- -dress? check.
- -church site, reception site? check, check.
- -excited friends and family? BIG check.
- -all the little details? um...yeah, I still have a TON to do!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Sooo much to update!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
In the Mood...
...the kind that just puts you in the mood to curl up on the couch and watch a movie that you KNOW you will cry out all those tears...
Maybe I can get Trevor to watch it with me, but I'm thinking something like, P.S. I love you, or maybe the Notebook. Some other movies that jerk those tear ducts of mine are the football movies...you know the ones! Friday night lights, We are Marshal.
Tissue box handy?... Cause here I come!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Hair Today Gone Tomorrow
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Moving Along...
When I got to his place my head started to ache! Yesterday I wrote about our amazing romantic dinner. Well, I was going to do the dishes before he came home as much as I could, but there was no hot water! So we left them and decided to enjoy each other's company.
I taped it on the door frame of the kitchen and locked up and headed out.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Treasure Hunt
The when presented itself this last week. Sunday afternoon would be the opportune time to fulfill my plans. And it was!
I had written a letter to Trevor that said something along the lines of "hurry, shower, get dressed in the clothes I laid out for you and follow the clues till the final destination!"
Now let me back up. In high school, Trevor would sometimes wear a white button up or a black button up with jeans...my FAVORITE look! And especially as of lately, he's been bulking up and lifting weights again so I went out and bought him a nice black button up collared shirt that I couldn't WAIT to see him in!
And on top of the shirt on the bed was his first clue. "Sugar we're going down swinging." "Rain or shine, a great photo shoot location!" "Jack and Jill went up the hill." and "the Island is calling." For those of you who know the Willmar area, Robin's Island's old swing set was where he needed to go for his next clue. (our pictures were taken there...) Tied to the rusty old swing set at the top of the hill was a yellow balloon that he had to pop. Inside that was clue #2.
"Meet the parents" "not quite Aunt Bee's kitchen" "dessert shooters make you drunk on love." Anyone? Anyone?! Trevor got it! He was headed to applebees! Right inside the door by the host/hostess stand he found the red balloon with clue #3 inside.
"Sneaking out late tapping on your window" "winter 2006" "first kiss location." Yeah, this one is a bit more personal so I don't expect anyone other than the two of us to easily get that one... the red balloon tied to the front door at his parents house held the 4th clue.
"You never said hi, I never said hi" "All work and no play"...(sorry, I'm trying to do this all by memory and I can't remember the clues for this one I had written down...) The fourth location I had Trevor go to was the Green Mill where he works. Next to where his schedule is posted was a light blue balloon. Inside was clue #5.
"Go eagles go!" "School days, school days, dear old golden rule days" "We went to a play here where the highlight was Paul H****'s brother getting tackled on stage." Almost there! He headed back across town to find a green balloon tied to the bike rack at the Community Christian School. The final clue #6 was inside.
"Home run!" "____ sweet _____" "Go Cardinals!" He texted me that he was on his way home....and I texted him "k, let me know when you get THERE." Little did he know I was already there! I had let myself in while he was running around town looking for balloons to pop and I had gotten all fancied up in a really nice dress and made a wonderful dinner! We had lemon pepper blackened chicken, onion buttered pasta, sparkling apple cider, and devil's 3 layer cake for dessert! Candles lit, the house picked up and of course the night wouldn't be complete without my dear friend Frank's voice soothing us from the CD player.
Let me tell you...when he walked in wearing that black button up, not having shaved because he wanted to hurry so he had the gruff going on (ladies, you know what I'm talking about!) with the clues in his hand and that smile...I melted!
After eating and lovingly gazing into each other eyes, we got up and danced to Mr. Sinatra's music.
The night went so well....he's got a lot to live up to when he proposes! :D jk...kinda!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Oh "Mother" Where Art Thou?
So two weeks ago I got a call from a guy at church. He and his wife had won a cruise to the Bahamas (rough life right there for ya!) but they needed someone to watch their 4 kids (ages 5 to 13) for a week. I told them I work during the day, but I can definitely do evenings and spend the night if needed. They were very happy with that because as it turns out, the husband's sister could watch them during the day but not nights!
Last Tuesday I went over to their house for the "grand tour" and rules and any questions I may have to be answered. The two things they really stressed where: 1. they LOVE to tattle on each other and 2. they will try everything and anything in their power to get the password for the dish for "restricted" shows.
Since starting Saturday I have found out 3 things: 1. they LOVE to tattle on each other, 2. they will try everything and anything in their power to get the password for the dish "restricted" shows, and 3. they each have such unique personalities it CRACKS ME UP!
Crystal is 13 and a HUGE help with the other kids! She gets to stay up later than the other kids so we'll usually spend that last hour or so of the day hanging out and watching movies and talking. She's probably the biggest threat to the password on the dish tho. She's tried "don't you trust me?" of course my response is "I do. I just need to respect your parents' wishes and do what they asked: not give any of you kids the password." Well, she was able to get the password changed to numbers she knew because her aunt gave in! (I changed it to a whole new password this morning before heading to work tho which upset her a little...).
David is in the 4th grade. He is the immaculate little angel! He's not usually up by the time I leave, but he was this morning! He had his bed made and clothes on and pj's put away! He also LOVES to tell the truth...even about things that really aren't relevant to what you're talking about!
Daniel is in his own little world at the age of 7. He is so funny cause he mumbles so I can't understand him, but it's more he likes to hear his own voice. He's really low maintenance and just loves his transformers and tv shows! This morning he made me really uncomfortable tho...in a funny way! I was fully dressed and doing my makeup and hair in the bathroom when he comes in, obviously just woken up. Here's our conversation:
Me: Good morning Daniel! Do you need something? (usually he just goes into the family room and turns on the tv till breakfast)
Dan: Nope *(he goes to the toilet)* I just have to go to the bathroom.
Me: Well, I'll be done soon but otherwise you can use the other bathroom...
Dan:*(by the time the words leave my lips, he's pulled down his pants and sat on the toilet) That's ok, I'm almost done.
Me: *(a little embarrassed and looking the other way) Well, I'll just step out for a sec...
LOL! I'm glad I can laugh about that now cause that was awkward!!!
The youngest of the 4 is Violette, but everyone calls her "V" She's adorable! She's 5 years old and VERY opinionated. She has this gorgeous long CURLY hair and is constantly following me around asking what I'm doing and telling me little stories. She is also the biggest tattle of them all. If Dan's foot happens to brush against her stuffed kitty, I will know within seconds! I calmly tell her he wasn't trying to hurt kitty at all, and it was an accident.
So there you have it. My "kids" for the week! It's been fun and I've gotten to know them all lots better. I'm just looking forward to a nice afternoon after work where we can do something instead of being cooped up cause it's rainy!
Monday, April 27, 2009
FiNe ArTs BaBy!
Fine Arts was here at last!!!
From work, Angie and I ran quick to my place (of all things to forget, a hair brush is definitely needed!), to her parents' place (drop of the munchkins), then to drop $127 on groceries to feed 24 people!
3:15 we made it to the church, grabbed our cd player (wisest decision..read on!) and costumes and met the kids. We rearranged the food in the 3 coolers and loaded up the cars. We got into a big circle and prayed all at once (my favorite prayer time!) for safety driving and for the focus to stay on God even while we were at competition.
3:45 we loaded up the vans and prayed each vehicle's safety in getting to the cities.
4:00 we were on our way!!! We stopped once for switching Denise and Angie for drivers then continued on. We hit the edge of the cities about 6pm (Our head van was a speeder!!!) and along with that came a little rush hour traffic we had to weed through.
Let me take this moment to say some of our kids' parents let us use their van because we were one short. I happened to be driving this van. I'm pretty good about keeping my eye on the gas and the speedometer and other gauges to make sure everything's in tip top shape. Well, we started to get into start-stop traffic with rush hour stuff and before I knew it, the van's gauge was telling us the van was about to overheat...fast! So we took the next exit and pulled over on a residental street and called the other vans to let them know we had to stop.
On a side note, the kids whose van this was had named it Bo-Jankady! Because it is a little bit on the older side and that was the sound it would make every-so-often when you first started it up...
I called my friend Lundon who was the youth pastor at the church we would be spending the night, and he came within 20 minutes with the big 15 seater church van! We shifted all our stuff and continued on our way.
Sadly tho, we had to leave Bo-Jankady there because the coolant had run completely dry! AND I had the great privilage of calling the parents and owners of Bo-Jankady and letting them know. This would prove to be a continuous adventure for the rest of the weekend...
We met back up with all our peoples for grabbing a quick bite to eat, then we headed over to the church to practice, watch movies and hang out. I also went with 2 other leaders to buy coolant and get the van back to the church which proved to be easy but showed us how bad Bo-Jankady had gotten and attention it would need...Bed time was 11pm because we needed to get up EARLY! I was up first at 5:50 and got everyone else up at the time they requested all the while getting myself ready and packing everything and everyone up! 24 people. THREE vans and one station wagon. 3 coolers of food. 24 people's stuff and costumes...we were on the road by 7:30! I was so proud!
We got to North Central University, found decent parking, registered, and had time to find a quieter place to run through one of the dramas before the day fully began!
9:30 and we started! We were good about running to and from the different locations for the different time slots and the day was going very smoothly until #13 on the roster. We had 2 groups at the same time! So we split up and went to the different locations. Maeve was doing a solo human video for the one I went to and when it was her turn to perform, we put her cd in and pressed play..."no disc" showed up! The cd player was an older one and couldn't read the cd!!! So I thought quick and asked the judges if they minded letting us move down one slot to give me enough time to run and get the cd player we had so wisely packed...they were totally ok with that so I took out my heavy earings and RAN!!!! It was only 2 blocks away, but with everyone else crowding the halls and entry ways, I was slowed down quite a bit...BUT! I made it back in time, heaving chest as I tried to catch my breath. I put my earings back and and we set up Maeve to do her HV. SHE DID AWESOME! She got the highest score from one of the judges out of anyone in our group! (a 38 out of 40 possible).
After a quick lunch, Katy (Bo-Jankady's owner) and I headed over to meet the tow truck man at the van to varify that Katy had AAA to cover the cost of towing the van. Then within an hour we were back and ready to hear how everyone had done.
We were super excited to hear Ashley's name announced when her worship dance routine was awarded a superior with invitation rating. But the moment of truth came when we held hands tightly and awaited the announcement on the top human videos...THE GLEAVES WON!!! Well, they scored high enough (superior with invitation) to get invited to compete on the NATIONAL level in ORLANDO, FL!!!!
The ironic thing is they just worked on their hv not even for 2 weeks before competing!
On our way home, we stopped at Fuddruckers so the kids could play some games if they wanted and eat plenty of food before piling back in the carivan of min-vans and the station wagon. We also pulled out the score cards for all the dramas we did and read off the comments and scores...guess what!? EVERY GROUP GOT A SUPERIOR RATING! And the were only a point or two from getting superior with invitation! Not bad for a drama group that just started and had their first time (us leaders' first time too) at fine arts!
I'm so proud of my kids!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Gas-X
He felt like God was telling him that it was a waste of time and that our priorities as a family should be reordered instead of aimlessly staring at a tv screen. It turned out to be good that my dad obeyed God, he was given a raise and promotion soon after! But for us kids, it was the end of the world!
Fast forward ten years now (wow, it's really been that long since the days of N'Sync and Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears' innocence?) and you'll find a family that really gets into their shows.
I mean REALLY.
LOST and Heroes. Both of which I got my family hooked on (I'll take the credit - they really are good shows)! They have become a family gathering and common ground. I know my parents don't mind so much now because A: it's pretty difficult to get two teenage girls and one teenage boy to not only look forward to spending time with their parents but also beg them to do so! And B: you can rent the shows on DVD or order them from Netflix and avoid the nuisance that which is commercials.
I want to take this opportunity and state that I am not a television junky by any means. I don't have time. Instead, I'll stick to my texting and netflix.
But lately, my roommate and I have been able to watch Scrubs (HILARIOUS show by the way, but that's not the path of which this blog is going...where is it going?) late at night and chit chat our way through it on the nights where we both are home at a decent hour and awake enough to do so.
Last night was one such night.
And like I said before, I'm not a tv junky so I don't get the chance to really sit down and enjoy those commercials.
Last night, I saw one that most people probably have seen many times over already. But it seriously made my night and I laughed again when I re-ran it through my head.
This guy is in an interview and he's gassy. Everything that the lady is saying is reminding him of how bad it is "I see here you are flatulant in three languages." That stunned me.
What really got my roommate and me laughing was when the male assistant comes in and taps the interviewing lady on the shoulder and says, complete with hand gestures, "your son Rip is on line toot."
Oh commercial, how you tickle my funny bone!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Panda Garden - What did I ever do to you?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wedding Plans and An Ode to the Brave
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
They say don't shop while you're hungry...
Ladies: don't go grocery shopping while you're hungry AND during your monthly cycle....
I know this sort of tells you what I am dealing with at the moment, but frankly I don't care! Because this news NEEDS to be shared with all woman alike!
I just went to the local grocery store for my lunch break and only spent 10 minutes in there. Wanna know what I came out with?
-one bag of fun sized babe ruth candy bars
-one bag of snack sized almond joys
-one bag of fun sized butterfingers
-one hungry man's frozen dinners (for lunch another day)
-one BBQ chicken brick oven frozen pizza single dinner (for lunch another day)
-one twix bar
-one snickers bar
-one almond joy bar
-one take 5 bar
- 0.55 lbs of pasta salad (for lunch today)
-12 pack of kemps ice cream sandwiches
-one BIG bottle of ibuprofen caplets
Yeah, 'nuf said.
In all fairness tho, the bags of candy are to help refill the office candy jar that I indulged myself with yesterday... but still!
Last night, Trevor and I went to Applebee's for a late dinner at about 8:30. I had the boneless BBQ wing appetizer for my main meal and he had a big ol' burger and fries combo....usually he INHALES his food. No lie. But by the time the waitress came back around to see how everything was tasting, I had finished my basket sans one delicious wing (I wanted to save room for desert!) We ordered the TRIPLE CHOCOLATE MELTDOWN! Guess how many bites Trevor got of this delicious dessert?
2
He should've known to eat faster when my Aunt Rose comes for a visit. . .
He should consider this his one and only warning. (jk) :D
Seriously tho? He's such a great guy! We were watching Smallville and my foot fell asleep the way I was sitting so I start to move around and reposition myself to let the blood flow a little better and he asked what was wrong. I said nothing, just my foot falling asleep. Guess what he did? He started rubbing my feet! (one, two, three, awwww!) :D I'm a lucky gal despite my monthly mood swings and grocery trips!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
You're So Pretty!
Here is a recent conversation we had this last Sunday:
Friday, March 27, 2009
Me Me Me Me...Now You!
So I am now currently totally consumed with needing to read Big Mama's Blog on a daily basis because she writes on a daily basis! So with not having much to do at work today, I started reading older posts from previous years that's she wrote.
Here is one that I decided to follow in her more experienced blogging shoes with. It's called a meme and it's much like a survey you forward to people and answer yourself, just the blog version!
1. Favorite Memory of your Mother?
My favorite thing about my mom growing up was when we were sick, she babied us! She set up a bed on the living room couch or in her own bed and would give us a glass of water, a bucket (in case we needed it) and a beautiful golden bell. It was in case she wasn't close enough for us to call her, we'd ring the bell and she'd be right there to see what we needed and how we were feeling.
2. Favorite Memory of your Father?
Almost everyday, my dad would get home from work and all 6 of us kids would start yelling and jumping around saying "dad's home!" We would be like monkeys waiting to jump on him as soon as his shoes were off and his coat was hung up nicely in the closet. Then he'd turn around and let us jump on him and tackle him to the ground. We would then wrestle with him until one of the kids got a little hurt and he said, "ok, that's enough" and would make sure we were all ok before heading into the kitchen for dinner! The fact that he did that with, again I stress, SIX kids! That's a great dad!
My newest favorite memory of my dad was just recently I had him over to my place for dinner and a date. We both had prayed and made a list separately of qualities we wanted in a husband for me. My dad had verses listed by all of his qualities and we prayed and ate and talked and hugged and he helped do the dishes! Probably my favorite right now!
3. Favorite Memory of your Siblings?
Oh wow, where do I start? With 6 siblings now (we adopted a beautiful blonde 14 year old last year!) the memories range from some with just sisters to just brothers to a mix and to all of us together....I think my favorites are the big meals we all sit around and talk and then spontaneously break into song with harmony....my heart is happy when I think about my family!
4. What one skill would you like to wake up tomorrow and be able to do (though you’d never learned it)?
I wish I could dance really really well. I mean like, REALLY well! All kinds. Hip hop, ballerina, jazz, heck, even the fox trot! I'm not bad and I don't have 2 left feet, I just never have been given an opportunity to learn...yet!
5. Which one of your dreams has come true?
I met the man of my dreams! I'm slowly seeing the dream continue to unfold and I'm totally loving every moment! Sometimes I worry that it is all just a dream, but then I tell him to pinch me and he looks at me funny then I pinch myself, and yep! It's real!
Ok, so now you can do these too! Just copy and paste the questions and fill in your answers...then let me know! I'd love to read them!
Oh Dontcha Know!
So I actually started the blogging frenzy back in 2006 when I first started my blog on Myspace (it's all about facebook now tho!) I was looking through some of my old blogs and I came across this one I put up back when I lived in Dallas....Enjoy!
Jeff Foxworthy on Minnesota :
-If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, You might live in Minnesota .
-If you're proud that your state makes the national news 96 nights each year because International Falls is the coldest spot in the nation, you might live in Minnesota .
-If you have ever refused to buy something because it's "too spendy", you might live in Minnesota .
-If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Minnesota .
-If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you might live in Minnesota .
-If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Minnesota .
-If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Minnesota .
-If you know how to say...Wayzata ...Mahtomedi, ....Cloquet ... Edina and Shakopee, you might live in Minnesota .
-If you think that ketchup is a little too spicy, you might live in Minnesota .
-Vacation means going "up north" for the weekend, you might live in Minnesota .
-You measure distance in hours, you might live in Minnesota .
-You know several people who have hit deer more than once, you might live in Minnesota .
-You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day .and back again, you might live in Minnesota .
-You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching, you might live in Minnesota ..
-You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events, you might live in Minnesota .
-You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked, you might live in Minnesota .
-You think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and Venison, you might live in Minnesota .
-You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them, you might live in Minnesota .
-There are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Mill's Fleet Farm at any given time, you might live in Minnesota .
-You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you might live in Minnesota .
-Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you might live in Minnesota .
-You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you might live in Minnesota .
-You can identify a southern or eastern accent, you might live in Minnesota .
-Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce, you might live in Minnesota .
-Down South to you means Iowa , you might live in Minnesota .
-If a brat is something you eat, you might live in Minnesota.
-If you find 0 degrees "a little chilly," you might live in Minnesota
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Another Day Another Dollar
'It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful! And, God is patient...'
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
kids say the darndest things!
"Nobody"
That was one of the interesting things that came out of my mouth as a child! I had taken some gum from the ashtray in our van and I was caught...my mom DID NOT like that one bit... But what makes it so great was my mom ended up not getting mad because I made her laugh! :D
Sometimes as adults, we say the darndest things too... for example, as posted before, I am a leader for our youth group drama team (e.drama) with Angie. Well, Angie and I try to make it a point to get together at least once a week in addition to practices to iron out "leader" details! (We've become pretty good friends thru this as well). Well, one day we decided to meet over dinner at Green Mill. We were trying to figure out exactly what we wanted to line up for our Fine Arts deal and we had paperwork and folders everywhere while trying to juggle the plates and bread basket and drinks as well!
Angie looked at me and said "I want to take advantage of Mike and Matt" then she continued to rustle thru some of her papers. I just stared at her and started laughing! Now, she didn't literally mean "take advantage" of them (get your head out of the gutter! But she did mean to take advantage of the fact that they are twins! (Identical in fact) and we could use that for a really neat human video!
Adults say the darndest things!
SO where WAS I going with this? Oh yeah! I was going to update on a few unfinished trains of thought from previous blogs!
I had been writing about my dizzy spells and all the testing involved with that, as well as my sinus surgery...
The surgery went well! AND I haven't had any dizzy spells since! I did get medicine stomach and was out sick for a week after the surgery but I haven't had a single sinus infection in 3 months! (Seriously, I think that's a record!)
As a re-read that whole above part, I realized that the story really doesn't co-incide too well with what I actually wrote about. Oh well!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Fine Arts Frenzy
Monday, March 23, 2009
one blustery day
SO! Yesterday my little sister tagged along with us as we goofed around at Robins Island Park in Willmar and she took pictures of us. I played around with some of them today, and these are a few of my favorites!