Christmas Should be 12 Days . . . Or More . . .

I don't really have anything to update. Things are pretty much the way they've been. Oh, I guess there is something! We're going to see Paul's family for Christmas! I'm super excited. It is very cold there, though. Thankfully, we both have warm coats. We'll be leaving a week later than we had initially hoped, but we'll still get plenty of time. We'll also get some couple time before we go, which I'm super excited about. I'm planning to make a Christmas dinner for two. We'll listen to Christmas music, maybe watch a Christmas movie, play games, and exchange gifts (so we don't have to take them on the plane).

Christmas (like birthdays) have always been more than a day-long celebration in my family. Growing up, we wouldn't always open our presents on Christmas because sometimes, we'd be out of town visiting family. We also had a family celebration a week or two before Christmas, one Christmas Eve, and another one around New Year's. Once, we even talked my parents into letting us open the presents after dinner one night, a week early.

So the fact that we had Christmas with my side of the family on Thanksgiving, we'll have our family Christmas a week early, and Christmas with Paul's side of the family on the actual day doesn't seem weird at all. In fact, it's kind of fun. And, I'm not completely sick of the Christmas season yet. I think it's because I've been avoiding TV.

Last Saturday, I picked up a shift at work from 2:30-6:30 and wound up staying until close (for an on-call shift). I had been running late and hadn't packed a supper. So, Paul and our friends Kyle and Lisa who were in town picked up burgers and brought them to the store. We ate them together in the car on my half an hour break. I was sad that I couldn't spend more time with them but was so happy that we could hang out. I've been so blessed with awesome friends.

I should probably go to bed. I've got a bit of homework due Saturday (last packet!) and some end-of-semester materials due next week. But then I'll be done for the semester! Yay! I will definitely be taking a brake.

Birthday and Cleaning the Garage

I've had a crazy but awesome week. Paul's birthday was last Wednesday, so I made him baked stuffed tomatoes and cherry crumble pie. Friday, some friends came into town. We had Polynesian chicken with rice and stir fry veggies followed by homemade, 3 layer German's chocolate cake (my great-grandmother's recipe). Mmmm--but full of calories.

Saturday, we went to a wedding reception. I got to meet some of Paul's friends and chat with some of my friends. Sunday, we were going to go to an airshow, but it was raining. Instead, we played a 3 hour game of Settlers of Catan. I won. :-D That's one game I do okay at. I'm not too bad at Spades either, even though I am still learning (that's a joke).

Last Thursday, I cleaned out our garage. Well, only one half of it. I went through the boxes my sister and I hadn't gone through since we moved. I found some interesting things. Por examplo:

A Burger King bag from when The Lion King had just come out. Their faces look kind of like mine did when I found that bag. . . .
Cups from the theme park 11 years ago . . .

Yes, it was about time I went through the garage. If I'm brave, I'll go through the stuff Paul and I have stored there in another week or so. But before then, I have some craft projects to work on.

Oh, and how could I forget? Another interesting thing I found in the garage was a half decayed, dead rat. He smelled awful, and I was not pleased that I had to deal with him. I hope I don't find any more out there . . . At least I was prepared with my handy-dandy ufilly belt! (if anybody knows that that's from, points to you! And Karen, you'd better know . . .)

Hope everybody has a good week!

Praises (and caffeine)

Sallie Mae disbursed my loan!!!! Finally, two months after they approved me for the loan. If you ever have to work with Sallie Mae, I'd suggest asking for a supervisor. Praise the Lord for providing! God is good.

I have a busy day tomorrow. I have to type my handwritten pages, proof my thesis, go by the bank, pick up new library books and read them, turn in old library books, do laundry, get the oil changed in the car, and pack for our trip Thursday. I'm probably forgetting something else I need to do.

I've been having a pretty good fall. I feel as though I know what's going on and we'll be moving on to the next phase of life soon. I'm over halfway done with grad school (yippee!!). My crazy health problems are pretty much gone, which makes me think they're stress/depression related.

I have a job I love, good friends, a wonderful family, and an amazing husband. I also serve a merciful God. Life may not be perfect, but it sure isn't bad. :-D

P.S. I went to a coffee shop to work on my writing. I always forget to ask for decaf . . .

Don't Let Your Left Hand Know . . .

My brain is fried from reading on the computer all morning. I have until Tuesday to get a complete draft of my critical thesis done (that's the deadline I've given myself).

I had a really great weekend. Our friends David and Lezli came for a visit with their two boys. We had a lot of fun hanging out, eating Mexican and German food, enjoying entirely too much sweet stuff, and eating a ton of home-grown watermelon. I hadn't had so much fun in a long time. The boys get up early, so we had a lot of time to hang out. Praise God for good friends!

This morning, I got up before Paul. Before I left the room, I went to give him a good morning kiss. He started yelling, and I realized that when I leaned down, I had accidentally turned my glass of water over, right on top of him. You know the part in the Bible where Jesus says not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing? Apparently, my body took that literally . . .

I leave for work in about half an hour. I haven't been to work all week, so I probably won't know where anything is. Oh well. I'm glad I like my job. I like my compy, too. :-D

Catch you later!

Date Weekend

I just read a few of my old posts. Nobody else may enjoy reading what I write, but I sure get a kick out of it!

I just spent an hour or two trying hopelessly to find articles on my essay subject. I found none. I have Incas to thank for that. Or whoever came up with the concept of zero. I'm sure if no one had thought of zero, then I would have found some articles, just like how gravity didn't exist before Newton walked into an apple tree.

I had a pretty good weekend. On Friday, Paul and I were going to see wildflowers, but it was stormy. So after a day of searching for articles for my essay topic, Paul and I went on a date. We tried out a Greek restaurant we'd been curious about (it was yummy!). My gyro came with fries. I love America. ;-) After that, we went and saw Monsters vs. Aliens. It was pretty good. I'd probably give it a three or four star on my CG movie meter. I like Pixar movies the best, but Dreamworks movies aren't bad. I partly liked it 'cause Paul laughed so hard. Oh, and we went to Barnes and Noble. I like Barnes and Noble.


Saturday, I actually did some crafty stuff (pattern cutting). I haven't started sewing yet, but I'll get there. I also had work Saturday. That was okay except that the AC was broken. Hot.

Yesterday, Paul and I drove a little over an hour away to the wildflower fields. We had fun and got cool pictures. The wind was crazy, though! We had yummy German food for supper. Mmmm.

Poppies! Poppies will fix them. . . .

Not that all of that is super interesting, but too bad for you. ;-) I like reading my friends' blogs about their kids. Hopefully, in a few years or whatever God's timing is, my blogs will be more interesting 'cause I'll write about my cute kids.

Have a wonderful last full week of April!

Annie

You Know You're Married to an Engineer . . .

. . . when he compares your essay to a suspension bridge.

Another Christmas Come and Gone

Well, it's been almost another month. Crazy! Christmas was really good. I enjoyed having Karen, Dave, and Harry home for Christmas. And me and Paul, too! I was going to work on Christmas Eve, but I got sick. I'm just now getting over it, so that part wasn't too fun. Karen and Dave left last Monday (I think), and Harry left yesterday. We had a lot of fun together. I'm sad that they're gone now.

I got to see my cousins from my Dad's side (not all of them, but several of them) this Christmas. Even though I live in the same town as Tiff and Liz, I've been very bad at keeping up with them, so I hadn't seen them in awhile.

The day after Christmas, Karen, Mom, and I drove down to The Valley for Holly's wedding. Karen and I got to stay with Audrey at her in-laws. I had a blast. I actually got to talk with Holly some (for those of you who haven't been to weddings, catching the bride for a chat is a challenge). I loved the wedding. It was so perfectly Holly. I also enjoyed the atmosphere and being in the Valley again. Karen and I had a lot of fun spending time with Audrey. Oh, and of course, we ate El Pato and brought some back for our boys.

Paul and I had a date today. He doesn't like shopping, but being the sweet man that he is, he took me to the mall to look for a wallet. I've been wanting a new wallet for ages (I wanted one as a college graduation present to myself, ha ha), and now that I have a little Christmas money, I thought I'd get one. I found one that I like, and I had a lot of fun hanging out with Paul.

I have a lot to do this week to get ready for school. I am NOT ready for another semester to begin. I haven't even recovered from the last semester. And I still haven't been writing. I've been sick and spending time with family. Oh, and making wedding presents and stuff. Oh well. I'll survive. I just hope I get over the remnants of this cold before I have to leave.

Catch you all later!

My Husband Makes Me Laugh

“Paul, why am I crying while reading about baby showers and wedding showers on a pottery studio website?”

“You’re—a girl.”

“That’s not a good answer!”

“For guys it is.”

“That’s not a good answer.”

“Cause you’re a girl and you find it touching when your friends get married and you want to have a baby someday and you’re caring.”

“That’s a better answer.”

“You’re a girl.”

::::frowns::::

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What was I listening to earlier?”

:::singing::: “Who let the dogs out? Who! Who who who!”

“I was not listening to that!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why won’t Kurt answer his facebook? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he’s in DUBAI!”

:::phone rings:::

“IT’S KURT!”

:::phone stops ringing:::

“Oh, Kurt. Why did you abandon me?”