Random Thoughts

I'd like to share a few of the thoughts from the CMA awards.

1. It's crazy that I know every word of some of the songs, but didn't have a clue what the singers looked like until tonight. I wouldn't have guessed that some of them looked the way they do. I wonder what people would think I would look like if they only knew my voice?

2. Are the seats comfortable?

3. How do you go about being one of the people who hands the awards to people? Is there a try out or is it just about who you know? I think I'd be pretty good at it...bucket list item, maybe.....

4. As great as it would be to win an award I think the next best thing is to be the wife of a winner because you a) an "I love you and couldn't do this with you" on national T.V. and b) you get to get all dressed up for a really fun concert.

5. I love country music.

In other news Daniel and I had a very productive weekend. I got the pleasure of mowing the grass and not on a riding mower. I thought it seemed more laborious than I remembered, but figured I was just out of shape. Little did I know the mower was not self propelled like the one from my childhood. Although my hands hurt today, I really feel a sense of accomplishment. Thus begins my love/hate relationship with mowing. Another accomplishment is a potential and probable job. I am waiting for the official okay from Sedan High School to be the Spanish teacher for next year. I know the excitement will wear off and the stress of being a first year teacher will be overwhelming at times, but as I sub I realize even more how much this is what I want to do, how much I care about these kids, and how much I sense the impact I have the opportunity to make. I know there are a lot of things people see in young people and popular culture for that matter that might raise some red flags about the direction we're headed as society. I have the same concerns when I see how cheap relationships and sex have become, how success is equated with money rather than integrity, and so on. Still, I wholeheartedly believe that I have been blessed with the opportunity to be a fork in the road for kids that might just direct them to something bigger than themselves...oh yeah and teach Spanish too.

Have a great week all!

Growing Up

This weekend I went home for my cousin's bridal shower and a much needed visit. I hadn't be home since January and it was nice to drive on the ever familiar roads. It was also a time to organize/reduce the mass of things collecting in my former room. I should have taken a picture of the stacks of boxes, clothes, papers, and blankets that were all over the room. To be fair a summer where one sister has an internship, makes a trip to the ICU, and then is home briefly before going back to K-State combined with another sister who prepares for a wedding, gets married, and makes the biggest move of her life results in a few piles of stuff. Now that I have a house with storage my mom would like to see the mementos I left behind take up residency with me. Unfortunately that means sorting through boxes that hold the most "important" and "valuable" artifacts of my entire childhood as well as all those must haves but will never use again items from a wedding. I've listed a few highlights that will give you a glimpse into the fun, entertaining, and laborious process of sorting.

1. Goodwill goes wedding -- Renting and borrowing as much as possible is a must when it comes to wedding preparation. However, there are those details that are custom made or a collection of lots of little things that you just end up buying. For me this resulted in table jewels, silk flowers, scrapbook paper, picture frames, and the list could go on and on. All of these things are reusable in some decorative function, but I have enough of each of the listed items to decorate thousands of rooms/tables/whatever exactly the same. It's a little too much of a good thing. I have a few friends who have contacted me about borrowing stuff, but I still wish there was a place I could take things that would be open to the public to rent or buy. If nothing else, having a collection of all the things brides used would be a great way to get ideas. Goodwill already has some pretty "special" wedding dresses, but I think they could really step up their game if they could start their own wedding decoration section.

2. Betty Lou -- Most of you probably don't know that I was formerly known as Betty Lou in 6th grade. Three other friends and myself decided it would be cool to come up with new names and make up adult lives. We shared what was going on in our lives through letters. I chose to live in California and from my understanding we were all going to meet at Disneyland to catch up and talk about our friend's recent marriage...how grown up!!! I don't think I've laughed as hard as I did when my mom and I were reading through these old letters (which were carefully decorated) for quite a while. I'm not an advocate for being a pack rat, but I'm really glad I kept those letters so I could have a good laugh.

3. Salad prayer -- This has nothing to do with the weekend, but I was working with a 1st grade student on Friday who ate a salad during science class. The salad was supposed to teach the kids about the different parts of a plant. First of all, he was so grateful for the salad and then he looks at me and says we need to pray. I think he thought it was my job to get everyone at the red table to pray. I told him to go ahead by himself. I looked over and sure enough his eyes were closed and his hands folded. He stayed like this for a while then quietly said amen. He looked at me again and said, "I prayed." It made me so happy and I couldn't help but smile.

Before and Afters

Before I get to the pictures I wanted to give an update on the job search. There are two openings in the area, one Spanish and one English. I have my applications in at both places, but haven't heard anything. I have also submitted my applications to what feels like a million other schools. Things are going to work out, but the suspension between the present and future can be conflicting at times. It seems like I am working really hard to get a job and when I walk into middle school or high school I know it's where I want to be, but when I think back to student teaching I realize how tough it was to fit in life things (grocery shopping, laundry, watching TV with Daniel, enjoying life, etc). I managed and told myself it was temporary, but a real job won't be temporary, in theory, and I wonder how the excitement of my first job will blend with the time consuming responsibility/stress that comes with it. Lucky for me I have no experience that indicates I won't be able to handle or enjoy this next stage of life, but I might have to over analyze things a time or two.

Now for the pictures.

Living Room

We still have a couple shelves to hang by the TV.

Slipcover!!!!

Office The bookshelf was relocated due to Daniel's weight bench. I've gotten used to this less than decorative piece of furniture, but I did manage to cut most of it out of the second picture.

Kitchen

Daniel was a hero on the plate wall. I think of things...he does the measuring to make it happen.

Guest Bedroom

The white shelves are from Target and were a great deal.

Master Bedroom.

The blue looks lighter than it actually it is. It's more of a gray blue in real life.

Master Bath

The picture above the toilet looks higher in this picture than in reality.

Now all we need are guest to come and enjoy our beautiful home! We're getting ready to work on the lawn. Daniel doesn't seem to think weeds are an acceptable substitute for grass. I'm not a green thumb by instinct so it will be an adventure, but maybe I'll get a tan with all the time outside...ha!

basketball vs. pictures

So I was going to post before and after pictures of our house...seriously it was on my to do list with a little star next to it. BUT when faced with a close game combined with the frustration of job hunting (more on that in a later post) all I could do was take a hot shower and anxiously watch the game hoping that a win would help my spirits. Plus, even if I had wanted to blog Daniel had the computer during the later parts of the game to help refocus nervous energy. What might he have been looking at to keep the nerves at bay...tractors!!! What was I doing to control the nerves? Rolling on the floor and trying not to cry. I still don't have a job, I'm going to be super worn out tomorrow, but K-State won and all the rest of it will work out even if it takes a couple overtimes.

Great weekend

Daniel and I had a very productive weekend. Normally productive doesn't equal fun, but when you throw in a K-State win and decorating I generally have a good time. Daniel enjoyed the K-State game (and March Madness in general) more than the decorating, but he wins a husband of the year award for all his help. I think the thing I loved the most about the weekend was enjoying being with a person I take for granted more than I'd like to admit. A friend of mine got married this weekend and her facebook status a couple days before the wedding said something to the effect of "I'm getting married in two days...it's crazy how much you can love someone." Her status got me thinking about how I felt on my wedding day. It still makes me smile to think about all that happened that day. However, we humans have a way of letting stuff complicate the perfectly simple things in life. Daniel and I are very happy, but that doesn't mean there aren't evenings I'm more focused on work, supper, etc. than the joy I have in being married to a truly special person. So this weekend I wanted to take the opportunity to soak in how crazy it is to love someone so much. Now it's time to get some sleep and keep on enjoying the many ways in which I'm blessed and I mean that in the most non-cliche way possible.

Painting

I have enlisted the help of my family once again. Caroline made a visit and I had her help me paint. I'm sure she was thrilled. What might you earn as a painter, well how does a Braum's ice cream sound?!? I suppose we fed her too. What generous people we are!!! Her help was much appreciated, but her presence in general was the best part. It sure felt lonely after she left. Other than painting I haven't done much else with my spring break. However, that doesn't mean I'm not sore from the repetitive motion of rolling a brush and squatting motion I use to get everything covered. I promise a full set of pictures when the walls have been transformed.

Pictures

I have been terrible about keeping you all up to date. Life has been a little crazy, but I'd like to think we're settling into our new house. Before I get to the pictures I should let you know that Daniel and I have locked ourselves out twice in less than 2 weeks. The first time was after we had gone grocery shopping and when we lugged all our sacks to the back door we realized the key we grabbed was not going to open the door...Luckily we had left the screen door open and managed to avoid waiting in the dark for a locksmith. Second time was last night, but it was our locked garage that caused the problems. Somehow the door to the garage (it's detached) got locked and when we left for small group we couldn't get to our cars. This time a locksmith was a better option than breaking a window, but no one answered when we called. However, thanks to Daniel's mechanical mind we (and by we I mean Daniel) were able to use the drill and somehow unlock the door. Yep, that's right nothing was drilled through just unlocked. Now for the pictures.

There is no longer a bush.

We're still in the process of getting the walls decorated. Guest bedroomGuest bathroom. I made the bouquet and must say I'm proud of it.My mom and I embellished the curtains. I think they turned out pretty well.I'd say the patio furniture was a good buy!Part of the kitchen I'm going to paint our room a blue to coordinate with the pillows.I can not even begin to express how wonderful this closet is. Everyone should have one.