the weekend

so lets start with the weekend and see if that progresses to anything...

friday - lets see, after work on friday, we had fellowship supper at church (we do this once a month)... so no cooking for me, so that helped out alot... later on, we went home and spent time with the baby and went to bed

saturday - this was a great day... we just got a storage shed, but its been wet and rainy so daniel hasnt got to finish putting it up yet, so he was stuck inside with me... mom took gabe with her to visit my grandparents, she usually takes him on saturday so she can have some time with him and we can get some stuff done... well, saturday (if Im home) is my cleaning day... so daniel was so sweet and helped me straighten the house up, and then we cleaned out the bathroom closet - that means, we took everything out, went through it, organized it, got rid of what we didnt need and put everything neatly back in there - I feel so proud! b/c if you really know me, you know I hate cleaning... so now all I have to do is the medicine cabinet and the cabinet above the toilet and I will have 2 whole rooms in my house all clean - this has never happened and weve been living here for 3 years... normally I just throw everything in a closet and hide it...

so then mom brought gabe back, we got ready and went to meet my friend Maggie and her husband Joey (I havent seen her in 5 or 6 years), they are both so sweet and we had a really great time, its always nice to spend a little time with people your own age... and maggie even gave Gabe a private unplugged concert - he loved it, her new baby is going to be so lucky... maybe we can do it again sometime

sunday - went to church, which was pretty good... then to my grandmothers to eat dinner, which was also pretty good... and got to talk wedding stuff with my cousin (whose wedding Im planning), and that was pretty good... and then gabe got ill and I got ill, and then daniel, my sister and I went to eat at a restaurant that we had gotten gift certificates for, but when we got there, it was closed... so the day just went downhill... we went home, I took a bath, and gabe started smiling so it ended on a positive note... daniel and I both agreed that we should have eaten dinner, and just come home and taken a nap and forget everything else...

so all in all, some good, some bad... but thats how it goes, I guess

I think my next post is going to be about lent - should be interesting... :)

icky

rain, rain, go away.... come again another day...

so glad its friday... and church supper tonight, so no cooking... yay...

again, nothing really profound today... well, there are a few things to complain about but I dont want to bum anyone out, so I will just try to forget about them and be happy...

*good recipe to try - we made it last night and its really good, easy and low-fat.... just put some boneless chicken (we used tenders) in a crockpot with a jar of salsa, and let cook all day... its not spicy like you would think... but really good and tender... definetly will eat again... you should too... :)

grrrr

I hate when people bring me stuff to do after 4:30... grrr

*maybe I will make these people wear my pink jacket to see how it affects them

pass it forward

yep, yep, yep... I mean doing something nice for someone else without expecting anything in return... Im really trying to embrace this concept, but its hard... Im a selfish person

I think Im going to try to do at least one totally unselfish deed a day, do a better job at work, and be nicer to my husband... I need to be a blessing, and not so much myself

hmmm... I wonder if all this good-natured-ness is due to my pink jacket... today is the first day I have gotten to wear my new pink jacket (its barbie pink and velour - the kind that you want to pet alot, oh, and my hello kitty scarf along with it) and it seems to be affecting my mood - I think I will wear it more often... ;)


*on a somewhat related note - who do you think people like more: people who are nice or people who look good? Im not sure of the answer, I would like to think its people who act nicer, but I really think the truth is we, as an american society, like people who look good better... I mean, I think more people know who Britney is than Mother Teresa, although maybe that was Britney's goal more than Ma Teresa's... wonder who has had more of an effect on the world around us... you would hope it was Ma Teresa, but its probably Britney... funny how things work like that, isnt it?


*on a non-related note: I love napolean dynamite - it cracks me up

nothing new

nothing new to report... no big revelations or surprises today... today overall has been fairly boring - not that Im complaining, because every once in awhile you need an easy day at work... Ive had time to get done a few things that needed to be done, and still have a few to do, but I figured I better just go ahead and post b/c I dont think anything new and exciting is going to happen in the next 2 1/2 hours (how much time I have left at work)...

well, one big change - I got this handy dandy new layout - its the coolest thing ever (thanks amanda!)... Im really excited about coming here now... and oddly enough, today Im wearing my Barbie sweater, so I kind of match... funny how things work out...

I love the wedding Gwen pics at the top as Im starting to be a wedding planner on the side... Ive already done one (not to mention my own) and have been booked for 2 more, although one of those isnt even engaged yet, so I dont know if that counts... but I love this stuff, so if you know anyone, feel free to refer them - Im pretty much just doing it for free for now to get the experience and references.... a girl at my work just got engaged this morning (but she is getting married in hawaii so cant do that one)....

in other news, Im getting together with Maggie on Saturday night - we havent seen each other since college about 5 or so years ago... long time, and she is now pregnant, I bet she is going to be so cute when she gets really big (because shes always been so wonderfully naturally thin)... Im looking forward to that...

ok, I will not post an abhorrently (I dont think thats spelled right, but Im too lazy to look it up right now) long post today...

if anything exciting happens, then Ill let you know... :)

the love of my life

he smiles in his sleep

alot of people will tell you when you get pregnant or have a new baby, "just wait until that first real smile, its the sweetest thing" or some variation of that... which I agree for the most part, its one of the sweetest things ever, but I dont know about the sweetest... Im waiting for gabe to say mama or dada, and I cant wait for him to say that he loves me, but back to the smile... its really nice for him to smile at me or something that I did, but I also notice that he smiles in his sleep....

He will be sleeping, it could be in the first 5 minutes or within the next 2 hours, but sometimes, if you watch him, he will just smile out of nowhere and then go back to blank expression on his face... I love love love that....

now the first thing that everyone's mind (but mine, I guess) is "I wonder what he's thinking about" I dont really wonder too much about that, although I do wonder how much he knows and remembers at this age, does he remember 10 minutes ago? the whole day? yesterday? he can remember people, food and how to roll over, but anything beyond that doesnt really seem to be to much of a thought... ok, back to what I was thinking, right? well, when I see him smile in his sleep, my first thoughts are that he is happy, even in his sleep, he is at peace.... he hasnt had to deal with anything to frightening yet... and that in itself makes me happy

I wonder if this is normal (big dan? emily?) or am I just blessed - well, I already know the answer to that... :)


*so this next part of my journal, I was thinking about over the weekend, and when I got here I wasnt sure if I was going to write it, but then I read Island Girl's post and its not anywhere near that, so Im going to say its fine... (if you are wondering, hers is about death and all the gross human stuff that is left)

so I spent 3 hours cleaning my house on saturday (and its just surface clean, dont open any closets), but I got it to where Im pretty happy, and afterwards I go through the house and make a list of things that need to be gone through and get rid of stuff (like the closets, for instance), and in our movie/misc closet, I have a bunch of angel figurines in the boxes (they were put back in the boxes right before gabe got here for obvious reasons), these figurines are gorgeous, they're porcelain and hand painted, and my parents started buying me them for Christmas (new ones came out each year, and they would get me a few new ones each year), the last ones I got were from Christmas 3 years ago, the one right after my dad passed away a month before... and he had picked the latest 4 out himself - these were different from the rest - these were white (all of the others are wearing colored clothes) and they have children angel (cherubs?) with them... they are so beautiful, and when I got married (a few months later), I had a cabinet just to display all my angels... but since then, gabe has come along, so I boxed them up and they've been in a closet ever since, only lately have I thought about them and what they mean...

since Ive joined flylady, there have been quite a few emails from people who've gotten rid of things they dont need anymore, and most were very encouraging to me...

Im seriously thinking of getting rid of all but a few of those angel figurines... they are just taking up space in a closet that could be used for more necessary things, but also they dont honor me or my dads memory like they are... not only that, but when they were out and displayed, they only made me sad when I looked at them, and I dont need that in my life... so why keep a few at all then? b/c a few of them, like those last white ones make me smile to know where my dad is at... anyway, so Im at a loss of what to do with them... I definetly cant just throw them away, the thrift store is one thought - but I couldnt bear to go in there one day and seem them all just sitting up on a shelf - I want them to really bless someone else... but am not sure who to give them to - I dont know any family that would want them, and I dont think they would be apprpriate to give to a nursing home... and I dont want to sell them as I couldnt stand to make money off of them... so if anyone would like 1, 2 or 3 (or how many ever) for themselves, let me know, and I would be happy to give them away - I just really want them to bless someone else... (do you think any of the local funeral homes would like them?)

well, I didnt really expect to write all that, but I guess once you get going, you just get going... but the point of all of that, has been that Ive been thinking about death lately and pregnancy (thanks to all the morning sickness askers in the last post)...

so I started to think that if I was pregnant (Im not!), what would happen to the baby - it surely couldnt turn out healthy with all the pain meds and advil Ive been taking for my teeth lately... and I started to think about having a child with down syndrome or something along those lines (daniel and I have talked about it before too)... and I started to think, could I love that child less than a normal child (gabe, for instance) - and I thought that wasnt really possible, b/c once you become a mother, that nature has a force all its own.... so then I started thinking, well, could I love it more? and I have to admit, quite possibly.... how could you not? (love it more than if itself was normal, not love it more than your other children)... you would have to love that baby something fierce just to be able to deal with the idea of an unhealthy child, much less to actually go through life forever that way...

and I think about all the people who do go through this, and most of the parents ask "why us? we love our child, yes, but why did it have to turn out this way"... and I think to myself, "exactly! why you? wouldnt it rather be you, than alot of other people out there that neglect or abuse thier healthy children? arent you glad that God gave you that unhealthy child so that she didnt have to be raised in a terrible unloving home?" Im not really sure where im going with this, other than Ive seriously been thinking about it lately...

and along those lines, how often do we miss blessings b/c we dont think they are blessings? we only see them as problems... like having an unhealthy child, or things even smaller like getting a paper cut - what if b/c you got a paper cut, you got out of your seat to get a bandaid and you missed something worse happening b/c you were gone... how often do we take for granted the simple things we have? how cliche is that? so Ill say something different... how often do we ask for gifts to be taken away b/c we dont like the wrapping paper?

I have alot of things that need to get out, but they will have to wait, this post is long and thought-provoking enough for now... so I will end for now, but expect better and worse from me, thats all I can ask...

hmmm

disclaimer: this will most likely be a fairly long post, so if you dont have time, take it paragraph by paragraph and come back often... he he, hopefully, I will get to write more often, and with that will come not tremendously long posts... and thanks for all the comments, they make me feel loved

ok... its friday - thank goodness... its been a rough week... so I had all 4 wisdom teeth extracted last friday - that would be the 10th... I was fine saturday and sunday, oddly enough... I didnt get sick and start hurting until monday... and that stayed with me all through the week - I went back yesterday to the dentist (or oral surgeon, if you will), and he said everything was healing nicely, so yay for that... he also took me off the pain meds (which is what was making me sick - ugh) and Im on advil now... so yeah, since I was home from work all week, and sick, everyone was asking my mom (we work together if you didnt know) if it was morning sickness.... no! thank goodness... I love my baby, but couldnt handle being pregnant right now...

speaking of which... from my last post, you may think Daniel is terrible, but he isnt... guess my hormones get the best of me sometimes... he he, but really he is the most perfect guy out there (for me, dont you ladies be getting any ideas....), he really has been wonderful, taking care of the baby and me, and being supersweet.... he he, he even straightened up the living room while I was taking a bath last night... Im so spoiled...

ah, and speaking of cleaning (I really like this segue)... Ive just joined flylady (www.flylady.net) so Im working on that, if you want to check that out and see whats been happening at my house... while I was spending my sick time at home, I did get out bedroom cleaned out and am getting rid of alot of clothes... this is unprecented! Im a packrat with OCD (literally)... so you can imagine how proud of myself I am...

and along that note... Im trying to convince daniel to let me throw a singles mixer at our house for valentines day... he is refusing adamently... but what is it that makes me so giddy about valentines day and setting people up... I just have ideas of red and white polka dot menus and invitations, a 4 or 5 course dinner, playing some jazz, maybe watching a cheesy movie and cupid decorations all over the place... what is this innate feeling of stupidity that comes over me?!!! I should almost hate v-day as most do, as I had no dates during jr high, and then I am a serial monogomast when it came to dating, so no real spontaneity there (except last year, hopefully will write more on that in another entry)... well, I cant figure it out... will probably contemplate more on this subject as time draws near... especially since daniel and I will have been married 3 years on feb 16th... where does the time go?

in other news.... gabe is doing wonderful... I blink and he grows, he is getting so big... I dont know what Im going to do if he keeps growing at this rate... my little boy will be 6 in 2 months if he keeps it up... well, not really, he just turned 5 months on jan 13th... but he is getting so big... :)

just a few more notes, and then maybe next week, I can start posting like a normal person - day to day stuff... since Ive been off this week, Ive seen more tv than normal, and Ive realized 2 things... I love the way "mascara" sounds with an english accent (it sounds like mask-scar-uh as opposed to mask-scare-uh) - they have been running this new Rimmel London mascara commercial on tv... and it has a comb instead of a brush, which Im thinking cannot work as good, but maybe thats just me... and plus its a brand they sell at walmart, so how great can it be... but then Kate Moss is the cover girl, Kate Moss!!! huge deal, so I think it has to be good... or maybe its just the money thats good... who knows (do I sound too much like summer from the OC?)... my other random though... that Colonial Penn commercial where the lady is putting quarters in the meter really creeps me out... she says something like "If only life worked like this meter, and I could keep putting quarters in and stay here with my loved ones forever..." ugh... putting quarters in a machine to live forever, that thought just creeps me out.... (oh, and I LOVE those Sonic guys, I think Im the only one though)

ok... this has got to be hugely long... so I will stop for now... if anyone wants to offer any tips, then Im open, and I will try not to delete any more of my old posts... no promises though... :)

My first post (or whatever you call it)

today has been horrible... what a day and what a first post!

Daniel, my husband, is driving me crazy today... grrr... what to do, what to do... now dont get me wrong, I love him very much, but is just so (at a loss for what word to put here - he knows how to push my buttons without knowing hes doing it) sometimes...

so lets start at the beginning... its gloomy and wet outside which translate an icky day and an icky mood... this morning we are getting ready to go and its rainy and windy outside, well, Im dressed fairly nice for work, whereas daniel is dressed grungy as he is a screenprinter so he gets ink all over his clothes anyway... well, he does the nice thing and goes and opens the gate and moves the car out, but then "lets" me close it, well, at least I have an umbrella, right?... blah... I try to open the door so I can throw the umbrella in and get in the car, but no.... once I have the door open and the umbrella folded, he says to me (from inside the car)... dont put it in there, so I close the door, and open the back door, put it in there and walk around to the other side of the car and get in... Im drenched by this time = cold, wet and mad... and then he proceeds to ask why I didnt let him help me with the umbrella, and I was like - argh! thats what I was trying to do when I put it in the car the first time....

ok, so I get to work, looking like I got ran over by a mack truck... but I turn my little heater on and get to work, after a couple of hourse, Im finally dry and warm, and Im determined to forget about this morning and move on... no use harboring anger...

so then about 11:30, gabe's (my 5 month old son) daycare calls and says he's been spitting up again - its been all this week, so I call daniel and ask if we should give him some medicine and he says yes, and shouldnt we also go get him some peas (the vegetable of the week) for him so he can have something in his stomach - b/c he keeps that down (its the formula he has been spitting up)... he says no, b/c he spits that up too... this is news to me, as for the past 2 nights Ive been feeding him peas and he hasnt spit up... he says its after we give him the formula after the peas that he spits up.... and Im like, yeah, its the formula, not the peas, but he continues that its the peas also.... argh.... this man is going to drive me crazy today!!!!

on a lighter note, Im getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth cut out tomorrow morning... yay!

My first post (or whatever you call it)

hmmm.... so I read my friend, Amanda's blog and decided that it looked fun and that I could do that - although not as flowery as hers b/c Im not the fancy English writer that she is... just old boring me...

so yeah, thats what this will be about - pure randomness, ranging from the philosophical to the absurd... you never know what the next day is going to bring... just have to tune in and see... :)

ok, enough boredom for now... will write more later