It's been a very trying week. I'm looking forward to the weekend as we will be seeing our families, our horses, and just having some time to relax and unwind. It's also the first time that Charley will get to meet her new Mommy!! In fact, if you check out Simone's blog over the coming weeks/months, I'm sure you'll see updates on how this amazing little puppy is growing and changing: www.justsimone.blogspot.com.
Last night we got to use one of the gifts we received from my bridal shower - a grill pizza stone. I've never been a huge fan of frozen pizza. It's good in a pinch, if you're really hungry and financially constricted. I am now a reformed believer! Putting the frozen pizza on the grill is AMAZING!! It was done in record time and it gave the crust a crisp, delicious flavor like I've never had before. Thank you, Levi, for the idea a few months ago!
Tomorrow I have to do billing for work, so I will be coming in for maybe 2-3 hours. Don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining about having to do a couple of hours of work on a Friday morning and then having the next three days off. How did I ever work 5 full days a week for most of my adult life?! My plan is to drop Woody off at work at 5 a.m. so that he can get a couple of hours of overtime in this week, do billing, go home, play with the puppies, take a nap, load the car, pick Woody up from work, and hit the road. Then, the weekend really begins because we are headed west for Labor Day weekend!!
2012 has most definitely been a year of change for me. I changed jobs, I fell in love with and married my best friend, I rediscovered my faith, found a church and was baptized last weekend, and I became a step-mom. Prior to this year, my visits to western Kansas to visit family were few and far between. If I went once a year, that was enough; sometimes, sadly I must admit this, it was longer. My first trip to western Kansas this year was January, this weekend will be my 10th!! Woody reminded me of the beauty and wonder of our small hometown. It has become a place that I miss and long to go back to visit. It's also in our long term plans to return to permanently. It's amazing what a complete change can happen in a year. . .
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Not My Idea of a Good Morning. . .
I am a morning person. My alarm goes off, and, even if I hit snooze, I rarely ever fall back to sleep. Well, one day last week was the exception. I hit the snooze button and knew that I would have no trouble falling back into a deep slumber. The puppies had other ideas.
I have two dogs: Colby, my black, 7-yr-old miniature poodle, and Bella Brooke, my black, 2-yr-old pomapoo (pomeranian poodle). Additionally, we are foster parenting an almost 9-wk-old yorkie. Her name is Charley and she will be united with her new Mommy (my little brother Levi's wonderful girlfriend, Simone) this Friday evening. Charley is a gift from Levi to Simone. Conflicting schedules prevented them from picking her up when she was ready, so Woody and I have been watching her for the last three weeks. Let me tell you, nothing puts a new marriage through early ups and downs like a puppy!
So, back to my original story. . . As I made the rounds to gather up all three dogs and take them outside, I step out onto the patio, walk Charlie over to the grass, and set her down. I look back and see Colby playing with a worm on the patio. Now, normally this thought process I'm about to explain wouldn't be in slow motion, but on this particular morning, I was not working at full steam. As I look at the worm Colby is playing with, I think "it hasn't rained in forever, why is there a worm on the patio?" A few more seconds roll by when I think "wow, that's a really big worm!" Uh, can you say "SNAKE"?! Well, apparently I can't say it that early in the morning! It was more like an earth shattering, window breaking, horror movie actress quality scream that probably woke all of my neighbors. At some point I realize that I have all dogs in the house and am standing inside (to this day I'm not certain how I got there), and I run to find my handsome hubby. HE'S STILL SLEEPING!!
Woody did wake up (after I shook him) and did the strong, manly thing: he walked outside, bonked the snake with the top of an axe, thought it was dead, tried to pick it up, realized it wasn't dead and dropped it. Snake - 1, Man - 0. Mr. Snake slithered into a crevice along the patio and is, I'm sure, plotting his next early morning surprise greeting. I'm also fairly certain this monstrous snake (approx 4-5") must be related to the pit viper, though my husband assures me it was not.
Just in case you are wondering, I do not think growing up in the country automatically makes you less inclined to have a "girlish" reaction to reptiles. I'm almost positive that if the similar situation had happened when I was younger, the only difference would have been fewer neighbors hearing my screams of terror!
I have two dogs: Colby, my black, 7-yr-old miniature poodle, and Bella Brooke, my black, 2-yr-old pomapoo (pomeranian poodle). Additionally, we are foster parenting an almost 9-wk-old yorkie. Her name is Charley and she will be united with her new Mommy (my little brother Levi's wonderful girlfriend, Simone) this Friday evening. Charley is a gift from Levi to Simone. Conflicting schedules prevented them from picking her up when she was ready, so Woody and I have been watching her for the last three weeks. Let me tell you, nothing puts a new marriage through early ups and downs like a puppy!
So, back to my original story. . . As I made the rounds to gather up all three dogs and take them outside, I step out onto the patio, walk Charlie over to the grass, and set her down. I look back and see Colby playing with a worm on the patio. Now, normally this thought process I'm about to explain wouldn't be in slow motion, but on this particular morning, I was not working at full steam. As I look at the worm Colby is playing with, I think "it hasn't rained in forever, why is there a worm on the patio?" A few more seconds roll by when I think "wow, that's a really big worm!" Uh, can you say "SNAKE"?! Well, apparently I can't say it that early in the morning! It was more like an earth shattering, window breaking, horror movie actress quality scream that probably woke all of my neighbors. At some point I realize that I have all dogs in the house and am standing inside (to this day I'm not certain how I got there), and I run to find my handsome hubby. HE'S STILL SLEEPING!!
Woody did wake up (after I shook him) and did the strong, manly thing: he walked outside, bonked the snake with the top of an axe, thought it was dead, tried to pick it up, realized it wasn't dead and dropped it. Snake - 1, Man - 0. Mr. Snake slithered into a crevice along the patio and is, I'm sure, plotting his next early morning surprise greeting. I'm also fairly certain this monstrous snake (approx 4-5") must be related to the pit viper, though my husband assures me it was not.
Just in case you are wondering, I do not think growing up in the country automatically makes you less inclined to have a "girlish" reaction to reptiles. I'm almost positive that if the similar situation had happened when I was younger, the only difference would have been fewer neighbors hearing my screams of terror!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
First Time for Everything
This is my very first blog post, ever. So, for those of you who happen to stumble upon it, don't expect too much, too soon.
First, let me make this very clear. Any opinions I may share are strictly that, MY OPINION. I'm exercising that whole "freedom of speech" thing that is very clearly written in the Constitution. Yes, I understand that the Constitution seems to be more open to interpretation in recent years than, well, ever. . . So, taking a cue from a few hundred politicians, I'm going to spout about the one that will allow me to justify my current endeavor. I reserve the right to change my mind and reprimand the next person for jumping on the same horse!
Who am I? Well, I have always considered myself to be a Christian. I believe that God loves me so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my sins (John 3:16, loosely translasted). However, what I now realize is that believing alone does not make a person a Christian. You MUST walk the walk. Enter in my new husband, let's call him "Woody" (sidebar, I LOVE The Pioneer Woman, so I'm politely borrowing the use of a pet name reference for my love from her, with great respect).
I have known Woody since I was in the 4th grade. We grew up in a small town in western Kansas. Now, I bet a few of you are thinking, "how sweet, childhood sweethearts" and I'm here to tell you, NO! We never dated when we were young. In fact, it wasn't until almost 25 years after that first playground introduction (a failed long-term relationship, a lot of heart ache, and a resignation to never date again) that we reconnected and I quickly realized that this was the love of my life. We were married 7.4.12 in a small, beautiful ceremony in Colorado. I'm sure I'll go more in depth eventually. . .
Anyway, how does Woody play into the reaffirmation of my Christian faith? We pray together. A lot! We pray for each other, for ourselves, for our families, for our friends, and even for our foes. We have had to make some significant changes in our personal lives, especially when it comes to friends. It's quite staggering how much negative influence is derived from peer pressure even at my age! The main culprit I've personally dealt with on what seems like a recurring basis recently: GOSSIP! Again, another subject that I'll go more in depth into in the future.
Woody and I recently found a church together that we both feel we were led to discover. I have not been on the right path to "walk the walk", but together with God and Woody, I am finding my way back to the path. It's amazing how well illuminated it actually is once He showed me how to remove my blinders! I have a long road ahead of me, but at least I know where to go for my road map.
Obviously, there are a lot more things I could ramble on and on about; there's time to do that. I guess I should see how I feel about this after a few posts and not make any rash decisions? Hmmm. . . time will tell. In the meantime, blessings to those that read!
First, let me make this very clear. Any opinions I may share are strictly that, MY OPINION. I'm exercising that whole "freedom of speech" thing that is very clearly written in the Constitution. Yes, I understand that the Constitution seems to be more open to interpretation in recent years than, well, ever. . . So, taking a cue from a few hundred politicians, I'm going to spout about the one that will allow me to justify my current endeavor. I reserve the right to change my mind and reprimand the next person for jumping on the same horse!
Who am I? Well, I have always considered myself to be a Christian. I believe that God loves me so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my sins (John 3:16, loosely translasted). However, what I now realize is that believing alone does not make a person a Christian. You MUST walk the walk. Enter in my new husband, let's call him "Woody" (sidebar, I LOVE The Pioneer Woman, so I'm politely borrowing the use of a pet name reference for my love from her, with great respect).
I have known Woody since I was in the 4th grade. We grew up in a small town in western Kansas. Now, I bet a few of you are thinking, "how sweet, childhood sweethearts" and I'm here to tell you, NO! We never dated when we were young. In fact, it wasn't until almost 25 years after that first playground introduction (a failed long-term relationship, a lot of heart ache, and a resignation to never date again) that we reconnected and I quickly realized that this was the love of my life. We were married 7.4.12 in a small, beautiful ceremony in Colorado. I'm sure I'll go more in depth eventually. . .
Anyway, how does Woody play into the reaffirmation of my Christian faith? We pray together. A lot! We pray for each other, for ourselves, for our families, for our friends, and even for our foes. We have had to make some significant changes in our personal lives, especially when it comes to friends. It's quite staggering how much negative influence is derived from peer pressure even at my age! The main culprit I've personally dealt with on what seems like a recurring basis recently: GOSSIP! Again, another subject that I'll go more in depth into in the future.
Woody and I recently found a church together that we both feel we were led to discover. I have not been on the right path to "walk the walk", but together with God and Woody, I am finding my way back to the path. It's amazing how well illuminated it actually is once He showed me how to remove my blinders! I have a long road ahead of me, but at least I know where to go for my road map.
Obviously, there are a lot more things I could ramble on and on about; there's time to do that. I guess I should see how I feel about this after a few posts and not make any rash decisions? Hmmm. . . time will tell. In the meantime, blessings to those that read!
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