it was good.

My bag is about half finished after my early morning sewing session.
I have been taking pictures so you can see a progress report later.

We went and saw the house I liked so much.
And I still like it a lot.
We are going to get some more information on it and maybe put in an offer.
It needs some work, basic stuff like painting, etc but super cute and worth the work.
It's big too...more space than we need at the moment so it will be mostly empty.
And that is totally fine with me.
We will keep you updated as we have major life changes around here...jobs, houses...whoa.

i am.

It is 6:01am and I am blogging.
Yep...I have been laying in bed for about an hour, listening to my sweet husband sleeping (ok, truth here...snoring like a freight train). I wake up and then I can't go back to sleep - my brain turns on and I can't make it turn off again. I was laying there thinking about job possibilities, having to buy a business suit (part of the job description!), house buying possibilities (and maybe picturing how my art will look on teal walls...the dining room has teal walls and I think I might faint with excitement when I see them!), thinking about all the things I could be doing if I just went ahead and got up.
So what am I?
I am my mother's daughter.
Good morning mom! I know you will be the first person to read this because you will be the first person up!
I am going to sew some - if the machine isn't too loud from down here.

I have a plan...did I tell you about the plan? I need a new camera bag. I am started to (joyfully!) collect more accessories/lenses than will fit in my existing bag. My little bag is just big enough to hold my camera and one extra lens so it is perfect to go on short hikes and tool around but I need something that will get me where I am going, look cute, and hold all my camera stuff. I decided I was going to just make one...a simple messenger style bag with removeable velcro dividers to separate lenses/camera/etc.
Then I saw this bag and fell in love.
Then I saw the price tag and realized that is never, ever gonna happen!
So I started working on a plan...I went to TJMaxx the other morning after my Dr's appointment and searched through all their purses, looking for a cute color and one that was big enough/deep enough/wide enough. One Lix Claiborne bag fit the profile and it is this awesome coral/pink color...I paid $30 for it. Then I went to HobLob (I mean, really, I was going there anyway but I made a detour on the way to the framing dept.) and talked to Ms. C in the fabric department. We just got some new fabric in that is super, de-duper cool. It is canvas - strong, heavy duty, and durable - but now comes printed in about 40 really adorable patterns. While we used to only carry solid colors - and about 6 of them at that - now we have a whole wall of awesome patterns.
Sorry, this is not a HobLob commercial but I just get excited about cute fabric!
I think it would make cute curtains too because it is heavy enough to drape and thick enough to block out some of that early morning light too! Anyway...side tracked. It is early, you know!
I bought some of this said fabric - some in a stripe and some in a matching paisley style.
And I am going to just make a simple drop-in system to hold my camera and lenses. It will still have removeable dividers and I even got some extra thick batting to put in those to pad everything from bumping together. I think it is gonna be super cute!
I will lay everything out and take a picture so you guys can see it...I'll post it later!

oh dear.

I am pretty sure that I just fell in love with a house I have never seen in person.
Oh dear.
We are going to look at it tomorrow.
I want to like it in person as much as I like the pictures.
But I don't want to love it because I like the pictures...I want to love it because it is great.
Oh please...please let it be great!


It was a good day at work...we were busy. But I like busy.
It means the day goes by faster.
Tomorrow is church, house visiting, hanging out, movie watching, hanging out, some more hanging out.
And lovin' my sweet husband.

production.

I have had the most productive morning!
Been up for 45 minutes and I have emailed the realtor, repaired a pair of blue jeans that I totally ripped at work (ah...the joy of working with glass and frames all day), got dressed, emailed my mother, checked my blogs, retrieved something from the dog's mouth that the cat knocked off the counter for her (contact lens case...anyone want to claim? I don't wear them!).

Thank you dearly for all the sweet thoughts with the job hunt. I am pretty sure my mom recruited prayer warriors all over the nation - I got forwarded emails from friends and sweet snail mail notes from family. I honestly felt like I might throw up on the way there (come on...nerves!) but once I got there I really felt a lot of peace about it. It helped that my interviewer was funny, happy, enjoys her job thoroughly, and asked me questions I was prepared for! I have done everything I can do to get the process underway and hopefully end up with an offical job offer! I dropped off my filled out application at the office before they even opened yesterday, filled out that crazy personality test, signed off to have a background test run and now I just have to....wait. The hardest part.

Gotta go to the doctor this morning...I literally have no memory of making this appointment so I am glad they do those automated reminder calls. I did see it in my calendar after the phone call so I guess it is a good thing I am supposed to close tonight. I assume it is a check up for my increased migraine meds so that is what I am going for! But honestly...I have no idea why I am going!

really?

Oh, so you like my hair?
Thanks guys. Made me feel a lot better about my currently unproportional (?sp) head.
No seriously, I think it makes my head look huge.
See the picture on the right? The one for my profile?
That is what we were going for.
Haircut. Fail.
But thank you anyway...I will get used to it and probably think it is cute.
When it grows 2 more inches.

Enough self deprecating...sorry. Couldn't help it.
I should give that up for Lent instead of sweet tea and soft drinks.
Why didn't I think of that sooner?!?

Well, for those of you who are interested, the interview went well.
Atleast, I think that it went great.
I feel good about it.
Well, I felt good about it until I just spent the last hour taking this online personality test thingy that they asked me to take.
Ugh...let's just say that not only do I have no idea what number comes next in the sequence, I can't even figure out the sequence to begin with. And the next letter in the sequence? Don't even get me started!?!? How does that determine if I will be good employee?!? Or if I am prepared for this job? I think you would have to be a genius (or maybe just not taking this test at 11pm after working 8 hours, cooking dinner, icing 2 dozen cupcakes, and then answering the same 10 questions reworded 57 times) to be able to figure out those crazy questions.
I literally just "eenie-meenie-miney-mo'ed" it a couple of times.
No clue.
Epic fail on that one.
I mean, you can't really fail a test like that. Your potential boss can just think you are a complete doofus.
And that is where I am at the moment.
I still feel really good about the job. I think she was interviewing someone else this afternoon but she sounded really positive, explaining the requirements, what the job would entail, introducing me to people...I took it all as a good sign. She even said "we really like you!!".
I have to pass a background check (easy-peasy!), fill out an official application and drop it off tomorrow, and "pass" that crazy personality profile thing. And then she will call me and either tell me they hired someone else or ask me to come sign a contract. (It pays pretty good too...for being non-profit!)
And of course, I will say yes!

I should have been in bed 2 hours ago.
Goodnight!

finally. sorry.

I know it has been a while since I posted a picture...I have actually been using Megan's old Mac and like I have said before, it won't read my camera or my external hard drive for me to be able to load pictures when I blog from that guy.

This is the only picture I have of the weekend when the girls came up...we had too much fun laughing and hanging out and I completely forgot to take pictures. Yes...we are already in our pajamas...sorry girls, please don't hate me for this picture but I had to show proof that it really happened! (Besides...I am sure I look the worst!)


So...here they are...pictures of my haircut. Taken self-portrait style in the bathroom!

yep...it's short. very short.

shorter than I wanted.

But, it'll grow.

It isn't so bad anway...doesn't take long to dry or straighten because there isn't much there!

successful.

I had a very successful day yesterday...getting pretty much everything on my to-do list accomplished with the exception of cleaning the bathrooms. I just plain ran out of time...and decided that spending time with my sweet hubby last night was more important and bathrooms can wait!
I got a haircut (much shorter than I think I was anticipating...I think there was some hair miscommunication. I told her I wanted to go short one more time before I grow it back out and I pointed to where I wanted it to fall and she took it up another 2 inches. Oh well...hair grows.)
I got tons of laundry done, changed sheets and towels, ran errands, went to the bank, and did tons of other things that weren't even on my list.
I even gave Chad a fashion show last night (no...not like that...) to get his opinion on what I should wear to my interview this morning. He picked an outfit and I think I will wear that one simply because he picked it. Maybe that means it will be good luck...
I got up this morning and made homemade chocolate cupcakes (P-Dub's recipe) but I am going to put store-bought icing on them. I am making them for a girl at work who's birthday is this weekend and I asked her what her very favorite icing in all the world is...she said....the white kind with sprinkles mixed in. So that is what she will get!
Gotta go fix my hair, get looking cute and go to my interview...wish me luck/say a prayer. I will let you know how it goes. I am finally getting nervous...I can feel it in my "I don't feel so good" stomach. I know I am prepared and plenty qualified for the job so I just hope that comes through instead of nerves!

a mile.

My To-Do list is a mile long.
I am off work today and I stayed in bed embarrasingly late. But all the animals joined me and I couldn't bear to wake them from their cutest slumber and begin the chaos so I let them (and me!) sleep for a little while longer! I am currently watching a Gwendolen/Wooby War on the living room carpet so I am glad I got just a few more minutes of blessed shut eye this morning.
Now on to today's tasks:
-laundry (piles and piles...huge piles)
-clean up in the closet (we did some rearranging and it always gets worse before it gets better...right?)
-do some research for mortgages (just information)
-get invites for Beth's baby shower printed and address so I can just shoot them in the mail when the time comes (when am I supposed to mail those anyway? how many weeks is "proper"?!?)
-unload dishwasher and refill
-clean off kitchen counters
-clean bathrooms
-get eyebrows waxed (awesome...) I might add a haircut to this but I thought I was going to grow it out. But it is at that weird length where it hits my shoulders and flips weird and doesn't do what I want it to...and if she fixes it, it will still look good in the morning when I go to my interview...speaking of that...
-pick the perfect outfit (this alone might take all day)

I better get started.

oh monday.

It is Monday morning and I was lacking in things to be positive about...
until I read her post over at Holy Experience.
And she said it just right.
Go read it.
Monday morning's aren't so bad when you have so much to be thankful for.

slow morning.

Not too much to report...it has been a nice morning at home.
We slept in then I made us sausage, egg, and cheese crossiants. They were delicious...and not nutritious. But oh sooo good...
Chad has spend some time working on my car and his car this morning and they all just left to go to our nephew's birthday party at the bowling alley. I wish I could go hang out with them and bowl but I have to go to work in about 4 minutes.
We did have a successful day at the bank yesterday - getting approved for a mortgage when we get ready will be much easier now. We will have to start gathering major paperwork but at least the process is started and will go faster now.
We went to the farm yesterday and both dogs loved the "run and play and sniff and dig and eat what you found" good time...
Tomorrow is supposed to be just as balmy and sunny as today so we are looking forward to putting up a bird feeder for Wooby to watch out the window and getting the car tasks finished while it is warm enough to work in the driveway.
See...nothing to report.
Oh...on the same note as Dani's recent blog...I gave up soft drinks and sweet tea for Lent. I am doing pretty good so far on just drinking water, milk, and juice and hopefully it will cut out some caffeine and calories I don't need. I thought about giving up other things but those seem to have made the most sense. I am trying to only blog or use the computer while no one else is around to desire my attention (like at this very moment when they are all gone to the b'day party) so I feel like I am doing better about focusing my attention where it belongs.

great news.

Well, it is only great news for me. You probably won't be nearly as excited about it as I am...
I am off work today (you already knew that part...) but Chad told me last night that he was going to be off work today too! He worked too many hours in the Tuesday, Weds, and Thurs that he was there and has to take off today so he won't get overtime (the state does NOT like overtime!). So, we get to hang out today!! Admittedly, I had a long list of stuff that I needed to get done and I won't get nearly all of it done that I have to share the time with someone else but it is totally and completely worth it to be able to spend the day with him today!
So, we are going to the bank to get preapproved for a mortgage...awesome fun. It will make the house buying process faster and easier if we ever find one that we want.
We will take the dogs to the farm and let them run a while since it is time for baths anyway they can get as dirty as they want.
Then we are going to DSW/TJMaxx to look for some shoes...I really want some brown riding style boots to wear with skirts and stuff but has a pretty low heel so I can wear them all day and not be dying of foot pain.
That is my report for the day. I have to go take a shower because we had a fire in our fire pit last night and now I smell like I have been camping.

it doesn't get much better.

Truly, it doesn't get much better than this.
I haven't checked my Google Analytics in a while...I see it in my favorites bar every day and I rarely make time to check it out even though it fascinates me.
But today....I did.
And it completely made my day.
Someone found my blog by "google-ing" the following words:

"stinky friends hlp needs stinky solutions"

I would not joke about such things.
I'm not sure what "hlp" is...whether they need help with a stinky friend or the stinky friend's hip needs solutions or what but for all things good....
that is hilarious.

On a similar note...I have also received visits from 29 countries or territories.
Now that is pretty cool!
It would be awesome to get one from every continent to start with...just as a goal, you know.
I only lack Africa and Australia (unless you count New Zealand...hi Thomas...I think...) and I am not going for Antartica (those researchers have better things to do!).

not sweet. and sweet.

A few things I would like to report:
1. I have no beautiful flowers left. Not of their own fault, I assure you...my tulips were just starting to open up and become even more beautiful.
And then Wooby ate them.
Seriously.
She tears each one to shreds (with her teeth??) and then I find no petals left over so she must eat them.
I sure hope they aren't harmful to cats though at this point, I kinda feel like she would get what was coming to her!
So, thank you Chad for my wonderful valentine's beauty - and I am sorry my cat is a nutjob.

2. I have a job interview next week. I probably should not say this on my blog because I truly have no idea if people from work read it at all or on a regular basis so if you work with me at HL, please. kindly keep your mouth shut (this may turn out to be nothing!!). I actually applied for this job back in the fall sometime just because I could, the job was open, and it was an organization I think I would really like to work with/for. I never heard anything. Not an email, not a phone call, nothing. I followed up like you are supposed to do, left a few messages, but didn't hear anything. Then yesterday, I got a voicemail while I was at work that said the job is open here in Chattanooga (I got the impression I was applying for the same job in North GA originally...) and that the person who hires was not given all the resumes/applications the first time around. She wanted to know if I was still interested and if I could meet with her next week (she works out of Knoxville). I told her I was so I have an interview next Wednesday morning...please say a prayer for us/me about this. It is with a non-profit so I don't expect a big pay increase but anything more than what I am making would help us out with a house payment. I also would like to feel like I have fulfilled my purpose at HL and that it is truly God's plan for me to move on to something else...so in earnest, I really just want to have peace about making the decision and making the move if I get an offer.
Now I have a week to get nervous and try to decide what I am going to wear...it's been a while since I needed to pick out interview clothes!

I close at the HL tonight so I am going to spend the rest of my morning cleaning up in our bedroom, putting away clothes, and picking up in the closet. I am going to spend some time just sitting in the closet, enjoying the fact that I can even walk in the door because I am sure we are about to downsize! I've been spoiled rotten by a closet!!

nice.

We had a nice Valentine's day today...just hanging out together, sorta avoiding everyone else. Slept in (one of my favorite parts of the day!), went to church - heard a really awesome testimony on marriage and making it work even when the circumstances aren't the best, went and looked at a few houses, came home, watched some of the Olympics, ate dinner at Ichiban (Japenese steakhouse...my family has always called it "the cook-it-on-the-table-place"), came home and watched some more Olympics.
I got beautiful tulips again this year...(proceeds going to First Things First here in Chattanooga...good job Chad!) though the cat has attempted to completely destroy them multiple times. I did a little something special for Chad...sorta stole this idea from YHL but theirs was kind of a love poem thing and not only do I not really know how to write a love poem, I can't ryhme worth anything so I wrote him a love story instead. Our love story. In short form. and framed the one page.
It was a sweet day...

busy.

I apologize for my lack of words recently. I have been busy trying to be a good wife/nurse, go to work, keep the house clean, and general trying-not-to-lose-my-mind busyness. Things are going well here...we got another light dusting of snow today but I think most of it centered a little farther south (I heard that my parents got a nice bit from a too-cute text message from my mom...). I am off work tomorrow and I get to spend the next two full days with Chad and I could not be more excited.
I had these great plans for his valentine's present...he has some really neat photography that he has taken - close ups of flowers and water droplets on plants. I copied them onto a CD and was going to take them to work with me and get them printed at Wolf Camera after work. Well...I accidentally left the pictures pulled up on my computer and Chad saw them while I was gone. So, basically he knows what I am doing for him and so I told him he could come help me pick out mats and stuff for it tomorrow. I still want to do something for him that is a surprise but I am literally out of ideas...help me out folks!

worse nurse.

I still feel like an even worse nurse when I leave him all day to go to work...he is really doing good now. He can do pretty much everything for himself and is much more mobile so maybe I just feel bad that I can't stay home and hang out with him all week like I really want to. It might be worth taking vacation time for but I am also thinking about saving all of it so when we buy a house I can take a few days off to move-in and start getting things like we want them.
It is pouring rain at the moment but thankfully not cold enough to freeze quite yet because I have no choice but to drive myself to work! Gwendolen would not get out of bed and leave Chad long enough to go walk this morning so he has to walk her when he gets up. Wooby on the other hand was up plenty early this morning and has had a lot to talk about...like how she sprinkled dried cat nip all over the living room rug and then wallowed in it with great pleasure the other night while we were watching the Super Bowl. She is mad at me for vacuuming it up yesterday morning and is still yelling at me for it...
Not too much to report. Chad and I are trying to decide what we are going to do for V-Day this weekend. Something low key that doesn't require a lot of physical activity (which is quite opposite from most of our activity plans!). Yoga class tonight then NCIS...I love Tuesdays!

here and now.

At my house right now:
-Watching the Super Bowl simply for the commercials (and something about Manning having played at UT but frankly, that is just Chad. I am just watching for the commercials!)
-burning my red currant candle from Umbra Essence down in St. Elmo (heaven on my living room table)
-ordered pizza from a local shop and headed to pick it up in 5 minutes

A great Sunday night!

I will be showering and going to bed early and sleeping like a log.

inhale, exhale.

I could not breathe a bigger sigh of relief that I do not have to work tomorrow - that HL is always closed on Sundays. We will miss church for the second week in a row (services were cancelled last week due to the weather craziness) and Chad doesn't feel like he is quite ready to make it off the couch for that long just yet. It will be so wonderful to just spend the day hanging out with him. I have absolutely hated leaving him at home every day this week then coming back and being so tired that I'm not too much entertainment anyway...
We are deep in the house hunting madness. It is really public knowledge now anyway...we would really like to buy by April to take advantage of the tax credit but this process is so arduous and frustrating. I think I also have a lot of hesitation about such a big purchase! It is a big deal to make the right decision and I have no clue what the right decision it...terrifying.
I also think I have an idea in my head of what I want and (not saying I am spoiled or have expensive taste or anything...cough, cough) but I am sure we can't afford what I would really love to have. I know that we can do a lot of inexpensive things to make it our own but I am just terrified of buying something only because we can afford it and getting a house that we don't really love.
Oh dear...
Other than that...it was a good day. HL was super busy so I am pretty tired and need to figure out what we will do for dinner. We are possibly getting more snow tonight - thankfully we have no place to be tomorrow!

I'm a bad nurse.

I am leaving him again for another day at HL. I feel like I should stay, if nothing else but to entertain him all day while he sits bored on the couch. He stayed in bed when I got up this morning so I am assuming he didn't sleep as well as he did the night before. I can tell he is much more uncomfortable than he was - the post-surgery swelling has set in and the pain is worse. But manageable. He actually hasn't taken the super-good-make-you-say-funny-stuff-and-possibly-see-purple-bunnies-in-the-living-room meds that the doctor prescribed but seems to be managing the pain with Tylenol pretty well so I guess that is a good sign that it hasn't gotten out of control yet.
I do however open at HL today so I will get home to him quicker than yesterday, able to make a better dinner (although he was the one that requested hotdogs and tater tots and who am I to argue so I made hotdogs!) than last night.
Not too much to report other than him. He consumes much of my constant prayers for quick healing, patience, and as little pain as possible. Join me, will you?

quotation.

This is a direct quote from my Chad..."When you get on your blog next time, please thank everyone for checking up on me."
So there.
Thank you.

an apology.

I think I owe a few people an apology but it really is as much Chad's fault as it is mine (but since this is my blog, I take full responsibility!).
Chad is Mr. Secret-Pants. In case you didn't know that already.
He doesn't really tell anyone anything, especially if it is important (explain that one to me!).
I have to basically drag information out of him interrogation style so it never surprises me when he doesn't share information with other people who care about him. I'm sure it is for a number of reasons (doesn't want you to worry, doesn't want it to be a big deal or for him to be a big deal, embarrassed that people are interested, etc....whatever it happens to be at the moment) but I think mostly he just doesn't see things as a big deal that the rest of us think are quite a bit more monumental.
So, my apologies to those of you who found out about his surgery via my blog, especially those of you who should have been told in person! It wasn't even remotely dangerous or life-threatening but he should have informed you so you wouldn't worry (cause I would have worried mucho!!)
He's doing good now...enjoying being waited on and I am enjoying waiting on him. He never lets me and it is a joy to be able to serve him while he needs me.

thank you!

Thank you for your prayers...Chad and I got back home from the hospital about 11 after stopping at the drugstore to pick up pain meds and antibiotics. He is doing well - lounging on the couch preparing to play two weeks of video games while healing. He is a little snuggly and needy in a really sweet way so I don't mind one single bit; it is nice to be needed and wanted.
We are going to hang out (currently watching the TN governors "state of the state" address on the budget...I know, we are exciting folks!), watch movies, and enjoy each other until I have to go back to work tomorrow. Ugh!

heavy boots.

I wish this post were about heaving snow boots and work being cancelled because of the weather today but sadly, the roads are clear and the sun is shining. We even got up and went to church yesterday morning, not even thinking to check and see if it was cancelled or not but it was! We met our real estate agent and looked at a few more houses but that is a post for another day...
I am reading the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close written by Johnathan Safran Foer (also the author of Everything is Illuminated which was turned into a movie starring Elijah Wood immediately after his Lord the the Rings stint...). Anyway...the basic story is about a little boy whose father is killed in the Sept. 11th attacks in NYC. I haven't gotten really far into it and it is a hard read because of his writing style but I am pretty much enjoying it so far. All that explanation to say...the way that the little boy describes his emotions/grief is to talk about his boots getting lighter or heavier. If he is especially grieved/upset/sad/worried, he says that his boots are really heavy. If he is having a good day, he says that his boots are light that day. How perfectly does that really describe us as humans? We walk heavy when our hearts are heavy.
So today, I am asking for your prayers for heavy boots today. If you will read my mom's blog , you will read about a beautiful friend of my sister's who is finally seeking needed help. I was so excited when I read it that I just started crying.
And if you read my blog (ha!...sorry) you will discover that my Chad is having a little minor surgery tomorrow. I am not going to really share any more of the details - it is nothing life threatening but a little painful. So please keep him (and me...please!) in your prayers as we head to the hospital tomorrow. It is an outpatient thing so hopefully we won't be there longer than 6 or 7 hours. He will probably be mad/upset/embarrassed when he finds out I told you all about this but I personally covet your prayers and he would too if he knew you were "in the loop". I am probably more nervous than he is - worrying about all the possible "what if's" that I have no control over but worry about anyway. And of course, he will be asleep for hours and I will be the one sitting there, tapping my foot, waiting.