Merry Christmas!!

We had a lovely Christmas with family.  We started at home opening gifts from Santa and exchanging gifts as a family.  We headed to Christmas Day worship service at The Vine, which was awesome.  We had brunch after church at G-Mom's house... we should definitely make Christmas Day french toast a tradition!!  And we ended the day by traveling up the mountain for Christmas dinner at Grandma and Granddad's house.  Here are some pics from the day!!

Mom had a quilt top made by my great-grandmother quilted by my great-aunt.  So special.

Solid Ground

Most of you probably take for granted that you are on solid ground. You aren't physically sinking in quicksand (or at least I hope not). You may feel like you are financially or emotionally sinking, but at least physically you aren't. We sang a great version of Amazing Grace with the chorus (and to the tune) of Peaceful Easy Feeling by the Eagles at church yesterday.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now I'm found,

Was blind, but now I see.

I've got a peaceful, easy feeling,

And I know you won't let me down.

'Cause I'm already standing

on solid ground.

After church, Matt and I were talking and I about lost it. I don't feel like we are on solid ground at all. Our relationship is wonderful, the pregnancy is going great, our jobs are stressful, but not a big deal. Really what is getting me is our house, the new one we moved into last year, not the old one we can't sell. We have renters now, so that one is out of our minds for now.

A few months ago, we started noticing that our doors weren't shutting properly. And as I came up the street about a month ago, I looked at our house and about had a heart attack. From the road in my car I could see a huge crack in our foundation. When I say huge, it's about 2" wide. You can stand in our basement and see daylight between the floor of the sunroom and the foundation wall. That one corner of our house is literally sliding out from under us, and the only thing holding the sunroom on the house right now are the floor boards. Luckily, as I write this, my dear husband and our pastor/friend are in the basement putting a support beam and jacks in place.

We have gotten OBSCENE estimates on fixing our home. We are slashing and burning our budget like never before, including drastic measures we thought we'd never take. We are also looking at some creative budgeting and finance options so that we can get our house repaired and build a fence* before Sweet Pea arrives.

*Some of you may wonder with a foundation that is sliding out from under us, why a fence is still a priority as well. This is why:

His name is Einstein and his howl is painful to the human ear and at a volume that is unimaginable. But look at that face. That face may not live through a colicky infant, just put to sleep, me with no sleep and a mail man driving by... let your imagination finish the rest.

So unfortunately, although it was a lovely song, I am far from feeling as if I'm on solid ground. Actually, I feel like our house is sliding out from under us, because it IS. It is hard to feel at rest about anything or even enjoy this blessing of a pregnancy, when your house is falling down around you. It may sound over-dramatic, but have you ever had to worry about your house falling down? OK then, don't judge me. Just pray for us if you are so inclined.

In the waiting...

Upon seeking council from a very good friend, she gave me some wonderful advice. Her own experience in her journey to becoming a mother had some bumps along the way. She and her husband had planned out the "perfect" time to start their family, but things didn't work out as they had hoped. She told me that while they were waiting for God to bless them with the child they desired, she decided to use the time she was given (even though it was against her plan and desire) to prepare herself for becoming pregnant and being a mother. Instead of being sad or discouraged about "be[ing] still and wait[ing]" (Psalm 37:7), she made the most of her time by preparing to receive God's blessing.

I decided to follow this wise council for myself. Matt and I have been trying to lose weight and get in shape for a while now. So I felt good about already being on my way. I have a walking partner that I try and meet up with several times a week, and I've decided to start adding in some weight training activities at home.

We have fallen into a rut with our dinner menu. I find that we eat the same few staple meals over and over again. I'm trying to find creative ways to incorporate more "color variation" in our diet, specifically more green veggies. Matt is much pickier about his green veggies than I am, so this one is difficult! I have to sneak some spinach into the quesadillas and hope he doesn't notice!

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this on the blog, but I'm an addict. I have fully embraced the fact that I'm addicted to coffee, and not just coffee, the caffeine in coffee. I LOVE COFFEE, and rather enjoy my addiction to it. If I don't have my morning cup of leaded joe, by 3pm I don't want to live my head hurts so bad. I've always said that if I make it through life and coffee is my worst vice, I've done fairly well.

Well, as of this past weekend I'm slowly giving up my love. I figured weaning myself off of caffeine now would be much easier than quitting cold turkey once I get pregnant (removing caffeine withdrawal from all the usual early pregnancy physical ailments). This way Matt won't have the desire to smother me in my sleep and put us both out of misery from the demon that takes over during my withdrawals. I've quit caffeine before, it AINT pretty. And the withdrawals can last a week or more. UGH.

So, in order to avoid the VERY unpleasant withdrawals from my dear love, I've started by drinking 1/2 caff and 1/2 decaf. With each week I will add a little less caff beans and a little more decaf beans to the grinder until I'm brewing all decaf (otherwise known as USELESS) coffee. So I'm still a little bitter about giving it up, sue me! Hopefully, when the time arrives, I will be caffeine free and feeling fine. :)

I also want to start preparing spiritually by doing a new individual study book of some kind. I haven't visited the book store yet, or put out feelers to acquire advice from knowledgeable friends. Any suggestions are appreciated. My search begins soon!

Show Us Your Life - Baby Names!!!

I know this seems like a crazy (or torturous) post after yesterday's depressing one, but I've always (like my girl Adair) been obsessive about baby names. So I wanted to participate, even if it is a day late, in Kelly's Korner's blog carousel!!!

I have lots of "name rules" that I'm a stickler for (in no particular order):

1. The name that they "go by" can't be too common. With every name we consider, I check the social security rankings. I'm not kidding people! It cannot be in the top 20 for that gender, preferably not in the top 50. My "given" name was Amanda Jill. I was an Amanda born in 1979. There were 4 Amandas in my Kindergarten class of 20 kids. That's 20% of the class!!!! I got sick of being Amanda M., so I decided in the 1st grade that I wanted to go by Jill. I love it, it fits me, but I don't want this to happen to my child.

2. I'm traditional and Southern, so I want at least one of their names (first or middle) to be from our family.

3. The entire name, first middle and last, has to sound good together. To achieve this, the following guidelines must be followed:

• The name they go by has to sound good with our last name.
• The last letter of the first name and the first letter of the middle (or last) name cannot be the same letter or sound. We could never have a Jacob Brooks Black, for example.
• The first, middle and last names together must have an odd number of syllables, because it's just more pleasing to the ear. If you don't believe this one, try it. It's true.

4. The name has to sound right for an adult. With every name I think, "Could s/he become a CEO, an engineer, a doctor or an attorney with this name and be taken seriously?"

5. No ridiculous spellings of traditional names. Don't ruin a perfectly good name like Caleb by spelling it Kaleb. It just makes you look like you can't spell!

I can't help it! I'm OCD! Don't judge me! Now, on to the names.

Ever since I was a young girl, I've heard stories about my great-grandmother (my mom's maternal grandmother), Grammie. By the time I came along, she lived in a nursing home and had severe Alzheimer's. She was struck with this horrible disease, that also took my Meme (her daughter), at the age of 55. You read that correctly, she was 55 years old when she began to show signs of early dementia that eventually developed into Alzheimer's. She was an AMAZING, TOUGH, Southern woman. She divorced Poppa after her children were grown, because he was mean-as-a-snake, back when it was not common at all. And she supported herself by turning sheet metal on an assembly line in an aluminum plant next to some of the roughest men around. When I say she was a tough lady, I mean it. She was a woman that most certainly passed on her strength and determination to the women in our family (we get the crazy from her ex-husband!). And for that reason, if we are blessed with a daughter some day, she will carry on the legacy of my Grammie with her name.

Clara

It's classic, beautiful, not too common and I LOVE IT! We still have not decided on a middle name. This topic of conversation even came up at dinner last night with no resolution. Since she will have one family name (which I'm very insistent upon with our children), I don't mind if we just pick something we like. We will probably use Matt's middle name, Lindsey, which is much prettier for a girl than a boy! There is also Matt's mom's middle name, Erin, that we like. I also like Faith, just because. But Faith would break my "odd number of syllables" rule, so I don't know if I could. We'll cross that bridge someday, I hope!

For a boy's name, we are still somewhat undecided.

I had it all worked out when it was just me (you forget that you have to agree with someone else as a teenager). My Papaw was my-most-favorite-very-special-person. He was the man who stepped up to be my father, when my own was nowhere to be found. He was the first "love" of my life really. Words cannot express how special this man was to me, and he was taken from me much too soon. I was 14 when he died from bone cancer. I always thought I would name my son for him, and still might. ;) My Papaw's name was J.T. He, like Adair's grandfather, named himself. It was common back then for people just to name their boys initials only, which is what my great-grandparents did. When Papaw went to register for the draft for WWII, they asked him his name. He told them J.T. was his name. They insisted that those were initials, not a name, and asked him what they stood for. So he told them the first thing he could think of, James Thomas. My cousin Jennifer, whose father's name is also Thomas, used that for her son's middle name. I always thought I would use James with Grammie's maiden name, Durham. But we can't have ALL the names come from my family. :)

Right after we got married, I fell IN LOVE with a boy's name. It's not a family name. It has no particular meaning for us, other than I love old Hebrew boy names from the Old Testament. Think about it, Elijah, Ephraim, Abraham, Asher, Canaan (I still love this one, and is in contention for a second boy's name as far as I'm concerned), Jacob, Caleb, Matthias (which I think is an awesome take on Matt's name, Matthew), Joshua, and the list goes on. It took Matt a while to come around to the name I fell in love with, but he loves it too now. If we are blessed with a son, his name will be

Levi

Like Clara, it's traditional yet not too common. Besides, Levi Black sounds like a jazz musician's name to me. Since our family is full of engineers who play the trumpet and are not particularly athletic, I think it fits. :) As for his first or middle name (he will be called Levi either way), that is still up for debate. Matt is sold on a VERY non-traditional first name, which breaks my rule of at least one family name. However it would give him the same initials as Matt (MLB), which he feels is sufficient for the family name tradition. It's a name that I kind of like, but it will get strong reactions either positive or (but mostly) negative from our family and friends. Matt wants to name our son Memphis Levi Black.

Being a child that chose to go by her middle name, I know full well that our child may choose to do the same thing. I want to LOVE both names that we give our children. I also want to ensure that we follow rule #4, which I'm not sure Memphis does. The only Memphis I've ever heard of is Memphis Raines from "Gone in 60 Seconds" and he's a car thief. This is not a legacy I want to pass to our child. But remember, parents have to AGREE on a name, and I have to let Matt have an opinion, right? So I'll save my veto for when I'm actually pregnant. ;)

Other family names in the running to be paired with Levi, as a first or middle name, include: James (after my Papaw, Matt's grandmother's brother and Matt's aunt Jamie), Victor (Matt's GP and uncle), William (Matt's stepdad), Wesley (Matt's cousin, MDH has not signed off on it's candidacy but I love the name and this is my blog!), and Mitchell (Matt's uncle, who has two sons that may want to use the name so we will probably defer this one, but it's a great name).

So there you have it! Still much to be negotiated when the time finally arrives, but the names that we will call our children are pretty much set. Now if Clara or Levi happen to have a sibling of the same sex, Lord help us because we have no idea!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

"You take it on faith, you take it to the heart.

The waiting is the hardest part."

I feel like this is my theme song (by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers). So here goes. I did not clear this blog post with MDH, and he rarely reads it, so don't mention it ok? We are waiting on a lot of things, and it SUCKS. We are waiting for this house to sell so that we can move on with our lives.

Let's face it, I'm approaching 31 and I can't just assume that I have all the time in the world to have children. All I've EVER wanted to be is a mom. Anyone who knows me IRL (that's blog speak for in real life) knows that I am, and always have been, a very maternal person. Motherhood is the deepest desire of my heart, and I will take it in whatever form it comes, but I have a real and deep longing to be pregnant. It's normal, age appropriate, biological, and I'm not going to pretend it's not there anymore, because it is.

I've also been plagued by the fear that I wouldn't be able to have a baby. Infertility is a real problem that many of my friends have faced, and it is a very real fear for me. There is no medical reason that has surfaced to support this fear, but it's real just the same. The thing about fertility is that you don't know whether you can or can't have a baby until you start trying. And we can't start trying until the house sells.

HOUSE = BABY

We can't afford childcare as long as we are paying two mortgages. And we can't afford two mortgages if I'm not working (at home with a baby, eliminating the need for child care).

So we wait. We wait for the house to sell. Because there is nothing else we can do. We wait, and wonder, will we be able to have the family we desire when we are done waiting? Only God knows. In the mean time, we wait. And it sucks.

Happy Graduation!!!

I'm so incredibly proud

of my husband

for getting his Master of Science in Engineering

and his cousin Alex, on his way to being a CPA

(after passing a few tests) ;-)

Happy Graduation!!!!

Things I hate about being 30

There are many things about being 30 that one can appreciate. Being more respected as a knowledgeable professional, an established group of good friends (if they've made it this far, they are likely to be around a long time), and a firm grip on reality are a few examples of what is good about being 30.

There are however, things that really SUCK about being 30. And I feel well qualified to write about these things since I've been 30 for 9 months.

First off, apparently your body gets some sort of cosmic memo when you turn 30. All this crap that has never been a problem starts going to hell in a hand-basket. Take say, your metabolism. In your teens, you are in the best shape of your life. You eat anything you want and still have an amazing figure, yada yada. I've accepted that reality as GONE. However, I had no idea that the instant I turned 30 my body would SLAM ON THE BREAKS of my metabolism like the metabolism train is about to plummet off a proverbial cliff! It's ridiculous! I'm having to work so much harder than I used to to stay a size 8. A SIZE 8 PEOPLE!!! I've never even had kids and I'm struggling to stay a size 8! I have a tiny frame, TINY. A size 8 is at the TOP of my healthy weight range, just before being overweight.

Secondly, you begin to have problems sleeping. If sleeping were an Olympic sport, I [previously] would have earned a Silver metal. The Gold has to go to my cousin Erika, she's the champ. I was SUCH an awesome sleeper, my mom had to wake me up on EVERY Christmas morning of my childhood to see what Santa brought. SERIOUSLY. I love sleeping, sleeping's my favorite. Too bad I can't fall asleep to save my life these days. I actually have to have a set bedtime ritual, executed to perfection, in the hopes of falling asleep. RIDICULOUS.

Thirdly, and this is just for women in my situation (married near or after 30 who are not pregnant or do not have children yet), people think it is their place or business at all to remind you of the age of your uterus. Those well meaning ladies at church who are friends with my mother-in-law ask me, "So when are you all gonna have us some babies?" [insert my polite answer as to why we are waiting that is truly none of their business] Followed by their response, "How old are you?" I'M THIRTY, [THANKS FOR THE REMINDER, LADY]. While raising their eyebrow they respond, "hmm." AAARRRRGGGGG!!!!! Thank you for not-so-silently judging me, my life and our family decisions. I'm KEENLY aware of how old I am, how old I will (or hope to) be when our children graduate from high school, and what the risks are. But really, it helps for you to remind me with your raised eyebrows.

So there you have it, my top 3 things that SUCK about being 30.

Waiting...

I'm tired of waiting. For this house

to sell. So that we can get on with our lives.

Speaking of getting on with our lives, Matt has 2 more days of grad school left.

FINITO!!!

Which is making both of us a bit more antsy about the ONE THING that's holding us back.

1 Year Ago...

Technically, one year ago today, Matt and I were driving back from picking up our car at Laurelwood from when the keys got locked in it at our wedding. Our friends were well-meaning, and we're not mad, but it was a hassel!

Matt and I celebrated our FIRST Anniversary yesterday!! Since we are TOTALLY BROKE and moving, we decided to celebrate with a nice dinner, eaten on our never-before-used wedding china, and exchanging letters (since the traditional first year gift is paper). I focused so much on the dinner that I forgot about writing his letter until he had already given me mine!! I'm such a slacker. To add to it, he thought of an extremely adorable free paper gift for me that made me feel even more like a slacker. He got me a wonderful card AND a change of address form from the Post Office! Isn't that cute?? I just love my sweet husband and am so glad he picked me!!

Happy Anniversary Matt!!!

SO... I guess all 3 of you want an update huh??

WOW!! It's been a while, sorry.

OLD JOB UPDATE = It's over, finito, done, adios, see ya later, I'm gone! BUT, my super sweet co-workers that appreciated and supported me threw me a going away party. :'-) They even got Matt and I a gift card to Low*s to help us settle into our new home. They rock! Well, most of them rock.

OLD HOUSE UPDATE = Our house is still for sale. We had an offer that came in ironically from a friend of ours (she requested a showing and then figured out by the pictures on our walls in the listing photos that it was our house). The offer was the best that she could do, but not what we needed to even squeak by. Our counter offer was the best we could do, but not something she could afford. So we wait. We all hope that if the house is still on the market in a few months that we will be able to work something out. It would be nice to sell it to a friend that I know will love it like we did.

NEW JOB UPDATE = I HEART MY NEW JOB.

OK fine, I will expound on that statement. My first day I was greeted with, "Jill, we're so glad you are finally here! We are taking you to lunch at Tony's today - I hope that's OK. You don't have other plans do you?" SWEET! All the ladies in the office are really nice, and most of them are in my peer age group. They have staff socials, are all friends on Facebook, and actually like each other.

I'm TOTALLY overwhelmed with all of the training material I have to learn in order to do this job, but practice makes perfect. I finally got completely settled in with the job today with UTC ID card, my own laptop with email that works, shared Google calendar, and my desk has been "moved in" for a while. All I need now is for my new Blackberry Curve to arrive FedEx (supposed to come today, have no idea why it didn't) and I will be SET.

I will be gone to Knoxville for a whole week next week for training (to learn and be certified to train foster parents). We leave Monday and return Friday :( That's the longest Matt and I will have been apart since we got married and it's the week before our 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! BUT, I will get a chance to see friends and family that I don't see very often while I'm there.

NEW HOUSE UPDATE = Everything is going along as planned. The inspection and appraisal are done and we expect to close the week after our anniversary and move the next weekend. YAY!!!!! We are blessed that we don't have to wait for our house to sell to go ahead and get into our new one. It isn't the IDEAL situation, but we are ok. Our current house is adorable and will sell when the right buyer comes along. In case you need a reminder as to why we are excited, THIS is our new house!!!


Isn't it adorable?? We just LOVE IT! Now, if only I could motivate myself to pack a few boxes. HMMM.

MARRIED LIFE UPDATE = September 20th is our 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY! I can hardly believe it. The first year is full of adjustments, but we have weathered it well, enjoyed 99% of it, and we are immensely blessed. In case you didn't know, I have an AMAZING husband that I love more than I could ever express. He even helps with the dishes and does his own laundry in addition to being good to me. Does it get any better than that??

UPDATE: Life is moving quickly, get out of its way!!!!

First, I know all [2] of you have been waiting on the "big reveal" of our kitchen face lift! Matt worked SO HARD on the new doors and drawer fronts. They really look wonderful and have breathed new life into that tired old kitchen. In addition to the cabinets, I painted the walls a hot new color and put fresh white paint on the wood trim. I was also really sick of all of my cookbooks just stacked on top of our microwave. So we hung a new shelf above the spice rack and it looks FAB if I do say so myself! Without further ado...

BEFORE



AFTER!!!

Second, you all [probably] read about my NEW JOB that I am starting next month. We are both so very excited about this position and what it means for our family. I will be happier and have much more flexibility. I can do paperwork from home or wherever I choose. And because it involves some nights and a few Saturdays, I will have time off during the week to do things like workout, clean and shop while Matt is at work, so that we have quality time at home together. I will also likely have Fridays off with Matt (who has every other Friday off), so that is something else to look forward to.

Third, this NEW JOB also means that we are buying a NEW HOUSE!!! No, I don't get to enjoy my new kitchen for long, but the new owners will (let's hope that the potential buyers love "New Avocado" as much as I do)! Matt and I fell in LOVE with a house down the street from our friends Meghan and Daniel a few weeks ago. We went back and forth about it with the owners, prayed a lot, and decided not to make the move until we knew about the job. We stayed the course with the improvements we wanted to make to get our house ready to sell (hence the kitchen face lift). We knew that if it didn't work out with us getting the new house, at least we would be living in a prettier house than we were before! Here is the flier from our dream house! Now, pray the inspection and appraisal goes the way that we hope!


Now you are all updated on what happened LAST WEEK!!! Matt said on Sunday that he didn't want to start a new week. We'll never top the week we had last week. Our friend Debbie said, "the only thing missing is a baby!" Thanks Debbie, we will wait a while. :)

Overwhelmed

I'm a bad bad blogger. A lot of stuff that has been on my mind lately I don't feel comfortable blogging about just yet, so I've avoided my blog altogether.

Since I last blogged, Matt had his 27th birthday. He reminds me often that he turned the age I was when we met. Thanks hunny, I remember. I got ZERO pics of his birthday, bad wife. I did buy him an awesome ukulele for his birthday. It's an authentic ukulele from a maker in Hawaii. He loved it. I still don't have any pictures of him playing it, but hopefully when things calm down I can get some.

Matt has been working an insane amount of hours trying to get a job out on time. They were supposed to post July 15th, then the deadline was Friday, July 24th. Today they were told that it's been extended to Sunday night and they are expected to work this weekend. BTW, my 30th birthday is tomorrow (more on that later). So, he's wrestling with doing a good job, giving me time, properly celebrating my birthday, etc. We thought after they extended the deadline once that we would at least (FINALLY) get to sleep-in together, enjoy the day and have my birthday party in peace. Not so much. Oh well. I know he feels horrible about it, so I try not to complain and make it worse. At least we will have 5 or 6 hours on Saturday to celebrate.

Matt being gone so much lately is starting to really affect me. By the end of the day Sunday (the 19th) he had crammed 6 weeks worth of hours into 4 weeks at work. Monday and yesterday I think he worked about 21 hours in 2 days. My love languages are Physical Touch and Quality Time (I'm bilingual), so obviously I am affected by this.

Last night I lost it (again, this seems to be a regular cyclical occurrence). I feel so overwhelmed and I can't break out of it. I will have a good week or two, then a bad. I never can seem to time my counseling sessions with bad weeks, so we've yet to address it. UGH. Anyway, there are a lot of things that are important to me as a wife.

1. I love Jesus and want to have a close relationship with him, so I need and want to spend time studying the Word.
2. I love my husband, so I need and want to spend lots of quality time with him.
   
3. I want to be healthy and feel good about myself, so I need and want to exercise regularly.
   
4. I want us to eat healthy, nutritious foods, so I need and want to cook good meals often.
5. Clutter stresses me the heck out, so I need and want to keep up with housework.
6. I want to take care of myself, so I need and want to get to bed in time to get a good night's sleep.

These are all things that are of the absolute highest importance to me, and they are ALL things that are daily or nearly daily things that need taking care of. BTW, I work a full-time job too. I am stuck in this vicious cycle of setting goals for all of these things, FAILING MISERABLY, flipping the heck out about it, trying to do better, setting more goals, FAIL, flip out/ rant, and so on. This has been going on for 3 freakin' months now and I have NO IDEA how to do any better.

THEN I start to think if just keeping up with life is hard now, what happens when we are ready for kids??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!??!!

OH, and BTW I turn 30 tomorrow, chubby, childless, and totally overwhelmed. AWESOME.

Health, Love and Wealth...

And Time to Enjoy It. That's what the pewter plate reads that was given to us for our wedding by GP and Grandy (Matt's grandparents). It sits in a plate holder on top of our refrigerator. The same plate spent many years in GP and Grandy's kitchen, and it meant so much to us when we received it. And now, today, I realized how much more I treasure the gift and the blessing inscribed on it.

My friend Karson faces a very long battle ahead of her, that started this morning with the first of her INDEFINITE chemo treatments (that's right, indefinite, straight from her doctor's mouth). I noticed our plate this morning, and it rocked me to the core. It sits beside the bananas, and I get a banana for breakfast every morning, but today I really noticed it and read it for the first time in a while.

Life, love, family, friends, time are such precious gifts from God. Brian preached about it Sunday. The way we choose to spend our TIME each day, each task, are the most important decisions we make. No one is ever faced with their own mortality wishing that they spent more time at the office getting work done, or the gym trying to perfect our physical appearance, or in the yard trying to have the greenest lawn on the block. When faced with the big stuff, life or the end of it, we want more TIME with the ones we LOVE.

I am possibly facing an opportunity that may take more TIME from me than I am willing to give. Even though I've been waiting a while on an opportunity, this opportunity just may not be worth it. I can wait a little more, I guess. In the end, I will thank me for it. Right now, I have HEALTH (thank you Jesus); I have LOVE from an amazing man and so many family and friends; I have enough WEALTH to be comfortable. In light of all of that, I choose to spend the TIME I do have enjoying it!

Redneck Remodel

Most of those that read this know me and know that I bought the house that Matt and I now share 3.5 yrs ago when I moved to Chattanooga. As soon as I bought it, I had 2 main remodeling goals: bathroom & kitchen. Well, I bought it with one of those horrible ARMs and did an 80-20 split to finance the down-payment. It's not that I had bad credit or couldn't afford the house, I just had NO credit. I used the 2 yrs to build my credit and I was one of the lucky ones who was able to refinance and get out from under the ARM before the bottom fell out. When I did, I payed off my credit cards and got some cash back for the bathroom remodel. That was fall 2007.

Well, all that was left was the kitchen, and we all know that kitchens are WAY more hassle and expense to remodel. The main reason (other than the totally non-functional design) is the fact that I had no dishwasher. This is the first place I have EVER lived without a dishwasher, and it happens to be the first home I ever purchased. UGH. Well, it was a pain but it wasn't THAT big of a deal when I was single. I cooked 2-3 times per week, not too many dishes - I could stay on top of it pretty well. I still haven't figured out how you go from 1 person to 2 people in a house and the dishes and laundry multiply by FIVE. This baffles me. I know that I cook about 3-4 times a week, but it seems the dishes have multiplied like freakin' rabbits.

Matt has been unhappy with the dish situation since about week 3 post-honeymoon. UM, HELLO 3.5 YEARS!!! And now that he is in school and can't help with the house work as much, he feels extremely guilty working on school work while I clean (isn't that sweet?). So the other day, he had a genius idea. If we got rid of our washer and dryer, bought the kind that you can stack, then we could put a dishwasher in the space where the washer was and let them all share the water lines and drain pipe. We crunched the numbers and figured out that we could swing it, so we started shopping around and researching the fabulous Energy Star front loading washers and dryers (SWEET, just in time for Earth month!).

Our friends Daniel and Meghan were given a new dishwasher by her grandparents when they got married, and their old one has been sitting in the garage for over a year with no place to put it. We spent date night pricing the W/D we wanted (we are SO blessed to have a Sears outlet store here, it's like scratch and dent appliances for way cheaper) and buying all the fittings and hoses to hook up the dishwasher. We wanted to make sure that the set up worked before we dropped the $$ for the W/D. We got everything hooked up on Saturday for the dishwasher, did the test run, watched and prayed... DOH! That SOB leaked! (Incert explatives here).

Well, by this time we were SO excited and had our hearts SET on getting a dishwasher into the kitchen, we had to get a new one! So we went BACK to the Sears outlet store; paid for our new W/D and dishwasher, loaded the dishwasher in the back of Matt's Eclipse (yes it was funny, no I don't have pictures), and came home. WOOHOO, this is gonna happen! Not so fast. We get the dishwasher in place, leveled with lines connected, and open the door... CRASH. Well, not crash, but the dishwasher is so front heavy that it came flying toward us, back off the ground, and drawers sliding out. This freestanding dishwasher was harder than we thought. So, still wanting to make this happen, this is what we came up with...

Yep, the clips that normally get drilled into the countertop were used to anchor it to the wall with caribeaners and cable running through an eye-screw-thingy (that's a technical term, look it up) screwed into a stud. Matt tested the cable and it holds up his weight, so we assume it will hold a diswasher full of dishes! YES, it is rigged, and NO I DON'T CARE!! I don't ever have to wash dishes by hand again (except for china and pots and pans like everyone else).

After church today, our SWEET friend Daniel gave up his afternoon to help us haul off the old dishwasher to the dump and pick up our W/D with his truck! Then he stayed around to help us hook it all up because he bought a set similar to ours when he moved in to his house.

So, without further ado (drumroll, please), our redneck remodel...


Checkout the waterlines and drain rig:


Please don't call building codes on us (although I wouldn't have done this if I didn't think it was safe). This is only a temporary fix. We plan to do a TOTAL kitchen remodel, maybe even take down a wall, in a year or so. This will just get us by until then, so that dishes don't rule our lives. Daniel had a great idea of hanging a shelf or two for laundry stuff and, putting up a spring rod with a curtain to hide "the rig". I think we are going to do that in a few weeks (after Matt's semester is over). WOOHOO!!!

Third night...

Well, the 3rd and final evening without my hubby was a long one on Saturday. I was so wound up from the excitement of bringing him home Sunday that I didn't fall asleep until after 1am. I had already decided that I would help cook and serve breakfast on the mountain Sunday, because I got a tip that they are usually short on volunteers because of people wanting to go to church. Which means that even though I didn't fall asleep until after 1am, my alarm went off at 5:40am! Yes folks, that's right, 4 1/2 hours of sleep. I do NOT look forward to this kind of sleep when we have an infant around (though I know it will be worth it).

Anyway, it's Monday now. I got my husband back yesterday, :D. He was surprised to see me at breakfast, and he had a great weekend. I can testify that we BOTH slept horribly this weekend without each other, and that we BOTH had and excellent and deep sleep last night!! I'm glad to have him home.

Second night...

Well, it's a little harder than it may seem to entertain oneself with no husband and no TV (we gave up TV for Lent this year). So, I decided some RETAIL therapy was needed to distract myself from what would be date night! Matt and I discussed that I needed new clothes and since he was going on a golf trip this summer, I could shop! WOOHOO. I did most of my shopping online at Victoria's Secret (yes, for clothes not the other stuff)! They're running some great deals on dress pants (free shipping and some are on sale) and 20% off knit tops and tees. So I got lots of new stuff including my Easter outfit! This top in white with this skirt!! I'm so excited!

After work, I came home quick to feed and walk dogs, then I headed to Hamilton Place. I was looking for new shoes to replace the ones I wear with ALL my summer dresses (I've had them for MANY years and they need replacing). They are a shimmery bone/light taupe sandal that I LOVE. No luck on shoes, but I did find a new purse and a few tops. I met a couple of friends for a short dinner and then headed home.

On my way home, I thought "hey, Sonic sounds good." So I pulled into the Sonic on Dayton Blvd. I'm listening to J103, waiting for my Reese's Cup Blast, and all of the sudden... putt putt dead. CRAP!! Not again! YES, earlier this week, AT THE VERY SAME SONIC, my car battery died! THE VERY SAME MANAGER came out and jumped me off. Needless to say, I was mortified and a new battery is on the to-do list today.

I came home, played around on the internet a little, started some laundry, and went to bed. This time, I had sense enough to take my trusty teddy bear Amanda with me. I slept much better. I've had her since my Papaw died when I was 14, and she's always helped me get through the hard nights!! My prayer is that Matt and all the other Pilgrims are continually blessed this weekend.

First night...

Well, I survived. The Walk to Emmaus brought the first night that Matt and I have been apart since getting married 6 months ago. I don't know how Matt is doing on his Walk (they tell the spouses to stay away as much as possible to not be a distraction), but I had a rough night!

The Walk to Emmaus in Chattanooga is held at Camp Lookout (on Lookout Mtn about 40 minutes from our house). Matt told me at dinner before I took him up the mountain that he forgot to pack a TOWEL! Dangit! They have a pretty strict schedule for the weekend, so there was no going home to get it before going up. I didn't leave the mountain until about 9:45pm. I got home, walked dogs, packed a towel, drove back up the mountain, dropped it off, and drove back home. I finally got in bed last night, totally exhausted, at about 12:15am. What? Sleep? NO, I was SO tired and SO without husband that I couldn't fall asleep!!! It seemed like an eternity before I finally fell asleep. Oh, and BTW I had to get up at 6am this morning, no excuses - must be up.

As I write this, I wonder, why the heck am I up now??? I'm exhausted.

Anyway, I hope Matt is being blessed by his Walk. No matter what it was all worth it. I love him, and I miss him a lot!!!

It's our Anni!!! 6 whole months of married life!

It's our anni! That's what Matt calls it because it's half of an anniversary; I call it our 6-monthiversary. Matt and I have been married 6 months today, and our wedding day is still such a clear memory. I always heard people say that their wedding day is a blur, but mine isn't. I feel fortunate to have been able to really savor and enjoy each part of the day.

One of my favorite memories of our wedding day was being alone that morning. I had banished all visitors from the premisis on Friday so that I could have the evening and morning to myself at home (I'm such a smart cookie). I actually had a horrible headache for much of the day and night on Friday, I hope I hid it well. After the rehearsal dinner I went home, took my headache meds, and went to sleep - I think I got 9 hours! It was wonderful. I woke up on Saturday morning, pulled out my Bible and read about Jesus visiting a wedding in Cana (Luke Ch4, where He performed His first miracle), and also about the disciples traveling on the road to Emmaus with a "stranger" (Luke 24:13-35). I had some quiet time, did some yoga, took a long hot shower, and then the phone started ringing... the end of my perfect, peaceful wedding morning.

Matt and I have talked a lot about "how are we doing at this newlywed thing?" and we agree that it's going well. Getting used to living with and sharing a home that you've occupied alone (for the most part) with someone else was difficult for me. The shared banking took a while for both of us to get used to. But all in all, I am so happy to have him with me all the time and to go to bed next to him everynight. I think he likes me too ;) although, he does blame the fact that I "cook from scratch" on his weight gain! I'm sorry, Hot Pockets and canned soup are not grown-up meals! Anyone who knows me knows that I make healthy food!

Anyway, since September 20, 2008, we have been to Jamaica, did the fall thing, elected a new President, started our own family traditions, celebrated the holidays, added to our pet family, and considered starting a cottage industry business. WHEW, I'm exhausted just thinking about it! It's been the best 6 months of my life and we are truly happy!!! We pray that it only gets better from here!

Pretty picture

I thought I would post a picture of the newest addition to our home, a beautiful 24x30 canvas from our wedding hanging on our wall! I love our photographer Melody Hood!!!

This is one of those days...

That's how my horoscope started out today. Yep. "This is one of those days when you must make your own way without relying on other people for help or advice." SWEET. You know that you have a challenging day ahead when you wake up 30 minutes late, get snippy with your husband for no reason, have no options for ways to shave time off your morning routine, arrive 20 minutes late to work only to have the elevator doors open with your boss standing there greeting you "Good morning" knowing full well what time it is. This is one of those days...

I've had a bit of a tough time lately. I've been cranky and anxious for a multitude of reasons. Hopefully some steps I am taking will alleviate part of the problem, if not most of it. We've gotten a lot done around the house towards settling in, which is a load off my mind. My sweet husband is very helpful working right beside me to get things in order. He's been wonderful, really.

We got some FABULOUS news from my friend Betsy, who was in our wedding. Betsy and her husband Bradley found out Tuesday that they are expecting a GIRL!!! This is particularly exciting because all of my really close friends with babies all have boys, and it's been a very long time since I got to shop for girlie stuff!! Her name will be Rubye Kate, after Betsy's grandmother Rubye. I am so very excited!!

Other than that, we've been trying to relax at home when we can. Sometimes we actually manage to do that...
Isis and me curled up on the couch

Hurley doesn't like sharing her mommy, obviously.