got the gayest routine to dance from Tyce Diorio. Why do the guys get cool fighting and energetic routines and the girls get...parasols? Hmmm.
I did enjoy the Russian routine with Joshua and Twitch. And man is Twitch a lucky man, he got to kiss Katie like a woman should be kissed for the second time on stage...haha! Go Twitch.
They showed some other great dances too...Overall it was a good finale. I am glad that Robert Muraine won the "pop-off'. Even though he did QUIT...but he was right, he would have been eaten alive by the likes of Mark, Twitch, Will and Joshua! :)
I am super-duper excited about the tour...coming up on November 10th.
They will be pretty good seats. We sat in section 108 last time...which is one section down and I thought the seats were great. I am SO excited!!
Anywho...that's all for now...check back soon though. I will be posting about our "Cupcake Pop" trial run last night...oh my.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
A Black Bear in Anne Arundel County...
Cory Writing.....
My title for this blog is not a joke. Let me tell you the story.
I was sitting in my car just taking a siesta and the crack of the radio interrupts me and I hear the dispatcher say, I am receiving a call from a citizen that is reporting there is a black bear running around his neighborhood.
Granted we are in South County, but I immediately think, "ok this citizen is an idiot and this thing is a big dog or this guy got some bad weed." Obviously I wasn't the only guy that thought this because when the officer that was dispatched to the call arrived on scene he said, "Radio I am out and it is a bear."
Several units were on scene and trying to coral this bear. The described it as about 60 lb bear, and I can just see three cops trying to keep this bear from wandering. Yeah Ok !!!!!
So they call DNR (Department of Natural Resources) and they say we are going to respond out there, but we don't want anyone to shoot the bear. Side note if the bear is coming at me I don't care what DNR wants but that bear will be full of lead. Back to the story. DNR finally arrives out there and they come to the conclusion that this is the bear that they have been tracking up from Southern Maryland and they decide to leave it alone. So everyone clears.
I have a little problem with this. Why aren't we catching this thing instead of letting it roam around Maryland. I have to say that if that thing gets ahold of someone, or something there is going to be a huge law suit.
I love police work because just when you thing you have seen it all a black bear roams into Anne Arundel County. Baltimore City might have heroine addicts, but Anne Arundel County Police can fight bears. Ha Ha.
For those of you wondering here are fun facts about black bears.....
Typical weights:
Males of breeding age: 125-500 lbs
Females of breeding age: 90-300 lbs
Are Black Bears Like Dogs? NO
Where do black bears live? American black bears only live in North America. They are found throughout Canada, in most of the states in the United States, and in northern Mexico. Black bears live mostly in areas where there are forests.They need a place where there is food,water, and shelter. They can find these things in wooded areas.
A black bear can run, for a short distance, as fast as 35 miles per hour. That's about as fast as a horse or a deer can run. It's much faster than humans can run.
THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL BEAR.
My title for this blog is not a joke. Let me tell you the story.
I was sitting in my car just taking a siesta and the crack of the radio interrupts me and I hear the dispatcher say, I am receiving a call from a citizen that is reporting there is a black bear running around his neighborhood.
Granted we are in South County, but I immediately think, "ok this citizen is an idiot and this thing is a big dog or this guy got some bad weed." Obviously I wasn't the only guy that thought this because when the officer that was dispatched to the call arrived on scene he said, "Radio I am out and it is a bear."
Several units were on scene and trying to coral this bear. The described it as about 60 lb bear, and I can just see three cops trying to keep this bear from wandering. Yeah Ok !!!!!
So they call DNR (Department of Natural Resources) and they say we are going to respond out there, but we don't want anyone to shoot the bear. Side note if the bear is coming at me I don't care what DNR wants but that bear will be full of lead. Back to the story. DNR finally arrives out there and they come to the conclusion that this is the bear that they have been tracking up from Southern Maryland and they decide to leave it alone. So everyone clears.
I have a little problem with this. Why aren't we catching this thing instead of letting it roam around Maryland. I have to say that if that thing gets ahold of someone, or something there is going to be a huge law suit.
I love police work because just when you thing you have seen it all a black bear roams into Anne Arundel County. Baltimore City might have heroine addicts, but Anne Arundel County Police can fight bears. Ha Ha.
For those of you wondering here are fun facts about black bears.....
Typical weights:
Males of breeding age: 125-500 lbs
Females of breeding age: 90-300 lbs
Are Black Bears Like Dogs? NO
Where do black bears live? American black bears only live in North America. They are found throughout Canada, in most of the states in the United States, and in northern Mexico. Black bears live mostly in areas where there are forests.They need a place where there is food,water, and shelter. They can find these things in wooded areas.
A black bear can run, for a short distance, as fast as 35 miles per hour. That's about as fast as a horse or a deer can run. It's much faster than humans can run.
THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL BEAR.
Oh man.
April writing...
If I don't do something SOON about my eyebrows...
It's gonna get ugly.
FOR REALS.
I am not totally sure why I have procrastinated in doing it for so long...but it's bad. I should do it today, but it isn't looking good. ha!
I have been blurfing today again...There are so many stinkin' creative people out there. I am so driven now...let's see how long this lasts. I will have to add some of my favorite links on here one day...but I don't want to make this blog too "girlie" or whatever nonsense my hubby was speaking of in an earlier and apparently "more manly' post. haa! I am busy busy busy today at work, but not so much with WORK stuff but stuff for VERB (doing some ad stuff) and my stuff and then yep, there is the work stuff. (typing specs...the dreaded job, bleeeehhhh) I am looking forward to trying out the new cupcake lollipop idea with Brittany this weekend...that should be fun!! (and hopefully SUPER cute!) I will of course take pictures and include them in a post next week.
If you haven't already, hop on over to my sister, Sarahs' blog. There is a super cute post that made me tear up at work. A nice read for hump day, to make you smile! That's about all for now...catch up later!
Shout out to dumb criminals.....
Cory Writing.....
I am trying to save the manly portion of this blog site. My wife has moved our blog way too far into the girly section of things, so I am trying to save it from the planet Venus.
So I am dedicating this blog to the Dumb Criminals.
I was talking with one of my fellow police officers the other day and he was telling me a story, so I am going to share it with you.
This officer received a call for a Burglary to a shed. The officer's responded out to the address and met with the reporting person. The guy walked them through his house and out into the back yard. As the officer walked into the backyard something caught his eye. He looked over and noticed that there were several marijuana plants sitting next to the front door. He took the Burglary report from the man and then he arrested him for possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance.
With Criminals like this running our streets my job is so much easier. So I want to send a Shout out to Dumb Criminals. Thank you.
Until next time Peace, Love and Hair Grease.
I am trying to save the manly portion of this blog site. My wife has moved our blog way too far into the girly section of things, so I am trying to save it from the planet Venus.
So I am dedicating this blog to the Dumb Criminals.
I was talking with one of my fellow police officers the other day and he was telling me a story, so I am going to share it with you.
This officer received a call for a Burglary to a shed. The officer's responded out to the address and met with the reporting person. The guy walked them through his house and out into the back yard. As the officer walked into the backyard something caught his eye. He looked over and noticed that there were several marijuana plants sitting next to the front door. He took the Burglary report from the man and then he arrested him for possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance.
With Criminals like this running our streets my job is so much easier. So I want to send a Shout out to Dumb Criminals. Thank you.
Until next time Peace, Love and Hair Grease.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Hmmm sweet ideas.
April writing...
I came across the greatest idea on this blog Hostess With The Mostess. My mind started going crazy thinking about the endless possibilities...not like they left any ideas out with this though! You see every year my church has a Ladies Tea in September. Women sign up to be a Tea Hostess. They are responsible for designing and decorating their tea table. So...*you see where I am going with this right?*
I have never been able to find a theme that I really LOVE...but as soon as I saw this, I was in love!! I am so excited. So start booking your seats at my table now... :) teehee
So the theme is The Sweetest Thing...(and I might find a way to biblicalize it all up, as most ladies do with their theme titles.)
Let's look closely at some of the small, but oh so colorful and great details.
Above: See how tall hurricane vases were used and filled with colorful candy? And what about the giant piece of wrapped candy (made from a paper lantern...genius!) Then they used Jones soda bottles as vases for the flowers (close up later)
Above: On this one they used a flat wrapped piece of candy as the place mat..and the menus are just too cute.
Above: I loved how they wrapped candy necklaces around the stem of the wine glasses. And I am not sure what those cups are made out of in the bottom right hand picture, but they are CUTE!
Above: Here is the close-up of the Jones soda bottle vase. And they even kept the colored soda in there for more color! 
So I am going to use them for something...waiting on a verdict for an upcoming 'something' or possibly keeping them for the tea table...who knows, but they are Ahhh-mazzingly cute. That's about it for now. Until I find MORE coolness. Later Gators.
I came across the greatest idea on this blog Hostess With The Mostess. My mind started going crazy thinking about the endless possibilities...not like they left any ideas out with this though! You see every year my church has a Ladies Tea in September. Women sign up to be a Tea Hostess. They are responsible for designing and decorating their tea table. So...*you see where I am going with this right?*
I have never been able to find a theme that I really LOVE...but as soon as I saw this, I was in love!! I am so excited. So start booking your seats at my table now... :) teehee
So the theme is The Sweetest Thing...(and I might find a way to biblicalize it all up, as most ladies do with their theme titles.)
Let's look closely at some of the small, but oh so colorful and great details.
Above: See how tall hurricane vases were used and filled with colorful candy? And what about the giant piece of wrapped candy (made from a paper lantern...genius!) Then they used Jones soda bottles as vases for the flowers (close up later)
Above: On this one they used a flat wrapped piece of candy as the place mat..and the menus are just too cute.
Above: I loved how they wrapped candy necklaces around the stem of the wine glasses. And I am not sure what those cups are made out of in the bottom right hand picture, but they are CUTE!
Above: Some of the favors were brightly colored notepads with the saying "Kind words may be short, but their echoes are endless." and a close up of one of the hurricane vases filled with lemonheads for a punch of color!
Above: Here is the close-up of the Jones soda bottle vase. And they even kept the colored soda in there for more color!I am SO down with doing this? Britt & Terri, feel like co-hosting with me??? Maybe we can be super cool and do a double table cause we have so many colorful friends to invite!!!
Anywho...too excited. Got one whole year to plan!
Another exciting thing I found as I was "blurfing" today. (yes, I made that up...or at least I think I did. It is Blog Surfing...haha) How adorable are these little babies?
So I am going to use them for something...waiting on a verdict for an upcoming 'something' or possibly keeping them for the tea table...who knows, but they are Ahhh-mazzingly cute. That's about it for now. Until I find MORE coolness. Later Gators.Monday, August 04, 2008
Gosh darn-it.
April writing...
I had the best of intentions of getting up at 8 am today. (This would be about 45 minutes before I normally get up.) In order to start my day a little earlier and to eat a good breakfast...you know all the good things people do that early in the morning. Last night I even told Cory, "When you get home in the morning, before you go to sleep make sure I am awake please."
He did his job, but I was not ready to do mine. You see, I didn't fall asleep last night again till after 2 am. I put my head on the pillow at 12:24 am and nothing. I could...not...fall...asleep. Finally 2:12 am was the last time I remember seeing on the clock. Then next thing I know I am waking up as my hubby gets home, and I lean over to re-set my alarm for 8:45. He says, "Oh you not getting up? I was hoping to go for a walk." (enter Cory's wishful dreams for a wonderful morning with his wife crashing to the ground.) I DID feel bad, but I was not ready to get up. So I laid my head back down and fell asleep...and actually slept through ten minutes of my alarm. Boo.
Tonight, I will try again...as with tomorrow morning. Plans are the same...try and get up at 8. I will let you know how that goes. :)
Today has gone by pretty fast. And luckily I haven't been too tired. I am really eager to get home and do another digi-scrapbook page. Don't ask me why. I mean I really DO enjoy the regular scrapbooking better. But this is NEW to me and thus a little more exciting.
I went out at lunch and witnessed an accident, went to three different stores AND the Cheesecake Factory for some pies for a co-worker. Nice. Nothing for me...no one likes breaks from work where you don't get anything from it. ha. I am hoping that I can finish Brittany's shower invites tonight or tomorrow. I brought some to work with me to write on, but I haven't gotten that far just yet. There is still hope...but then again it is 2:30 and I have to type some specs, then it is birthday party time at 3 pm (hence the above mentioned pies) then probably more specs and I am homeward bound. Anywho.
Cory and I bought this new thing from Petsafe Animal Products called the Ultra Sonic Bark Controller. It's primary job is to deter barking. When a dog barks up to 25 feet away it will recognize it an sound a 2 second ultrasonic tone that only the dogs can hear. It's basically like nails on a chalkboard and it claims to reduce barking after about two weeks.
So far it seems to get a little reaction from Pickle when he barks, but he continues to bark. And Olive, it doesn't seem to phase her at all. So we will see how it does. There is also a manual button at the top, so if the dogs are doing something they shouldn't, over time we can use this device to train them as well. Or if you are Jason you can pick it up and push the button on accident asking, "Does this do something to the dogs?" (As Olive jumps at the sound) haha. Too funny.
Ok as I type this somewhat random post, I will continue on the randomness...I think that there are many phrases that I overuse while blogging, here are my top 6:
1. We shall see...
2. Too funny
3. In other news (although this is a favorite of mine)
4. Anywho
5. Whatev
6. ... (the grand 'ol continuation dots...love those...I really do.)
See any others I should add to the list?
Sunday, August 03, 2008
I don't know what curiosity did to the cat...
but it sure killed me.
April writing...
I did some digital scrapbooking tonight. Not like I needed a reason to waste more time in front of the computer. But I think it turned out quite nicely for my first time around. Tell me what you think? (I know it will be small on here, but if you click on it...it should open a new window bigger.)
Enjoy!
April writing...
I did some digital scrapbooking tonight. Not like I needed a reason to waste more time in front of the computer. But I think it turned out quite nicely for my first time around. Tell me what you think? (I know it will be small on here, but if you click on it...it should open a new window bigger.)
Enjoy!
And what do you think? Should I continue doing some pages, just for your viewing pleasure at least??!! :)
(oh and good luck to My Sis and Bro-in-Law who put an offer on a house today...*fingers crossed Sarah and Kyle!*)
so disappointed.
April writing...
So this morning was Sunday am and I was pretty excited to head to church since we had missed the last two Sundays due to vacation. But again last night I just couldn't fall asleep. This has happened every night since our return from vacation. So when I finally woke up this morning at 10:15 I got up, used the restroom and decided to lay down for a few more minutes. I was just so sleepy. Even though I did get 8 hours of sleep. Well, next thing I know it is 12:40 and Cory is nudging me, to make me aware of that very fact. I couldn't believe it. I guess I had turned off my alarm when I went to the restroom and then decided while I was gone to sleep a little more not remembering that I had already shut it off.
So upsetting.
But this takes me to the other half of this situation. After I he wakes me up at 12:40, I am STILL exhausted. Like I literally can't keep my eyes open tired. My body doesn't feel rested and I fall back asleep. Skip to 2:15 when I actually wake up. I SLEPT 12 HOURS. Lately this has been a trend, not so much the 12 hours part, but the exhausted/sleepy/feel like I can't catch up on sleep part. I feel lately that no matter how long I sleep, I wake up tired. My body feels pretty rested usually, but not my mind. And I am pretty sure that it is not the 3 hour time difference from CA to here that has hurt me, cause there was this issue before vacation. So I it's not that I am a jetlag lightweight!
I don't know if I need to look into a new pillow, haha. Or if I need to start on new vitamins or what. But this is not going to work for me. I have such a desire to be able to get up an hour before I have to be to work (since I don't have to leave the house till 9 am!) but I just can't seem to get myself out of bed. It's horrible. I am also really nappy. I mean for the most part I have been fighting that desire to nap as soon as I get home each workday, but still. What is wrong with me???
And to answer any lingering questions that may have a connection to this subject...NO I am not pregnant. Auntie F just solidified that one (boo her) and NO I am not depressed or unhappy with my life and trying to sleep it away and NO our bed is not uncomfortable. I just don't get it.
So I deal today with my disappointment in sleeping through church...again. (yes it has happened before) and probably a little bit of Cory's disappointment as well. I know he hates to miss church, but when you work midnights, there isn't much choice. And I know he looks forward to hearing about how it went while he was home sleeping. But I can't answer those questions for him today.
Grrrr.
I just don't know.
So this morning was Sunday am and I was pretty excited to head to church since we had missed the last two Sundays due to vacation. But again last night I just couldn't fall asleep. This has happened every night since our return from vacation. So when I finally woke up this morning at 10:15 I got up, used the restroom and decided to lay down for a few more minutes. I was just so sleepy. Even though I did get 8 hours of sleep. Well, next thing I know it is 12:40 and Cory is nudging me, to make me aware of that very fact. I couldn't believe it. I guess I had turned off my alarm when I went to the restroom and then decided while I was gone to sleep a little more not remembering that I had already shut it off.
So upsetting.
But this takes me to the other half of this situation. After I he wakes me up at 12:40, I am STILL exhausted. Like I literally can't keep my eyes open tired. My body doesn't feel rested and I fall back asleep. Skip to 2:15 when I actually wake up. I SLEPT 12 HOURS. Lately this has been a trend, not so much the 12 hours part, but the exhausted/sleepy/feel like I can't catch up on sleep part. I feel lately that no matter how long I sleep, I wake up tired. My body feels pretty rested usually, but not my mind. And I am pretty sure that it is not the 3 hour time difference from CA to here that has hurt me, cause there was this issue before vacation. So I it's not that I am a jetlag lightweight!
I don't know if I need to look into a new pillow, haha. Or if I need to start on new vitamins or what. But this is not going to work for me. I have such a desire to be able to get up an hour before I have to be to work (since I don't have to leave the house till 9 am!) but I just can't seem to get myself out of bed. It's horrible. I am also really nappy. I mean for the most part I have been fighting that desire to nap as soon as I get home each workday, but still. What is wrong with me???
And to answer any lingering questions that may have a connection to this subject...NO I am not pregnant. Auntie F just solidified that one (boo her) and NO I am not depressed or unhappy with my life and trying to sleep it away and NO our bed is not uncomfortable. I just don't get it.
So I deal today with my disappointment in sleeping through church...again. (yes it has happened before) and probably a little bit of Cory's disappointment as well. I know he hates to miss church, but when you work midnights, there isn't much choice. And I know he looks forward to hearing about how it went while he was home sleeping. But I can't answer those questions for him today.
Grrrr.
I just don't know.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Digital-Digital-Get-Down...
April writing...
I'm taking a cue from Sarah and using a song lyric in my blog title. And yes, that was N'Sync my friends. Don't pretend you don't know at least one of their songs. (I've got your number!) haha!
Well, I fear that my slight boredom at work only creates new hobbies for me. haha! Well, let me not go so far as to say a NEW hobby, but at least a new sub-hobby.
Digital Scrapbooking.
As many of you know, I am an avid scrapbooker. (although, sadly I haven't don't much of that lately. But that is about to change!) And I have always loved the look of some of the digital scrapbooking pages. What's the difference you ask? Well...the main difference is...regular scrapbooking pages are done with real paper and embellishments and printed photos. While digital scrapbooking pages are done with well, basically clip art paper, embellishments and photos on the computer.
Here you have a regular scrapbook page:
Here you have a digital scrapbook page:
Now, if you look close you can see differences...but only a few and only if you look close. ha :) But here is where I am struggling to decide if this is an avenue I want to travel.
You see, I LOVE showing off my scrapbook pages. In order to do that you have to have them in books so you can carry them to show people...get my drift? Well, with digital scrapbooking. All of my pages would be on the computer. And then what? I mean, yeah...I could post them to my blog...but only so big. And yeah I could get them printed...but 8 1/2 x 11 or 12 x 12 prints are going to be pretty pricey I would imagine. So that limits my 'showing off' abilities. Don't ya think?
So help me out...worth it? Not worth it? Maybe just dabble in it a bit? Oh my...what to do.
In other news....(oh I just love saying that) IT'S FRIDAY!!! I am so pleased with this. haha. I am not completely sure what I am doing with my entire weekend, there are some aspects planned already though. I know tonight is Brittany's Shower invite assembly night :) And I will get caught up on some shows. Like "Hopkins" which I love. Of course I am a sucker for medically related shows anyways. Tomorrow. I know that there is sleeping in on the schedule (love it) and then lunch with Jill and maybe Sarah...then in the evening Dinner with Jason and Brittany. Church on Sunday and then...work again on Monday. Bleeeehhhh.
Well work is frying my brain today...just sitting here and I am getting dumber apparently. You see I received a 'do this it's fun' email. Well let's just say...SCRABBLE is not SCATTERGORIES April!!! I'm an idiot. Oh well...of for more fun. Later Gators!
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