A Change Is A Comin'

Short post because I'm supposed to be studying...but...

Originally this blog was for family members who I don't get to see enough. It was really just meant to be insight in my day-to-day life.

But, once the beast of Organic II is over I'm going to change things up a bit. Since I now have a bigger readership and since writing is therapeutic I want to start using this as a tool to communicate my thoughts and stance on different things.

In addition to "today I did this and today I did that" I will hopefully begin blogging a bit about:
- things God is saying to me personally, my spiritual growth

- I'm pretty passionate about politics and would like to begin getting some eye-opening information out there to a very liberal, unresearched group of people about their favorite candidate

- Work-out and health ideas

- Anything else I'm heated about at the moment.

Hopefully I will actually do this... sometimes I have good intentions but no follow-through.

Wish me luck on my test tomorrow!

The Object of My Affection

"I want these. I need these." This is what is running through my head right now. I want some new clothes, especially some Seven For All Mankind 'Ginger' and 'Dojo' jeans. But I know that I don't really need them. I only want them. But, I want to be a good steward of our money more, and to go to dental school more, and to finish getting out of debt more. (I guess...sigh) Plus, if you read previous post, you'll know that now is REALLY not the time :(

I'll be thankful one day but right now I just think Dave Ramsey sucks! (or "stinks" for Mom)

:) hahahahah... just kidding Dave.

When It Rains.... God gives you an umbrella

It pours. And it has poured in our household this month.

First it was the speeding ticket we got coming home from Springfield after the 4th of July weekend. Goodbye $100.

Then my timing belt needed to be fixed. Thank goodness I have such a handy husband. He replaced it and the rest of the belts himself and saved us $500. But, still it cost some dough.

Our router for the wireless Internet fried. New one.

Our AC went out the day E was fixing the timing belt in our Toyota. Yeah...you can imagine the moods in our house that day.

What we thought was our computer's power supply went out. After purchasing and installing a new one, we found that our motherboard, and therefore our processor and video card has to be replaced.

I had a minor medical malady that required a doctor's visit and several meds. (not really expensive...just something I feel like complaining about)

This is all just before we have to write a check for tuition. But, mom had a cool reminder for me. If we could do it all on our own, then God wouldn't be glorified through our situation. And, God sure is good to us and has provided yet again.

I got 3 new cleaning clients in 3 days time. This will really help the pocketbook.

We found all sorts of stuff to put up on Craigslist and Ebay.

Our AC didn't have to be replaced and the AC guy was very nice and taught Erin how to service the unit himself next time so we didn't have to call a professional.

I found a quarter in the couch this morning - (fun size hot tamale candies are only $.25 in the school bookstore.... WOOHOO!!)

Sarah was so sweet and gave me a Starbucks gift card for keeping Charlotte (which she didn't have to do). This has enabled me to stay awake while studying while sipping on delicious lattes!

God is Good!

Obama's Nuclear "Solution"

Has anyone heard about Obama's promise to rid the world of nuclear weapons?? This guy is so full of crap I can't even stand it.



What is even more scary are the number of Christians who are believing his deceptions. The latest thing thats got me hot and bothered (not in the good way:), is Obama's new "nuclear" plan. He claims he is going to rid the world of nuclear weapons. How is he going to do this?



We all know that other countries (especially Middle Eastern) are NOT going to listen to measley little Obama's request to stop nuclear research and development. So, that just leaves the U.S. As president, Obama will only have power over the U.S. So, what happens when he stops nuclear research and weapons development in our country? Other countries will continue to have weapons and mass destruction and we are here powerless and defenseless.

Rockstar

I kept Charlotte this weekend. This picture just proves that Sarah is my coolest friend :) Who else could put their puppy in a tank top that says "Rockstar" in rhinestones. Hilariously cute. She was well behaved as always and Erin and I (and Lindsey) enjoyed having her around.

Proud to Be Republicans

Lindsey came for a quick visit to Nashville Saturday night on her way through town for business. Erin and I decided that it would be fun to take Lindsey to the gun range since she has never shot a gun before and since her husband has been interested in possibly getting a gun for home protection. Here is Erin shooting. He never misses the bullseye...seriously does he have to be good at everything!!

Lindsey was pretty nervous but she got good training from Erin and the instructor at the range and worked up the courage to shoot. She shot a .22 first and did great!! I must admit I was pretty impressed with how well she did. She even shot the .40 caliber three times before deciding it was too much gun for her at this stage :)

Needless to say we are proud Republicans and glad we still have our constitutional right to bear arms (for at least a few more months).

Welcome to the world Owen!

My good friends Kelly and Rick had their baby Owen today. I'm so excited to meet him. Congrats Kelly and Rick!

4th of July and Family

After finals on Thursday, the plan was to clean a client's house and leave town. However, I didn't get done with the house until late and Erin ended up changing the oil in the cars at 10 p.m. Needless to say we didn't leave for E's parent's house until early Friday morning!



We got there around noon and enjoyed just spending the day hanging around with E's parents and sister. We also enjoyed some homemade ice cream. Yum!



The highlight of Erin's trip was reloading about 500 bullets with his dad and then testing them out at the gun range.



We stayed until Sunday around lunch time and headed back home. Sorry no pictures but we had a really great time! We're hoping to convince Jennifer (E's sister) to come for a visit in August. I'm in the mood for some shopping, dancing, and poolside fun!

Exercise Plan

Because I have been so swamped with school this month, Erin and I have had to get creative with our time. We've had to figure out a way to exercise, have fun, and spend time together all at once. So, we have been kneeboarding! It is great excercise, only takes us about 10 minutes to get the boat out and on the water, and it is great fun. Unfortunately there are no pictures of us actually doing it because one of us has to drive the boat while the other takes a turn. But it is great fun!

Stud Muffin :)

The only downside is that I really need to buy another pair of sunglasses because mine broke and I've been wearing a pair of Erin's and they look a little goofy :)

On the boat - w/ the goofy glasses!

Erin makes fun of me for never putting bad pics up of myself so here ya go! He snapped this one of me after kneeboarding. I was exhausted!

Dad's Retirement from USAF - San Antonio

Last weekend we went to San Antonio to attend Dad's retirement ceremony from the Air Force. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. I was so honored to be Dad's daughter at that moment. It is clear that he is highly respected by everyone who knows him at the Air Force. Since he has been a reservist most of my life, I haven't gotten to see that aspect of his life as much. I wish that everyone (his family, his church) would see how capable, faithful, intelligent, and dependable Dad is and give him the respect and praise and following that he deserves. Sometimes pastors get the raw end of the deal and church members try to treat them like their personal puppet, but it was soo cool to see him people salute him, respect him, listen to him, praise him, say they wanted their kids to be like him, etc. We are so proud of you Dad and love you so much.

At the ceremony, Dad received the Legion of Merit medal which is the HIGHEST NON-COMBAT medal military personnel can receive. What a huge honor...and he's my Dad!! Erin and I were really proud and really impressed.

Another highlight of the trip was seeing the rest of the family, of course. It was great to be able to spend time with each other and catch up and have some fun. Zion and Calvin were definitely the stars of the show though :)

Deck Party

Kelly and Rick have also been working hard on their deck for almost a year. They originally contracted this 2000 square foot deck out to a independent contractor but he was unable to hold up his end of the deal so Rick and Kelly decided to do it themselves. They are both very capable builders and craftspeople and it is finally finished. They had a big part a few weekends ago to thank all of us that helped with the project and to enjoy the deck. There are 3 levels total and a really nice stone and granite outdoor kitchen. Hopefully they'll still get use out of it once the baby comes :)

2nd level

1st level & outdoor kitchen

Me slaving away

Baby Showers

I co-hosted a shower for my friend Kelly on June 8th. It was a beautiful shower. I'd say it was a success. Kelly and Rick had a cool idea to let other people know the sex of their baby but they didn't find out themselves. They had their friend send out announcements in a "top secret" themed stationary. It is the job of everyone to keep the gender a secret until "it" is born. So, we kept the shower to that top secret theme.

The mom to be at 9 months: (in red)

Some of the games:

The Activity Bags w/ games, goodies, etc:

Framed gifts of the invites and fingerprints of everyone present:

The Decor:

I made a "diaper cake" for Kelly that we used as a centerpiece for the gift table.

The Food: