blah

Blah is how I've felt all week. Blah. I can just say it over and over. Blah.
It's just one of those weeks, you know? Cold outside. Totally disillusioned with work. No energy. Stuck inside (both at home AND at school with a million 4 year olds) constantly. Annoying hacking cough that just lingers...getting neither better nor worse. Blah!
I am so ready for retirement. This working-girl thing is just not working out for me. Oh to be independently wealthy. :)
On the bright side...I did get to hang out with a good friend I don't see much on Monday. I cooked an awesome dinner for her, Matt, and I. I've had some really cool breakthroughs with two of my students...I'm just trying to forget about the other 58 that are crawling all over my last nerve. Yikes, here I am going back to focusing on the negative again.
Umm....right, so. I'm 26...let's see...I'll aim to retire by 65, which means...dang. 39 more years of this? Hopefully I'll get to take a break somewhere in there to be a SAHM. Maybe about a 30 year break. Kids need supervision well into their 30s, I believe. Not me personally, but surely my kids will.
So...Lost is back. Yay! We stayed up entirely too late last night to watch the 2 hours season premiere after home group. Well worth it, except for how nothing was resolved. I should be used to it after 4 seasons, but I guess hope springs eternal in my little heart and somehow I just think they might start giving us some resolution...and I was wrong. Oh well. I'm all in for another season and will watch this show til the bitter end. And then probably start watching it again from the beginning, once I know all the answers. Kind of like the first time you saw The Sixth Sense...as soon as it was over, you think "holy crap, now I need to watch it from the beginning!" Or at least I did.

I took this picture a few weekends ago. We went to this really neat state park about half an hour from our house and had a lot of fun walking around. Hopefully we'll get to do some camping there once it gets warmer outside. There's a river/creek/stream thing that is really wide with lots of huge rocks that you can walk on. We tried to get Lola to play in the water. It was semi-successful. Hopefully she'll be more of a water-lover come summer. I've never had a dog that liked the water!

Well, off to figure out what happened to the bone Lola has been chewing on. I have a sneaking suspicion it is in her stomach now...she made this loud burping/air swallowing sound...and now no sign of the bone. As long as it doesn't choke her, I guess it's okay, right? Oh the adventures of parenthood. :)

shelved

Yay and amen, I got a new bookshelf!! This has been on my list of things to buy (*ahem* budget for, then buy) for MONTHS! Matt and I are collectors of books, you could say. I adore books. I adore reading. I think books are aesthetically beautiful and love to surround myself with as much beauty as possible at all times. I rarely borrow books or get them from the library (unless I'm really uncertain about whether I'll like it)...I like to make books my own, underlining and folding corners. You never know when you'll want to go back and find that one really cool quote in Les Miserables or that entire passage of greatness in East of Eden. If you don't own the book, you can't find it! Therefore I have amassed quite a collection in my 26 years. Add to it Matt's own formidable collection (he scours used book stores and buys anything that looks remotely interesting)...and you have a couple who outgrow bookshelves regularly. Anyway, the stacks of books on every flat surface in the house have been getting on my nerves so we finally selected our Next Big Purchase: a really nice, large bookshelf! I hemmed and hawed about the choice for a few weeks but yesterday we decided on the one and got it! It took awhile to get the whole thing together and ready, and even longer still for me to rearrange and distribute the books/decorations, but we are done! Yay! Here's the new beauty, taking a place of honor beside the fireplace.

Isn't it beautiful?! I love mixing up my books with pictures, candles, and other decorative pieces. My other 2 big shelves look a lot better now, too, since those books got a little more room to breathe. While we were out (and the in-laws were babysitting Lola) we found a few more things to decorate with. I absolutely love decorating. We're renting the house we're in now, and we've lived here for 1.5 years (plus I lived here a year before that with a roommate) and I never seem to stop "nesting". There's always a wall that needs a little something or a corner that looks a bit empty. I'm not much of a knicknack girl, but I do like a space that feels lived-in! Here's a bamboo pot and some palm leaves and curly sticks (for lack of a more scientific word) I got for our bedroom.

Just FYI, that is Matt's nightstand you're looking at. He likes to be reading no less than 12,000 books at a time, and they all must be at hand when he's in bed! I love our room; when we move, I plan on changing nothing about it. It is so peaceful...I've actually had a friend comment that she'd give us a few bucks to take a nap there; she thinks it feels like a room in a B&B! Here's the view from the doorway.
Anyway. I've just a fun weekend doing some minor decorating. I love finding a good sale, especially when I have Christmas money to spend! The best part of this weekend? That it's not over yet!! Yaaay for having tomorrow off as well!

a new leaf

At least once a day Matt finds me curled up on the couch with the laptop, oblivious to the world. "Whatcha doing?" he'll ask. "Blogging," I reply, completely aware that I'm actually only pseudo-blogging. I think most people would agree that it only counts as blogging if you actually...you know...blog. At least once in a while. What I am doing is really just stalking. But I don't like to be that honest with myself. I keep making new deals with myself. When I start my new job I'll start blogging again. Nope. When I get used to the new job I'll start blogging again. That may never happen. When I turn 26 I'll start blogging. I went to the aquarium that day. No time for blogs. Ahhh...a new year. When it's 2009, THEN I will blog. 16 days in...may as well get started. Because my next goal was when I get pregnant (because I absolutely adore stalking the blogs of people (strangers) who are pregnant)... and who knows when that will be. So why not today? Why not indeed.

It's been an eventful6.5 months! I did indeed get a new job in August which has only served to solidify my theory: A job will never be my life. I may always have a job, but I don't think it will ever serve to define me. And I am happy about that. No matter how much I like or don't like my jobs...no matter whether it was a good, fulfilling day or a crappy, overwhelming day (or a blah, who cares? day)...I always always always look forward to going home and forgetting about it. Being with Matt and Lola (and someday our kids) and just hanging out with ourselves or with friends, doing anything or nothing...well, that's what my life is about. Not work. When I meet people or am catching up with old friends and it comes to the "so what do you do?" question...I always rush through it...it just does nothing to describe who I really am.

With that being said, I do mostly like my job. The newness has worn off and the stressfulness has set in, but I do usually enjoy it. And I'm a huge fan of a paycheck, so there's always that. :) And in times such as this, I try very hard not to take a job for granted.

The most exciting new addition to our lives has been our beloved puppy, Lola.

Lola the day we adopted her (Sept. 2008)

Lola last weekend.

She is the best dog ever!! She's about 6 months old and is a lab-?? mix. Must be mixed with something small, cause she's rather small for a lab her age (about 30 pounds). She is incredibly smart and very cuddly and SO much fun. She has yet to destroy anything (important) and is just...perfect. We are pretty much obsessed with playing with her/talking about her/thinking about her...in fact, much of Matt & I's back-and-forth emails during the workday deal with our "Loler" and how she is doing and how much she misses us and what we will do when we get home.

Speaking of coming home, I hear Matt pulling up. I'll have to cut this little life-update short...but I promise I'll be back soon. I have a nice long weekend (thank you, MLK Jr...and not just for the day off) ahead of me, so I will try to come back soon.

*E*

one year (almost)

Our one-year wedding anniversary is Monday! It seems crazy. One whole year married. A thousand to go. And I mean that in a good way. Marriage has been more amazing and wonderful than I'd even dreamed it could be. Lots of people say the first year is really hard. If this was hard, I can't wait for the rest of my life!! I think we got lucky. Or maybe it was all our preparation (we've read lootttttssss of relationship books) and determination to succeed. And a good amount of prayer. And taking as much advice as we could get from anyone and anywhere. And openness.

So we haven't spent a single night apart in our first year. That makes me happy. There were two times when it seemed like a possibility. Once, about 2 weeks after we got back from our honeymoon, my mom was having surgery in Augusta and I went home to be with her and my dad. Depending on how things went, I might have had to stay overnight. Luckily all was perfect and I got to come home. At that point it didn't seem that tragic to spend a night apart-- we'd been married such a short time anyway, we weren't really used to always being together! Then about 2 months ago Matt's dad, brothers, and uncles were taking a Man Weekend to go to Florida together and wanted him to go. At that point, we just couldn't bear the thought of spending a weekend apart, so we said no, and I'm glad we did!! It's funny how the more time we spend together...the more time I want us to spend together. I'm addicted!! A lot of people I know really look forward to their "girls getaway weekends" and "guys nights out" and stuff like that...and while I still love spending time with my friends, nothing can compare to being with the ol' husband. I am so incredibly blessed.

So...I didn't actually intend for this to be a long sappy post. Lately I've been lamenting the fact that I'm such a lousy blogger. I would say it's because I'm busy, but then I suppose every blogger is. I don't notice any of my friends just having hours and hours a week to just laze away and write some long, leisurely blogs. A more accurate excuse would be that I am busy, but by the time I have some downtime in the evenings, I (as I may have mentioned before) like to spend my time with Matt, not the computer. But I will try to do better.

This weekend is shaping up to be excellent. Last night we had Supper Club, which is something our church does during the summer. We meet with several other couples/families for dinner and hanging out once every 2 or 3 weeks. It has been so much fun. Last night we played Guesstures after dinner (guys v. girls, of course) and although we ladies didn't have the highest score when all was said and done, we all knew it was not for lack of skill-- it was really just because when guys lose, they're such HORRIBLE losers that the whole night is ruined, so it was better for us to just let them win in hopes of still having a fun night. Because we know we certainly could have won if we really wanted to. Anyway, it was a lot of fun using my non-existent acting skills. Also, I inadvertently cheat, which I really need to work on. I know you're not supposed to make sound effects, and I certainly didn't plan to...but somehow they just leak out of my mouth when I'm caught up in the moment. Oops.

This morning Matt had to work (and I don't work Saturdays anymore, praise the LOORRRRDDDD) so I met up with my friend Sarah at the ripe old hour of 7:45am (hey, I had to be up with Matt anyway, so why not) to get coffee (honeysuckle latte, YUM) and visit our Farmer's Market!! I looove going to the Farmer's Market. If I had more time/energy/desire to blog, you would know all about how Matt and I have turned into amateur hippies/environmentalists and so the opportunity to buy locally and sustainably grown produce is very exciting to me! However, our FM is only open Saturdays from 8-1 and (as I've found out), if you're not there by 8:30, don't expect to get anything! Hippies do their shopping EARLY! So we were there right on time and had the most wonderful assortment of fruits, veggies, coffees, and breads to choose from. I absolutely love talking to the farmer who just picked the carrots the night before. And buying grits from the woman who ground them. And so on and so forth. And, not to mention, paying them a fair price for the work they've done. And it's really extended my cooking/eating tastes...for instance, a few weeks ago I bought kale, which I had no idea what it was or what to do with it. As it turns out, kale is AWESOME and really healthy and tasty and easy to cook...and it was grown right down the street from me. And the farmer said "yeah, come over anytime and you can help out!" and I said...wow. As beautiful and fun and bounteous (okay, not so much) as the potted tomatoes on my porch are...deep in my heart, I wish I were a farmer. :) Or at least had a decent size garden.

Last night Matt told me that after I got home from shopping with Sarah, I needed to pack. For what? For our surprise anniversary getaway!!!! He made reservations for us at this little B&B I've really wanted to go to. It's in town (maybe 15 minutes from where we live), which means the travel price is just about right, haha. So we get to go over there and check in at 3, and they have this gorgeous pool and gardens and a creek right on the grounds...so I'm really excited!! I didn't know he had had anything planned! Yay! As sacrilegious as this is to say...I hope it doesn't rain (today, God. It can rain tomorrow and all week and all the rest of the summer...just not today!) because I really want to swim and lay by that pool. I've been admiring it from afar for so long...I will be so sad if the one chance I get to swim in it is ruined!! But if it does rain, we'll be okay. The B&B also has cable, which we do not, so that's a pretty huge draw. :) We'd be happy to spend our anniversary vacation watching hour after hour of Mystery Diagnosis and other medical shows. Those things really suck you in. And it's why we don't need cable at our house...we would NEVER talk to each other then!!

Anyway...this post started sappy, then just got long. Sorry. I had to make up for like 2 months of not blogging though. Have a wonnnnderful weekend!!