How My Mom Spent Her Friday

My mom completely made my day yesterday. I haven’t had the easiest couple of weeks. (Not going to cry about, just saying…) The other day I was venting to her (or Devin, or both, I can’t remember) and said something to the effect that everything in the world was aggravating to me at the moment. The customers at work, some of the people I work with, the dog was NOT behaving, clothes weren’t fitting properly, laundry is never done and the house is a constant cleaning battle, etc, etc., etc. Anyway, so I’m in one of my moods and whether my actions or attitude seem like it or not, she always has the right thing to say. Generally it makes me think of her verse (yes, I call it her verse, she’ll appreciate it) James 3:17.

So after yet another looooong Friday I came home about 6ish and to my surprise my mom’s car was in the driveway. When I got to the door, it was locked and I fought with the deadbolt long enough that she came to the door, very surprised and said, “You’re not supposed to be here!” Confused, I walked in the door into a house that was not the same as I left it nearly 11 hours earlier. She had been at my house for about 6 hours cleaning. My house looks immaculate! She did laundry, the kitchen (all the way into the garbage disposal and sides of the fridge) started the dishwasher, moved the couch and vacuumed the cushions, mopped the floors, dusted the entertainment center, the bathroom, everything. Well, almost, I ruined her surprise so she “didn’t get a chance to finish.” I could believe it. I started to cry because I had been trying to figure out when I was going to be able to clean, at least the main living areas, before Sunday when people came over to watch the Super Bowl. All she had to say was, “God works in mysterious ways.”

My point is, that I was so blown away but this AMAZING gesture from my mom and she was disappointed that she didn’t get to do more. That’s the kind of person she is. My mom is ALWAYS thinking about what she can do for someone else, and very rarely what she can do for herself. On practically a daily basis I find myself becoming more like her in little ways; things I say or do. When I stop to think about it, it’s not such the bad thing I though it would have been when I was in junior high and high school. It’s things like this that make my mom who she is, and if that’s the kind of person I’m going to become, it’s ok by me.

It doesn’t seem like nearly enough, but, thank you, Mom, not just for yesterday, but for everyday. I love you.

Angela’s Handwriting Challenge

So this post comes courtesy of Angela who got the idea courtesy of her cousin Nikki. It got me thinking about how many people fill out legal forms and documents completely ILLEGIBLY! What the heck? If you want whatever it is that you are filling out to be filed in a timely manner, WRITE CLEARLY!

Anyway, Angela’s Handwriting Challenge is this:

How to play: write something, ANYTHING on a piece of paper, take a picture of it or scan it into your computer, post it on your blog, and link up here so we can all see your oh so fabulous penmanship. One request? At the end of whatever you write, add the sentence, "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." This sentence uses every single letter in the alphabet.

No Angela, I didn’t count all the letters, but I too know that SOMEONE just went through and checked.

Apparently Angela has some uber cool thing on her blog that you can link your handwriting too. Yeah, I’m not that cool. So whatever, go do it. =)

25 Random (or not-so-random) Things About Me

I was tagged on Facebook…

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

…but I wanted to make it a blog, so don’t give me any grief ok?!?!

1.) I’m a New Year’s Baby

2.) I attended three different-high-schools

3.) I’ve never had a cavity

4.) I’ve never broken a bone

5.) I’ve had the same Bible since I was in 4th grade, it’s been lost twice and returned to me. I can’t part with it.

6.) I saw my best friend from kindergarten get married.

7.) Each guy I dated had a name that started with “D”

8.)  I used to drive a minivan (thanks Mom!)

9.) I have this thing with chapstick

10.) I want to be nominated for What Not to Wear

11.) I think the Wii is the best thing since Super Nintendo

12.) Grease is my favorite movie

13.) I listen to the MJ Morning Show almost every morning, for some reason.

14.) I sing at the top of my lungs, when I’m alone

15.) I’ll die a Braves fan, not matter what

16.) I really DON’T like Suzie from A Day to Remember Weddings

17.) My friends me the world to me

18.) I kept a journal (not a blog) until after I was married

19.) I could eat a friend chicken salad with French dressing everyday

20.) My wedding dress was on the cover of an After Hours catalogue

21.) It’s possible I could have a slight case of OCD

22.) Nitpickers used to be my FAVORITE website

23.)  I was googleing “New York City” when the first plane hit the WTC, that’s how I found out

24.) With the exception of the Jedi one, I’ve never seen the Star Wars movies

25.) I don’t understand the whole girls and pink phenomenon.

The Christian Wife

So this week we continued our marriage series in our Sunday School class. Last week we discussed the Christian Husband, so it only made sense to look at the Christian Wife this week.

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”

-Ephesians 5:22

It’s obvious to me that this doesn’t mean what the world thinks it does. It doesn’t mean the wife is to be a servant to her husband. Remember the parallel of Christ and the church to the husband and wife? The wife is supposed to be like the church, honoring and uplifting her husband (v. 24). When a husband is being the spiritual leader and loves his wife the way God commanded, then the wife’s command to submit to him is going to be an easy task she will want to do. Verse 22 doesn’t say submit as a servant to his master, it says as unto the Lord. If my husband loves me the way that Christ loves the Church then why wouldn’t I want to show reverence toward him?

A whirlwind of days

Where to begin? Well, Wednesday I had a date night with Angela. Thursday we had The Office night at Bradley’s. Then, Friday I had FCCS Homecoming game and night out with the girls.

Wednesday: Since Dustin was out of town and Devin was at a work thing, Angela and I decided to have a date night. We had sushi at Midori on Kingsley then went to see Bride Wars. The night was pretty much a success. When I got home it was late but I noticed that my mom had comments on my Coffee! Coffee! Coffee! post. This was strange to me because I didn’t know my mom knew what a blog was, never mind know she was reading mine and commenting on it. And at that, I went to bed.

Thursday: I had this customer stand in front of me chewing and smacking her gum like a cow chewing on grass. It was DISGUSTING! Her lips and tongue were making this AWEFUL saliva-y sound and you could hear it every time she chomped down on her piece of gum. (This all was originally supposed to be a post in itself, but other events transpired and altered my plans) After this obnoxious woman finally left my window and I calmed my stomach so I wouldn’t throw up, I texted the now infamous “gum incident” to my mom and left for lunch. The conversation we had led to me telling her I had no idea she knew what a blog was and really wasn’t expecting her to be reading mine. She then informed me that yes, she did know what a blog was and she had been reading my brothers blog for months and had also read Angela’s, Dustin’s, Gary’s, and Daniel’s. I’m sorry I underestimated you mom. I guess I should have known by now. I mean, with the Macbook, the iPhone, Vera Bradley and all. You’re such a cool trendy mom, why wouldn’t you be reading these blogs for months. But I do hope you know you now have to comment on Bradley’s because he’s slightly perturbed that you’d been reading his for months and never commented but you read mine for a week and created a g-mail account. Ok, the rest of Thursday finished with pizza, Guitar Hero and The Office at Bradley’s apartment.

Friday: Another crazy day at work and then came home to change clothes and meet Cheryl. It was the annual FCCS Homecoming game and we were going to meet Stephanie and enjoy the festivities, you know, being alumni and all. To my surprise, the game and festivities were were very enjoyable, fun even. We won the game, literally in the last seconds, so it was pretty exciting even though we had no idea who anyone on the team was anymore. After the mini reunion, Cheryl, Stephanie, Angela (different Angela) and I went to La Nop for dinner. Since Devin was out of town for SQL Saturday Tampa the girls and I came back to the house and talked until 2 in the morning. I’m pretty sure I was with these same girls the last time I was up until 2 in the morning, and that was in high school.

All of this crazy-non-stop-ness brings me to today and this lazy Saturday is VERY much appreciated and I’m planning on doing nothing but enjoy it.

2008 Scrapbook Planning

This weekend I came to the realization that I’m a slacker! I sat down to work on my scrapbook and I only had though 2007 done. I have done absolutely zero for 2008. When I realized this I decided that I needed to go buy a new book and get together ALL my pictures. I’ve got the pictures together and this is what my 2008 scrapbook will look like (plus or minus a few other hundred pictures.)

• January: New Years Eve 2007

(ringing in 2008)

  

• March: Spring Break in New York

 

• March: Lilly Rose 

• May: Memorial Day in St. Augustine 

• June: Father’s Day at the condo 

 

• July: Independence Day at the condo 

• September: CRUISE!!!

• October: Halloween Haunted House

• November: Camping

• November: Football

• December: Sea World, St. Augustine

and New Years Eve (ringing in 2009)

The Christian Husband

Movies and television shows today depict families in a way that is not Biblically based. Generally, the shows are funny and we laugh at them, but when you really take the time to think about it, the husbands played are nothing like God intended them to be. Why does the husband need to be portrayed as a clumsy goof-ball who doesn’t have the respect of his wife and kids? This comes because I know I watch way too much crap on television and our Sunday School class lesson this week was on the topic. So here I am, writing about it.

The parallel between a husband and his wife to God and the church is something that isn’t going to make sense to any Joe Shmoe on the street, but to us, as Christians, it should hit close to home. Ephesians 5:21-33 tells the wife to submit herself to her husband as unto the Lord (more on that next week) and tells the husband to love his wife as Christ loved the church. The fact that the husband has this kind of responsibility is awing to me. I love my husband more than anything in this world, but to know that he is commanded to love me the way the Christ loved the church, whoa. The husband is supposed to act as a barrier to his wife, not allowing her to be attacked, ultimately holding him responsible for her holiness. That is an incredible responsibility. In Genesis 3 God called on Adam, not Eve after eating the fruit from the tree. He held Adam responsible. Again, whoa.

So maybe this wasn’t the eye opener for you that it was for me, but after class yesterday, I felt incredibly relieved that my role in the marriage is to submit to my husband.

Well Excuse Me! Stupid Steelers Fan!

I spent the afternoon with my mom. We went to Steak-n-Shake for lunch and then headed to the mall to do some shopping. As we are on our way out there was a couple walking in, wearing Steelers jerseys. My initial thought was, “ugh, Steelers fans.” I then watched the man walk up to my car and look in the driver’s window, and felt panic run through me, until I realized he was indeed only looking in the window. Ok fine, admire my car, it’s ok, I’ll take it as a compliment. But only, that’s NOT what he was doing. Oh no! After looking in MY CAR WINDOW he jogs to catch back up with his Steelers woman and says, oh yeah, get this, “eh the interior isn’t that impressive.” Yeah, my reaction was definitely, “well, excuuuuse me! Stupid Steelers fan! What do yooooou drive?” Just one more reason why I hate Steelers fans!

What’s wrong with the interior??? Yeah, NOTHING! That’s what I thought! Stupid Steelers fan!

Coffee! Coffee! Coffee!

Every morning about 7:20 I walk into the Gate gas station on 17 on my way to work. I pull up on the right side of the building and park the car next to the curb. I would then go in get the 16 oz cup and fill it with French Vanilla Cappuccino from the Best Bean machine. Next, I turn around and place the very full cup on a napkin (to make sure I wouldn’t get any stickiness in the cup holder of my very pretty 2008 Honda Accord), pour some half and half into the cappuccino, place a lid on top and swirl it gently to mix it, as I walked to the counter to pay. After about a month of paying $1.39 every day for the 16 oz coffee the clerk behind the counter suggested that I bring a coffee mug from home because I could fill it up, not matter the size, for 94 cents. I believe my exact response was, “Really? Sweet thanks!” From that point forward I began bringing one of the four coffee mugs we have. The next day I brought in Devin’s Office mug (because I’m not even sure he knows he owns it). As the clerk, who I now know as Martin, is ringing up the coffee we discuss the Angela, Andy, Dwight love triangle and who we thought was going to win the girl. Suddenly it’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then New Years. My first day back to work in 2009 I forgot to bring my coffee mug (more like, I hadn’t done the dishes in a week). So I walked over to the coffee and did my daily ritual of filling a 16 oz cup. At the counter Martin said, “you’ve got to wake up and read the signs before you fill your cup, the medium coffee is only 99 cents this month.” My response consisted of an “ah crap” and “really, ALL month?!?!” So each day I have been to work since that day I have gotten the 20 oz coffee for only $1.06 after tax. Martin and I have had many conversations. Some about the Jaguars when I walk in on a Monday morning with no voice, two about the Gators and the Seminoles (UF vs. FSU, and the BCS Championship) and several about The Office. Mostly though it’s just “have a nice day” and “thanks, you too.” Wednesday morning I got my 20 oz cup, gave Martin my $1.06 and coffee card. Instead of getting just one stamp for my coffee he gave me all five on the card! I excitedly thanked him and went on my way. As I drove out of the parking lot I thought to myself, “This is sad. I’m a regular at the gas station and the clerk knows me!”

It was success!

So apparently my entry into the world of blogging was a success. Not that it’s a lot, but six whole people commented on my first blog. That’s more than double what I thought it would be!

I knew Angela would comment, I also knew Bradley would comment too. What I didn’t know was that they would blog about my blogging. Nor did I know that Dustin (even though I think Angela just goofed up), Rachel, Nikki, or MyKidsMom would comment. Two of which I’ve never even met! All part of the blogging experience I suppose?

Thanks guys!

Just the beginning…

Apparently blogging is the new hotness and “everyone is doing it.” So I’m succumbing to peer pressure and starting one. So thank you to my bigger little brother, Bradley, my amazing husband, Devin, and my BFF, Angela, here’s to you!

Best TV Kiss…. EVER

Best Movie Kiss

Best places to shop

  and

Best Sports Teams

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Worst TV Kiss caused

  

Worst Movie Kiss

Worst Place to Shop

and

Worst Sports Teams