GUESS WHAT I GOT!!!

Can you guess? Can you huh??? I got a cast iron skillet for Christmas!! Yeah....the Parsons (that I stayed with while I was "homeless") got it for me. Isn't that nice. Mrs. P and I were shopping one day and talking about stuff and I saw those and was like "oh!! I've been wanting a cast iron skillet!". Lo and behold....that's what I got.....YESSS!!!

Oh...and I also got a vacuum cleaner for Christmas from my mom. LOL Talk about practical

My New Place

So here are some pics of my new place. Enjoy!!

More Adventures

Well, it's been about a week and a half. Things are going well in the house. I've had a couple of snags, but for the most part things are going well. The living room, kitchen and bathroom are officially done. I still need to do some work in my room, but it's coming along. There are some other things that have taken priority. For example, there is the adventure I had last night with sealing the windows.

Since the house is older, the windows are drafty. So, to fix it I got this plastic stuff. IT has a sticky strip that you stick to the window frame and then this plastic stuff that goes on top. So then you take the hairdryer (yes!!) and the plastic stuff shrink-wraps, so you have a nice, tight seal. SO I was working away last night and all of a sudden the hairdryer stopped working and the light went out. Yeah. I blew a fuse. Nice! But no worries....I fixed it and got the windows sealed. My bedroom isn't drafty anymore, and the living room is much cozier, too. Yay!!!

In other news, I'm still having fights with the fireplace. I'm still not very good at starting fires, but I'm getting better at it. The one I started this morning was much faster than some of the other ones I've done. Yay!!! But that firewood....it goes much faster than I was hoping. Plus, I loose a lot of heat up the chimney. ...it's better than not having any heat, though.

And speaking of which, I finally got the guaranteer form for the gas in the mail today....so now the people just have to mail it in and then I'll get gas. Yay!!! Who knew I'd be so happy to have gas???

I also got a couple of boxes this week. My friend Silvia made me a BEAUTIFUL picture to go on my wall. You can check out her blog, and the pics, HERE. And my friend Kathy sent a HUGE box of Christmas decorations....all kinds of stuff. I put some of it on the tree an I acutally made a wreath with some of it....turned out really pretty!!

As soon as I find my batteries, I am going to take some pictures to put up. Maybe I will work on that tonight.

The Case of the Noisy Neighbors

So I was all comfy cozy in my bed last night and I heard all of this noise. I was like "what in the world??" Well, aparently, the people who live in the basement of my house were having a fight or something. I could hear them loud and clear....a little too muffled to really understand what they were saying, but it kept me awake for quite some time. It was like 11:30pm. Sheesh!! I hope they don't keep that up. I thought about stomping on the floor or something, but I figured that would probably make them even madder. Sheesh!! I hope this doesn't keep up.


But in other news, the house is coming together quite nicely. We put up the Christmas tree this week, and it's really pretty. My bedroom still looks like the moving truck threw up in there, but I plan to rectify that this weekend. :o)

Monday

Nothing much to report for Monday. Ben and Tiffany came over for supper. Tiffany and I put the garland and lights on the Christmas tree. Elena and I are going to decorate it tonight. My bedroom is still a wreck. I'm going to work on it tonight. I hope. The cable guy is coming on Saturday and then I will have internet.....and I will post some pictures then. You will like my house. It's super cute!

Da Move, and such adventures are are related thereunto

Well, I have all of my junk moved into the new house. I say moved in because I'm not all settled in YET. The kitchen, living room and bathroom are (for the most part) pretty much put together. My bedroom, on the other hand, looks like a moving truck threw up in there. But let me go back.

When the previous tenants moved out, they didn't really clean anything. And the landlord didn't really have a chance to do any cleaning yet....so it's up to me. I'm ok with that, though, because he's not making me pay the deposit. So, Thursday night I went in and cleaned the carpets. Friday, Elena (my roomie for about 6 months or so) and I moved our stuff in and slept there. Now there was a small-ish problem with this. There was a bathroom adventure. Yeah -- the toilet wouldn't flush right. I have a plunger, but it was in storage at the moment. So I made an emergency trip to Wal-Mart and got one. Fortunately, now the toilet works. The gas heat hasn't been turned on yet.....so there was no heat in the house. There is a fireplace, but we didn't have any wood yet. Elena had a space heater, so she was fine. Melinda was NOT fine. Melinda was freeeeezing cold! Yeah. I had on two pairs of flannel pants, a flannel shirt, hoodie (I slept with the hood up b/c you know heat escapes mostly through your head), four fleece blankets, flannel sheets, big fuzzy socks, my comfortor and I put a heating pad at my feet. And I put the covers over my head. Brrrr.....It was ccc-oooo-llll-ddd in my room that night!! What an adventure!! But I survived.

Saturday morning, my church people helped me get stuff moved in. I bribed them with donuts. LOL There were about 5 guys -- and all comedians. We were packing the stuff up and Stacey (he's the main dude at my church) was like "ok this truck is full. Let's fill the empty spaces up with incidentals." I was like "Seriously none of these things are INCIDENTAL. I need them all to live. I love my stuff. I even visited them a couple of times (note: my junk was living in the basement of some people from church's house) ." So then Stacey said "Let's fill up these holes with some of the valuable things Melinda has". It was realy quite amusing. Anyways, the comedians got my stuff loaded up in the trucks and we carovaned it over to the new place and unloaded everything. Then, they were rewarded with the afore-mentioned donut bribe. Unfortuantely, all of my furniture wouldn't fit in the living room. I was going to put the table in the kitchen, but it's too big....and Elena and I wanted the table in the living room anyways, since the kitchen is kinda small-ish with the table there too. So I made an executive decision and had the guys haul one of the couches (I had two...both hand-me-downs, but one was pretty delapidated) out to the road so someone could come and take it away.

So, I spent all of Saturday morning and most of the afternoon (until about 4pm or so) cleaning the kitchen and bathroom and generally trying to get things arranged. SO I had a CD playing and all of a sudden I hear this noise. And I looked out the back door and Andrew (someone from church, who sells firewood) and his brother (who I don't remember the name of, but it might be Peter or something) were there with --you guessed it-- my firewood. Yesss!! So they dumped it all of and I started my very-first-ever fire in my fireplace. That was kinda fun. And if you were wondering, I am loving the fireplace so far. I took a lunch break about 1pm and went to Sonic (yessss!!). While I was there, Will and Sara (a couple from church, and they have THE CUTEST little boy who is about 10 months old, Liam) called me and asked if they could come help. So they got there maybe around 3 or so. Will and I stacked the firewood on the porch and Sara washed some pots and pans that had been packed up.

Elena got home around 4:30 or so and we went out on a shopping excursion. First, we stopped at the Parsons and picked up the Christmas tree we are borrowing from them, and a few things that I had to leave there overnight. Then we went to Aldi, Sam's Club, the Dollar Store, Target and Wal-Mart. Holy Shopping Trip, Batman!! -- we had the car PACKED FULL of stuff! When I brought the groceries in (yeah it was close to 10 before we got home!!) the stuff almost covered the kitchen floor. I took pictures. I got some Christmas decorations at Target, and they are sooo pretty!! My colors are silver, bronze, green, red, fuschia (kind of), and turquoise/teal. The garland is white and I got white twinkle lights. And there is tinsle, of course. OH- and we got stockings for our fireplace. They are red with some embossed Christmas trees and fuzzy white tops with silver cording on it. Very pretty, and hey -- they were only $1 each!! SO we got everything unpacked and the groceries put away and went to bed. Saturday was a long, busy day!!!

Sunday morning was an adventure. There are people who live in the basement apartment, and one of them took a REEEEALY LONG shower. Elena didn't have any hot water for her shower. And when she got done, the bathtub wouldn't drain. Eeek! I tried plunging it, but to no avail. Hmm...maybe I should have tried the OTHER plunger. LOL Anyways, I was kickin' it old style and took a bird bath and washed my hair in the sink. Fun stuff. After lunch (I went with everyone to BJU and had yummy Sunday chicken!!) I went home and vacuumed. Talked to the landlord - he ended up coming over and trying a pipe snake, but the bathtub still won't drain. So he said we can shower at his house (he lives right up the hill...takes about 1 minute to get there). After night church, I went home and got my stuff out of the front porch. I was gonna leave it there because I didn't want a big mess in the house, but I think it's supposed to rain today. The porch is screened in and there is a big overhang on it, but still..... Anyways, that is why my bedroom looks like a moving truck threw up in it, but it was actually the front porch and not a truck that threw up in my bedrom. LOL

When Elena got home, she brought Gregory (her man-friend) with her and they invited Greg (a friend of theirs whom I had never met before) too. I made a yummy salad and some crescent rolls for supper. Elena and I got a spring green salad mix at Sam's Club. I put chicken, mandrin oranges, Feta cheese, and pecans with it. Tastyfull!! The guys helped us put up the Christmas tree, but it was late when we got done with that so it didn't get decorated last night....but soon...probably tonight we will do it. Yay!!!

And so this morning, I got up and went to the landlord's house to shower. LOL -- kinda funny. Hopefully the plumber will come today. I made eggs in a basket for breakfast, since I got up INSANELY early -- I wasn't sure how long it would take me to go "next door" and shower.

SO there you have it. I'm at work now....I had to come to WORK to get some rest. But I still have about a million things to do at home. Oh well....c'est la vie.......

Torture

So I was plucking my eyebrows this morning (yes...ouchies!!) and thinking - why IN THE WORLD do I do these things to myself? I don't even have a man to look beautiful for.....of course you never know when you'll bump into "Mr. Right" (snort!!) so we'd better just be immaculate all the time, huh, but I digress..... It's either plucking those little hairy-hairs or going to the mall. Then, you can pay $15 to some punk chick. She will cover your eybrows with BOILING HOT WAX and yank them all out at once. Personally, I prefer the hot wax method. They have Witch-hazel there that soothes the pain.

And then there's the hair. If you have curly hair it needs to be straightened. If you have strait hair you get a perm. And no one should EVER have hairy legs. And who invented pantyhose anyways? Personally, I think all of these things were concocted by men. And they complain about ties. SHEESH!!

But then I was also thinking (yes I was a busy girl this morning....I got up earlier than normal) that our beauty rituals are much better than some others. I'm glad, for example, that I'm not Japanese and have to bind my feet so the bones break and I can't walk. Or there's that South Asian tribe where the women put rings around their necks and can't support their heads b/c they have no bone structure. I think the worst one I've seen is this remote African tribe that puts facial tattoos on their women. Yeah...they take a thorn or needle or something and stab their faces over and over and create these TOTALLY elaborate patterns. And they repeat it every day for like a week or something. With no type of pain relievers or anything. The article I saw on it said that it is excruciatingly painful and life-threatening.

So after all that, I guess waxing eyebrows isn't so bad. Can someone please pass the tweezers? I missed a spot!!

What Love Means

It was about this time last year that my dad had his heart attack and his heart surgery was on Dec. 31st (I think....maybe it was the 30th but I'm pretty sure it was the 31st). I am so thankful for my mom and dad. They sacrificed so much when we were growing up, so we could go to Christian school and college. A lot of times, Daddy worked a full time job, as well as pastoring a church. I am so thankful for parents who love me enough to tell me when I'm doing wrong or making a mistake. I really don't know what I would have done if Dad had died last year, and I'm glad he is still around. I love you, Daddy!!!

He sent me this e-mail, and I think it's worth passing along. Some of it is realy cute.

What Love means to a 4-8 year old....

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt.'
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'
Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

And the final one the winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

What in the...???!!!

The gas company wants $412 to turn the gas on. Guess another prayer request I thought I'd throw out there....

**Update....some friends are helping me out by linking my account with theirs, so I don't have to pay anything to get it turnd on. Yay!!

Suh-weet-ness!!

I found a new place!! It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house out in the country-ish (kind of....it's still technically in the city but there are four acres of land around it). Some of the things I'm not super excited about are that it's gas heat and there is no central air, but the landlord does put a window air conditioner in each room. The bathroom is a little small-ish, but I can deal with that. It' s not like I spend a lot of time there. LOL Some things I am SUPER excited about are that there is lots and lots of cabinet space, and even a lazy susan. I love those!! There's a dishwasher (kind of elderly, but it works so I can't complain) and garbage disposal. The oven is self-cleaning (yesssss!!!) with a start/stop timer (yesssss!!!), so that makes getting Sunday dinner together EVER SO MUCH easier....seriously!! And since Sundays are my biggest social day, I'm pumped about that, too. And the kitchen is painted kind of a rusty red color. It actually matches my dishes almost exactly, so that's pretty sweet! The way the kitchen is set up, I'm not sure if my table will fit or not. It may get be banished to the livingroom. Speaking of which, the livingroom is big. And there is a woodburning fireplace. Whoo-hootie!! I'm planning to use the fireplace quite a bit, since natural gas is so expensive, and really it doesn't get THAT cold here. The landlord said I can plant flowers and stuff in the yard. Actually, what he said is "there are four acres here....plant to your heart's content (or something like that). So, I'm going to have a little garden this summer. Probably I will do tomatoes, corn, okra, squash (I love summer squash!!), zuchini, and green beans. Maybe peas. Hmm......I'm gonna have to get a little freezer to put all that stuff in, but I'm good with that. I was planning on getting a little freezer anyways. Sothere. :o) There is a pecan tree in the front yard (yesss!!!) and a muscadine vine in the back of the property. For those of you non-Southerners who don't know what a muscadine is, check out THIS LINK to look at the Wiki. They are a wild vine similar to grapes, but have a really thick skin, and make EXCELLENT jelly!! Yummies. You can also have musccadine-hull-spitting contests....but I warn you, Mom is the champion hull spitter right now. The landlord already said I can come up this fall and help them make jelly. LOL Did I mention that there is a screened in porch off the living room? Yeah, that's really nice, huh? I think so! And I may see about digging a fire pit in the back yard. And there is a washer/dryer in the basement. Oh yeah. There is a basement apartment that someone else rents, and I'll share the washer/dryer with them....but that isn't uncommon for someone renting a house.

So there you have it. I'm happy to have a place to live. I'm excited about some of the stuff, and not so excited about some, but overall I think it'll be a good deal. And the rent reasonable. Mostly, I am thankful that the Lord provided me a place to stay. I knew that He would and He did. Yay!!

Frustrations

I am so mad that I could spit. I called the landlord today and asked when I can sign the lease and move in....Elena wants to move on Friday, since it's her day off. Well, he left me a VM stating that the ppl aren't move out (they had to go out of town for sick parents or something) until Friday. One of them isn't getting back until Thursday.

SO I called him and left a message that said that's not acceptable. Either they need to be out so I can move in by Friday or else he can put me up in a motel room until the apartment is ready.

But here's the deal -- I was supposed to move into the apartment on October 1. It's been first one thing and then another with the people who are living there now....and NOW THIS!! The landlord assured me that I would be in the apartment by the 15th. And there was a small miscommunication with the people I'm staying with now. They thought I said that I need to be out by the 12th, but I told them the 15th (that's payday....can't move without money, right?).

Something will work out....it always does, but I appreciate your prayers that I have wisdom to know what that something is. Ugh!

Comfy Cozy

When Cynthia was born, I made an afghan for her and decided to make one for each of my nieces and nephews. Here is the one I made for Mark and Krystina's baby, "Bobby Jo" for now. I'm about 1/3 of the way done with the one for Molly.

Enjoy!!

Pre-Feast Preperations

So tonight I made

Sweet Potatoe Casserole
Pecan Pie
Ho Ho Cake
Deviled Eggs

Jodi made
Two Pie Crusts
Apple Pie

Pat peeled the apples.

Yeah. And washed the dishes like 5 times!!! All between about 8:15 and 10:00. I was a busy girl!!!

OH...and in other news -- I was really sick this fall and in the ER 4 times overnight in the hospital one night. After a 40% discount they gave me, I still owed the hospital $13,000. I found out today that they wrote off my entire bill. What a blessing!!!

John

So I have to tell you....I have the most wonderful set of friends!!! It really is kind of like our own little family here. The members: Ben and Tiffany McPherson (my neighbors until Saturday), John and Pat Colpitt (John lived across the hall from Ben in college), Jodi Waterhouse (Pat's fiance, and they went to high school together), Jeremy Herriman (co-work of Ben in the summers during college), and a couple others but those are the main ones. We hang out together a lot, and take turns cooking Sunday dinners, although Tiff and I are the main ones who do the work and dishes. LOL Sooo....I decided to blog about my friends. I am so blessed to have them in my life, and since I am going to be (hopefully) blogging more, I thought you might like to get to know our little family better.

I'll start with John, since he is my best guy friend here. (No, I'm not interested in dating John. Yes, I used to think I was....back in the summer. But I'm not now. For the record.)

John is from New Hampshire. He graduated from BJU in 2004 (pretty sure....the same year Mark did) with a degree in Interpretative Speech. Let me tell you, he is VERY GOOD at all things speechy. He can hear a comedy skit and repeat it almost word-for-word, and usually funnier. LOL John eat, sleeps and breathes football.....even on the off season he's keeping up with stats and watching past games. He makes the Packers fans look like wimps. LOL

Pretty much, John has been like my brother, especially during the past month or so. The day after Josh and I broke up, John and I went to lunch. Oh -- we work together and used to have the same schedule (until about two weeks ago) so on payday, we used to go to lunch....fun-ness! So I was trying HARD not to cry, and John was TOTALLY sweet and let me hold his arm on the way back from lunch. It was really nice!! Saturday night when I had to leave my car in the WM parking lot, he came and rescued me (this is probably the third time he has rescued me......once or twice when my battery died, too) Then, when I was all upset that night (we were at Ben and Tiff's watching a movie) he gave me a hug and said it was going to be ok and stuff like that. And on Monday when I went to take my car to the shop, John came and picked me up. After the car got all fixed again, he was like "See. You wasted a perfectly good emotional break-down for nothing." LOL Anyways, the past few weeks have been pretty traumatic, with the move and the break-up and all that. John has just really been a great friend....always there when I needed him, and willing to listen to me whine about my life. Last night, he told me that he's always there to talk, and one of his shoulders is mostly dry if I needed to cry on it. LOL What a great guy!!! And ladies, he's single...LMK if you want his number. LOL

Maybe next time I will blog about Tiffany. She's like my sister.....everyone loves Tiff. And we cook together and stuff.

Tragedy!!!

Ugh!! MY life seems like an unfortunate set of circumstances right now. The weekend was CRAZY!!! To start with, I realized on Saturday that I only have one week to pack and get moved out of my apartment. And it's a holiday weekend. And all of my people with trucks are working or won't return my calls. UGH!! AND THEN I was at WM on Saturday and my car broke down. UGH!! That, of course drove me to hysterics (yes, the first thing I do in a crisis is cry!!). I was so afraid that I was going to have to pay bundles of cash to get my car fixed. Then on Sunday, I could NOT stop crying all during church...and I tried....really I did!!! Plus, I'm feeling realy homesick (not gonna be able to go home for Christmas.....booo hooo!!) so that didn't help either.

So anyways, I'm just working on getting packed up and cleaned up a little at a time. I'm hoping to get Friday off work, but we'll have to see what happens with that one. It's up in the air right now.

I will be realy glad to get into my new place. I went and looked at it again yesterday. It will be SO NICE to have a diswasher and washer/dryer there (as soon as I buy a set....) too. Plus I'm gonna have a roommie for a while...maybe until June or so, and I'm looking forward to that, too. Well, mostly looking forward. I really prefer to live alone, but my friend Elena was looking for a place....and she was kind of in the same situation I was when I moved here.....so I offered. It will be nice to have some help with the bills. Plus that way, I can get some bedroom furniture and better living room furniture. And I can pay off the doctor bills from when I was sick a few months ago. Ugh!! I'm looking at about $1500 worth. Crazyness. I was sick in September and my insurance started in October. C'est la vie, I guess.....

Pirates!!!

SO guess what I did on Tuesday. Can you guess? NO? Ok...Tiffany and I went to see the BJU production of Pirates of Penzance (thanks for the ticket, Tiff!!). It's a Gilbert and Sullivan musical, and SOOOO FUNNY!!! Basically, the plot is about Frederic, who was supposed to be apprenticed to a PILOT. BUT his nursery-maid misunderstood and apprenticed him to a PIRATE instead. The story starts on Frederic's 21st birthday. He tells the pirate band that he is leaving them. However, by some twist of fate, it turns out that Frederick was born on leap day so instead of being 21, he's actually only 5 (and a quarter!!). The pirates are all soft-hearted, so they refuse to attack anyone who is weaker than them. They also cry every time someone tells the pirates that they are an orphan. So, every ship they capture is somehow manned only by orphans. LOL Anyways, it's a really funny story!! If you want the whole plot, you can go to the Wiki ((here))

The guest artists were The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. I have to tell you, they did a FABULOUS JOB!!! The choreograph was great, and some of the things they did was soooo funny!! My favorite in the second half. The pirates were singing and they ended up all doing a kick line. Then, for the last chorus of the song, they got some glittery top hats and added that to the act. And the Major General came out at one point with a night cap, nightgown, and doggie slippers on his feet. That was too funny, also!! There are some great pictures ((here)) if you want to see them.

And in other news, I went to WM and got some really pretty yarn for the next two babies coming to our family. The yarn for Molly is white with blue and sea foam green and ballet blue (for those stampers reading this....for anyone else, kind of a medium shade of blue). I've started on that one, and it's trurning out realy pretty. The yarn for Baby McMillen (or Bobby Jo as he/she is being called right now) is light green with some blue flecks. It's a realy soft, fuzzy kind of bulky yarn. I can't wait to work with it.

Anyways, I'm gonna go work on my baby blanket. Have a happy day!!

Gas

I paid $1.65 for gas last night. Wowzers!!

Weekend and Some News

So I have had a fabulous weekend so far!! Last night, I had a girl's night with Stephanie. We went to supper at Fuddruckers (I do love some yummy, juicy hamburgers!!!). It has been a long time since I went out for dinner, so that was just really nice. Then, we went back to her house and sat in the hot tub for a while. It's been a long time since I've gotten to do something like that, and it was just a great time to relax. I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with Stephanie lately. She got married in March, and she and Hugh work kind of opposite schedules, so it's hard to get together with her.

Today was equally nice. Tiffany and I went to Gaffney, SC, and went to the outlet mall. I have been needing some new fall-ish shirts and pants. I got three really cute shirts, but unfortunately the pants I found just didn't fit right. But, I got some really good deals so it's all good. Tiffany and I actually got shirts alike. But don't worry, we're not going to probably wear them on the same day. LOL Oh -- we also went to Aldi. Holy sticker shock, Batman!! I spent $103!!! BUT It's been a while since I've really had my kitchen stocked the way it should be. Plus, I was getting some stuff for Thanksgiving dinner, like pecans and such-like that are a little on the pricey side. UGH!! Money has been a little tight, but things are starting to get better. Mostly, I've been subsisting on cheap food...which isn't always good-for-you-food.

Anyways, I really like hanging out with Tiffany....it's like having a sister here.

Oh -- and while I was at the mall, I got a text from Mark. It's a picture of Krystina wearing a shirt that says "bun in the oven". LOL Yeah -- Mark and Krystina are going to have a baby!! She is due around July 13 or so. Yay for another niece/nephew. I really love being an Aunt. I am so excited about this!! It made me cry. Mark said that I shouldn't cry, but I assured him that it was ok to cry because I was so happy.

I got some other good news today, too. Things with my apartment situation are a little precarious. I have to be out of my current place by December 1 but I found out today that I may not be able to get into my new place by then. So, I was talking to Mrs. Parsons (a good family friend who has known me since I was like 2 -- she's like my mom here) and she said that I could stay with them if I needed to. And some people in my church have already offered to let me keep my stuff in their basement, so I'm all set for a place to go if I need it. AND I'm not sure if I will be able to go home for Christmas. I'm not sure about the money thing, and I don't even know if I'll be able to get the time off work. But Mrs. Parsons said I am welcome to come to their house for Christmas. So I really am all set for stuff like that. YAY!!!

Well, Tiffany and Ben and I are watching The Wizard of Oz, so I'm off. Have a good night!!

Well....it's been a week and a half since Josh and I broke up. And this is what I've learned

1. My brother, David, will always stick up for me.

2. Tiffany is willing to put up with my always-over-the-top over-reacting to things (e.i. - no one will ever love me again...what's wrong with me that no one wants me....yadda yadda yada.....booo hoo and blubber). It's as good as having my sister here.

3. Mom is usually almost always 99.9% of the time right (Now this I already knew....I was just reminded).

4. Doing the right thing isn't always easy, but we just need to do it anyways. God promised us that He will carry us through the difficult times. Like my favorite song "He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, and covers me where with His hand."

5. I have the mostest awesomest group of family/friends that anyone could ever have. Thanks for putting up with me, y'all!!

6. Going to chapel really isn't that bad after all. LOL Funny....it took me almost 8 years to learn that lesson. Oh - and when I went to chapel, Bob III preached. He is one of my favorite preachers. Lucky me!!

Oh...and yes, I'm doing ok. I've been keeping busy with my friends. I made yummy veggie soup for supper on Sunday night. The only real tragedy is that my toe hurts. Yeah, so Tiff and I were on campus Saturday for lunch. We stopped by the music library and my foot was hurting, so i took off my shoe and looked. Low and behold, I am missing a whole layer of skin on my baby toe. OUCHIE-WOW-WOW!! I taped it back in place (no Band-Aides at the music library) and then Ben rescued me when we got back to his work (Bellis Copy Center). The toe still hurts, but we are recovering...although at one point, I thought we might have to amputate. I'm glad we didn't though. I'm powerful attached to that toe!!

Re-Arrangements

The microwave is in the living room now. It was in the kitchen pantry, but the landlord said it would start a fire there, so I moved it to the living room. It really is a great place for microwaves -- very convenient for popcorn!!

Update

For those of you who were wondering, things are going ok since THE BREAKUP. I have had some good days and some bad days. Yesterday was bad, bad, bad!! I had a major crying breakdown when I was getting ready for work. Sometimes, I feel like I'm loosing the best thing that has EVER happened to me....and that my heart is broken and will never be quite ready. HOWEVER, I know that God is good, and that we made the right decision....no matter how hard it was to make. God will ALWAYS give us the grace to do the right thing, and help when we need it.

On the up side, I went to see Tiffany at work yesterday. She works at the Child Development Center at BJU. She has THE CUTEST class of two year olds!! They were about to go for a nature walk yesterday, so I joined them. Kid therapy is just as good as fur therapy if you know what I mean.

Other than that, I've just been trying to keep busy, and my friends have been helping me. Tiff is teaching me how to make jewelry. it's really fun. So far, I've made two necklaces. I will take pictures soon and show them to you. I want to try earrings next.

News Flash

I only paid $2.03 for gas on Friday.

In other news I (in case you haven't heard it through the grapevine or other places) Josh and I broke up on Thursday night. It was a really hard thing to do, but it had to be done. We have been talking a lot about where to go to church and what kind of church we should go to. Unfortunately, we just couldn't come to an agreement. So, we decided it's best if we not date anymore. The past three days have been really hard, but I know that the Lord will honor our decision.

I appreciate your prayers during the next couple of weeks. It's going to be really hard, but God is good. He will help me.

Oh-so-FABULOSO

Well, I had the most fabulous weekend(about two weekends ago)!! My birthday was last Monday, October 6. My family surprised me with the best birthday gift I have ever had. They bought me a plane ticket so I could go to Josh and Shannon's (in Chicago-land) for Cynthia's first birthday party.

It was so great to see my family again. I really miss them so much. AND Cynthia is soooo cute!!! She is getting to be SUCH a big girl now.

Cynthia got lots of presents, and she enjoyed eating her birthday cake, too. See??

My Great Aunt Ava came to the party, too. Here is a picture with four generations of our family. Pretty neat, huh?
On Saturday night, my neighbor Tiffany's family came over and had dinner with us. It was really fun to see them again (I met them in July). I think my family liked them, too, and Paul (Tiff's brother) just fell in love with Cynthia.

OH Yeah

Nancy is home from the hospital and recovering well.

Happiness!!

SO GUESS WHAT -- FOR MY BIRTHDAY MY FAMILY IS BUYING ME A PLANE TICKET SO I CAN GO "HOME" FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS!!! (I was typing in all caps b/c I am SOOO excited about it!!!)

I'll be gone October 10 -12 (Friday through Sunday). I won't be going all the way to Wisconsin, but I will be in the Chicago area, where Josh and Shannon live. OH yeah -- and it's Cynthia's one year old birthday party then. That's why I'm going. And let me tell you -- I can't wait to see my family again!! I miss them so much!! I'm hoping that my Josh will be able to go, too, but I'm not sure we can afford the ticket for him.

OH -- and speaking of my sister, she is going to have another baby. Woot-dee-woot!! Here's her blog post if you want to check it out -----> Smithling #2

And so I'm off to work....picking up a couple hours of OT today. Not looking forward to the long day, but I can really use the extra money BIG TIME!!

Happy day!

Prayer Request

I appreciate your prayers for my friend, Nancy Milleson. She is having open heart surgery tomorrow, Friday, at 7am CST. I believe triple bypass, from what I can gather. Nancy is one of my best friends....and a wonderful surrogate grandmother for me. I really appreciate your prayers for her. In addition, I am hoping that the Lord will use this to work in the hearts of her sons, Paul and Steve. Neither one of them are really living for the Lord.

Thanks in advance!!
Melinda

Silly Girl

You know, I am such a silly girl sometimes!!! I have been worrying about money and how this bill is going to get paid and that bill, since I missed work and I had to go in the hospital (don't worry -- just overnight for observation) and I don't have insurance and bla bla bla bla.

Well, something pretty amazing happened tonight. Someone did something unexpected for me, and it was a huge reminder of how the Lord will supply our needs. And not only will He give us what we ask for, He usually gives us much more. And a lot of times, it is from an unlikely source.

But do you ever wonder -- why is it we seem to forget or not trust our Father completely?? You know what I mean....you pray for the Lord to answer a specific prayer (in my case -- finances) and think "yeah...maybe He won't really do it....." Hasn't He promised to supply ALL of our needs?? I thought of Is. 41:10 tonight -- "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand".

I am so thankful that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and really DOES meet all of our needs. He has shown me that over and over again.....and I keep forgetting. I am such a silly girl!!!

Oh -- and to the two of you who met my need in such an extraordinary way (and over and above what I asked) , thank you so much. I love you both.

MIA

So I've been MIA for a while. But there is a good reason. I've been sick. I have been dealing with an ovarian cyst. Let me tell you - that kind of stuff does not exactly tickle. Now, I have had lots of different kinds of hurt before, but this hurts like nothing else I have experienced before. UGH!! AND -- a week ago Thursday, they think the cyst ruptured and I passed a kidney stone at the same time. It was aweful!!! SO yeah....I've been through it in the past couple of weeks, but hopefully I am on the mend here now.

Other than that, there isn't a lot going on. I was supposed to be moving into my new apartment on October 1, but it has been bumped back now to November 1. I guess the people who are living there now are building a house and things were delayed significantly.

Day Off

I love Thursdays. I have Thursdays off. When it's my day off, I get to sleep in. I love sleeping in!! I also usually make dinner for everyone on Thursday. Tonight, it was tacos. I think there were 12 people at my apartment. The BJU students are back, so it was great to hang out with Pat and Jodi (they got engaged this summer!!) and Jeremy and catch up on what happened while they were all home. Matt and Hannah Goodman (I know them through Mark and Krystina) and their son Stephen were here too, and Hannah's sister Lydia. I always forget how much I like Hannah until I see her again, and I always think that I need to get together with her more often. They are really nice people. And, like Hannah told Tiffany tonight.....we are practically related. LOL It's funny when you meet someone who knows someone that you know.....always makes me laugh!!

In other news, I had a whim to make cheesecake brownies today....Thursday is also my baking day if I want to bake something. Well, I had a hard time coming up with a recipe that didn't use a brownie mix or a cake mix, but I finally found something I was able to improvise on, and let me tell you -- they turned out SOOOO yummy!! I just posted the recipe on my recipe blog. You definately have to try them!!

Ni'nite


PS
Josh -- if you are reading this....I LOVE YOU!!!

More Mush

Guess what my Josh did tonight -- cooked spaghetti for me (well, the sauce....I boiled the noodles) AND he did the dishes.

Isn't my man wonderful???


I do love him!

Mushy, Mushy Mush

That's what my Mom says Josh and I are. She's probably right....we are pretty mushy. BUT I love it!!! I love him. DO you know --- my man is SOOOO wonderful, that he is taking October 2 (a Thursday) off work, so that we can get all of my stuff moved into my new apartment, and I won't have to pay more than one extra day to stay where I am now. Yay for me!!!

And do you know what else? When he kisses me, the room starts spinning. I thought that was something that only happened in books or movies or poems....but no. It really does. And it doesn't even have to be the mushy mush kind of kissing. Just a regular ole peck-on-the-lips kinda kiss will do the trick. SIGH!! I do love that man to distraction.


(ok....you can stop gagging now....I'm done)


In other news, I am really REALLY excited about moving in to my new apartment. BUT I am looking for a few things. If anyone knows where I can find these for REALLY cheap, please LMK, ok??? They are technically things that I can do without for a while, so I'm not too concerned about it.....but you never know who knows someone who knows someone who's inlaws are having a yardsale. LOL

Anyways, here's the list:

• Washer and Dryer
• Kitchen Table and Chairs (oblong NOT round....I hate round tables.....)
• 2-3 End Tables
• 1-2 Floor lamps (for the living room)
• Couch and chair (preferrably some that match)
• Microwave Cart

G'nite

Oh yeah, I forgotteded

Another reason that my man so fabulous. Wanna hear? Ok. Because I had to go to the ER on Friday night and he took me and stayed with me all five -- yes, five as in F-I-V-E!!! -- hours I was there. The last time I was sick (um last month....) he drove me to the doctor and stayed with me twice.

See? What a great guy!!

Movin' on Up!!

Well, I have some good news. I am going to be moving on October 2....it's a little sooner than I was planning on going somewhere else, but I had a slight falling out with my landlord, and I need to be out by March (yeah...I won't go into all of the details, but let's just suffice it to say that he was being a little unreasonable about some things). Anyways, I found a really great two-bedroom, one and a half bath townhome. It has pretty much everything I have been looking for in an apartment -- two bedrooms, central a/c, a dishwasher, and washer and dryer hookups. So, I have to come up with some furniture and stuff before then. I have a line on a bed and a dresser and stuff like that. I still could use another couch and/or chair, a washer and dryer (would probably only need them for 5-6 months or so), and a dining room table. I could also use a microwave stand, but I will be able to live without one of those if I need to.

So to tell you a little about the place -- it's 1101 square feet. As you walk into the place, the stairs are right in front, and the living room is off to the left. It is really HUGE, probably about twice the size as the one I have now. There is a little closet underneath the stairs. You walk through the living room to get to the kitchen and dining room. It's all an open space, and a little bigger than the living room -- probably two times the space I have now for cooking and entertaining. The dining room and washer/dryer closet are on the left and the kitchen downstairs/half bath are on the right. There is lots of counter space and an extra pantry.

When you go upstairs, there is a fairly big landing where you could put a computer desk or little end table thing. The bathroom is straight ahead, and the bedrooms are on the left. Both bedrooms are HUGE, but one is a little bigger than the other. There is a full wall of closets in both of the bedrooms, as well as a linen closet upstairs. The bathroom is a little on the small size, but still bigger than the one I have now.

Oh -- and one of the things that really made me fal in love with the apartment is the living room walls. They are paneling, but not the dark kind -- it is a really light off-white kind of color. It's kind of like the nursery at Park City, if you remember that.

So there you have it. When I get moved, I hope lots of people will come to see my new place. Josh and I really like it -- it will be a great place for me to live until the big day. :o)

Have a happy weekend!!
Melinda

Wordle

Newly discovered talents

I introduced Josh to stamping this weekend. He has really taken a liking to it....good for us. It's fun to have a hobby that we can share. I thought that I would show you what he's come up with so far. The giraffe card we made together.....it is for Matt and Sara as a congratulations for the babies. Most of the inspiration was mine, but he did the coloring.

Enjoy :o)

Oh yeah....Josh got me these flowers on Sunday. Aren't they pretty???

Just in case you've been wondering......

.....the weekend at Josh's parent's house went really really well. We had such a good time. I really really liked them a lot. We all had a really great time.

But, to take a step back, the first thing we did on Saturday was go to the Prime Outlet Mall in Gaffney, GA. That was sooo much fun. I got a knee length denim skirt (I have been looking for one of those for like two years...seriously!!) and really nice red shirt at Lane Bryant. I wasn't going to get the shirt, but Josh really liked it....so what can I say? Anything for my man. LOL I also got a really cute of tan slide-on shoes. Josh got a pair of jeans at AE for like $14 or something...and they are super hot on him. He also got a sweet shirt at Aeropostale for like $7....the man can find the sales, let me tell you. Well, here is a picture of us in our new duds. We wore them on Sunday to church.

After the mall, we drove to Greenwood, to Josh's parents. First, though, we stopped at his brother and sister-in-law's house.......that would be Matt and Sara. They have a really really cute little girl named Abigail Grace. She's about a month younger than Cynthia, and almost as cute. Oh yeah, and Sara is expecting twin baby girls in January. Their little family is growing fast.

Then, we drove to Tony and Yvonne's house. They had a little BBQ for us....burgers and brats. Yummy!!! Plus, we met Pau (who was Josh's youth pastor) and his wife Robin. They are really nice, too. We all had a good time hanging out and stuff. Paul and Robin have a supurbly wonderful sense of sarcastic humor....just like me. LOL But seriously, we had a good time. After dinner, Josh drove me to meet Paul and Robin's kids, Dillon and (um...seriously mental block here....will remember later) who had to work. They are really nice.

Sunday, we went to church and then I got to meet Tony's brother's famiy -- John, Tamy, ____, and _____ (another mind block....lol). We had a nice dinner together. Yvonne made these FABULOUS lasagna rolls and cheesecake. She's sending me the recipes soon, so check out my recipe blog in the near future. After lunch, we just kinda hung out with the fam for a while. Abigail is SOOOO cute. She sat on my lap and cuddled with me for a long time.....didn't even want to go see Uncle Josh. LOL We also took a picture of Josh and Abigail, but it seems to be missing. I will get it from Josh and add it later.

We also went to the nursing home to see Josh's grandpa. They call him Poppa. He seemed like a really nice man, too.

SO.....that was my big weekend. We had so much fun. It was really hard to come back to "normal" life and work again.....it's not often that I get a whole Saturday off work. Oh yeah....all of the pictures were taken on Sunday....I just wanted to scatter them around a little during the "introductions".

Happy Weekend!!

So I managed to get the whole weekend off...whoop-dee-whoop!!!....and we have BIG PLANS. Tonight, Josh took me to see the new Batman movie -- The Dark Knight. It is SOOO good. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly HIGHLY recommend it.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Prime Outlet mall in Gaffney, SC....about an hour from here. We are really excited about catching some of the sales out there. Yes -- I said we. Yes, my man likes to shop....clever fellow that he is. (No, he doesn't have any singl brothers....sorry ladies....lol) It's tax free weekend in SC, so we are hoping to get some really good sales.

Then, we are driving to his parents' house for the rest of the weekend. I'm kinda nervous about meeting his family....but excited at the same time.

So, I guess we will be back sometime Sunday evening.

Have a great weekend.

Introducing.....

.....drumroll please!! I thought y'all might like to know that I have a boyfriend now. Jis name is Joshua Dorn. Now, I know that you are eager to hear all about this wonderful man.

I'll start off with how we met. I was chatting online with some of my friends and he sent me an IM kind of out of the blue. We chatted for several days, and then on July 3rd, we talked on the phone for the first tim. That conversation was three and a half hours long. Seriously - that is one long phone conversation!! Well, we continued talking on the phone during my vacation to Virginia.

When I was driving home from there, we were talking on the phone (we do that A LOT) and I mentioned that I had to stop at Wal-Mart for a few things. So, Josh said "I can go shopping with you if you want." I was amiable to the idea and we met there. I was quite impressed with him. The next night (Monday) he came over and watched a movie with Tiffany and I. We ended up watching The Princess Bride just in case you were wondering.

The next day (Tuesday) was our very first date. Josh took me downtown to Trio's -- it's a nifty pizza and pasta bistro-type restraunt. We really, really liked it there. Then, we walked downtown to Falls Park. It's a really great park, and very very romantical. We sat on a porch swing for a while and talked. We decided that dating would be good for us, so that's what we're doing. He's my boyfriend now. And I couldn't ask for a better man.

So about my Josh....I'm sure you are wanting all of THOSE details too. He's 26 years old, 6' tall and has green eyes. Josh is the teller manager at one of the Wachovia branches here in town. He is a very mature, responsible man. He grew up in Greenwood, SC, which is about an hour from here. He went to a Christian school while he was growing up. Josh has lived in Greenville for about a year or so. He goes to church here, but is not really happy with where he has been going.....so he's going to start going with me. I'm still deciding about where I want to go to church (LOOONG story) so I think we may try out a few together.

Anyways, those are the main details background wise. As a person, he is one of the most phenominal people that I know. He's sweet and funny and kind and very, very considerate of other people. Josh is always a perfect gentleman....I never have to worry about if he is going to try something inappropriate with me, because he just doesn't do that. We always have so much fun together. Ususally, it involves A LOT of talking. We don't really watch a lot of movies and stuff like that because we get bored. We like to go downtown and walk around. Usually, we end up at Fall's Park....it really is a GREAT place to hang out.

So, that's about my Josh. He's a wonderful, wonderful man and I really like him LOTS AND LOTS!!

Back Home

Well, I'm back from vacation. I had a lot of fun with my family, but it was really nice to get home again. My last vacation update was on Tuesday. Our family had so much fun during our vacation. Wednesday, we went to colonial Williamsburg and played toursist. On the way there, we rode across the Chesapeake Bay (part of it) via ferry. Let me tell you, I odn't want to ride a ferry EVER again. LOL I get motion sickness, and this was no exception. I definately had to get out of the car for the maority of the trip. Silly Melinda. We had also planned a picnic that day, but it was raining...so we ate our picnic in the car. We also stopped at the oldest Gothic (referring to building style) church in the US. That was really REALLY cool!!

Thursday, we went to the beach. That was fun. It was Cynthia's first time "in" the ocean --just her little feetsies -- and it was kinda funny, but poor baby. The water was brrrr -- cooooold!! She did like the taste of the salt water on her hand though. That was cute!! Thursday night, we went Mark's bosses' house for dinner. I've met the Mallory family a couple of times before, and I really like them a lot. It's so nice that Mark and Krystina have a nice family there to hang out with.

Friday we just kinda hung out. I don't really remember what we did, to be honest. Oh yeah -- Mom and I did some errands and stuff. It wasn't anything especially spectacular, but we had fum hanging out together. I think we wen swimming that afternoon and then we had our family picture taken. Shannon, Josh, Mark and Krystina found a really cool place just off the bay. We got lots of different versions, but here is the one with our whole family. After the picture, we went to Sonic and got ice cream. Yummyful!!

On Saturday, we all (except Krystina b/c she had to work and David b/c I'm not sure why) went to the Patrick Henry Mall and hung out. Mark treated us to Chili's....thanks, Mark! Then, we went swimming again and had a tastyful BBQ with hamburgers and hotdogs. Saturday night we went to Williamsburg to this Put-Put Golf and go-kart place. Very fun. I lost at golf....but I always do. LOL

Sunday we all went to Mark and Krystina's church. It's a really nice church. I like it a lot. Then Sunday afternoon, I went home. I was sad to leave my family...I almost cried....but I was ready to get home again.

So, there you have it. That's our vacation. I'll leave you with a cute picture of Cynthia and I. She's sooooo cute!!!

Back in Virginia Beach.....

.....or Hampton, to be specific. We spent the day yesterday in Washington, DC. First, we went to the walk by the Capitol building. That was really cool....all of the buildings there are sooo beautiful!! Then, we walked for a while and ended up at the Smithsonians. We went through the Botanical Gardens. That was really nice....and I love flowers!! There were some really pretty ones there, too. Next, we walked to the Native American Museum and had lunch. There is a really cool cafeteria there....you can kinda pick your luch a'la carte. Mom and I had Bison Prime Rib....very tasty. You can't go wrong with that, can you?? Then, we went to the Air and Space Museum. That was really neat, too. There were some great displays there. Last but not least, we went to the Holocaust Museum. Wow - that is a really powerful place!! There are some thought-provoking displays and pictures. One of the most powerful parts of it, for me, was a train car that they actually used to transport the Jews to the death camps. Wow -- we walked right through it. That place in general makes me want to read The Hiding Place again.

Well, here are some pictures that Dad took. I hope you enjoy them.....

Today, Mom, Cynthia, Marilyn and I went to the Potomac Mills Mall. That was fun, too. We met my friend Silvia and her kids David, Mela and Bella there. So we did lots of shopping and had lunch together and did more shopping. I got some really cute stuff for Cynthia. There is a onesie that says "I love my Auntie"....I've been looking for something like that for her since before she was born....they are hard to come by, and I would have settled for even a bib. I also got two shirts and a pair of capris at Lane Bryant...love that store!!

Then, Mom and Dad and I left and drove down to Hampton. Here I sit now at Mark and Krystina's. That's the end of my day.

Well anwyays, it's late and I need to get going here....my poor little brain is fried. I stayed up way too late talking on the phone last night. LOL!!!

Happy Birthday, America!!

I love July 4th....it's like EVERYONE'S birthday. So in honor of us (and because any day off work is a good excuse to party) I had a cookout. Everyone was here. And I have pics now, so you can all see who my friends are.

Tonight, John and I to see Wall-E and then the fireworks.

Well, I'm off to pack for my vacation. Ciao!!!

VACATION!!!!

I leave in two days for vacation!! I am meeting my family up in the Washington, DC, area (where my cousin Marilyn lives) on Sunday. WOOT!! Everyone will be there, except David. He is flying in on Thursday. I am sooo excited to see everyone again...especially Cynthia. She is getting soo big and sooo cute these days!! Here are some pictures from her eight month photo shoot. You can also check out a super cute video that Shannon posted on her blog HERE.

And here are some pictures of her:

Something Old, Something New

So a while back, Ben and Tiffany (neighbors) got a new couch and love seat. Since our apartments are furnished, they brought their couch over to my place. The landlord let me keep it for a while, until he needed it again. Well, it was really nice to have a "foster" couch....but I had to give it up. It was a sad time....we were all attached to the little booger. Sooo....my friend Stephanie and her husband, Hugh, gave me a couch (they got some "new" furniture from his parents and didn't need this one anymore). It's a pretty nice couch, very comfortable, but a little ragged on the seat. So, I got a fitted sheet to cover the treadbare spots and VOILA....problem solved. The colors even kinda go with my other one. Nice, huh??
SO my walls have been nekked since I've moved here, and my friends have been "complaining" about it. So tonight, Tiffany and I were at Old Time Pottery and I decided to see if I could find anything. I ended up getting a really cool mirror thing and another wall sconce. They are sooo awesome!! I still need more stuff, but these are definately a good start!
ALSO I made an afghan for my friend - and adopted sister - for her college graduation. It's really cool.
Here are some pictures.....

Shout out to Silvia

My friend Silvia said that I didn't give her enough recognition on my 6 month re-cap of things. Sorry, Silvia!!

You can check out Silvia's blog HERE it's really cool!!!

Go Celtics!!

So what have I been up to lately? Well I'll tell you...there have been lots of things going on. One of the most interesting developments is my new-found "love" of basketball. My friend John and I have been watching the NBA finals (he is a Celtics fan) and I've discovered that it is a pretty fun thing to do, too. I think it's because the game is so fast-moving as compared to other sports.....or maybe it's because the Celtics are green and green is my favorite color. Hmmm...... Anyways, I'm even learning some of the rules of the game. I even have a favorite player -- Kendrick Perkins #43. Yeah he's like 6'11 and totally DOMINATES the court...well, when he's not being fouled by the other team, that is. I also like Ray Allen. He exudes this amazing amount of confidence and almost all of his shots go in. Soooo....there's my bit about basketball.

On Thursday, I had a huge tailgate party to kick off the first game of the playoffs. It was SWEET!!! I grilled chicken and burgers and hotdogs. Tiffany made pasta salad, too. There were a whole bunch of people there, and we had such a good time!! One of my co-workers, Alan, and his wife, Michelle, came and brought their two little boys...but I can't remember their names right now for some reason, but they were SOOOO cute!!!

So what else has been going on? Well I've been keeping pretty busy. John and Ben and Tiffany and I hang out a lot. We went to see Iron Man a couple of weeks ago, and that was really fun.

Work is going ok. It's not the best job in the world, but it's better than not having a job at all, and besides that it's where the Lord wants me to be right now....so I'm working on contentment.

Well, it's time for me to get to work. Have a great day. I'll try and to better about getting things updated here.

Not Dead

Hi, Everyone. I'm not dead, but I have been insanely busy.

Work is going ok....
Church is going well.....
I went bowling last night and I didn't do very well, but we all had fun.....

Buh-bye

Recap

Wow!! I was just thinking (yes, it was painful) today about how it's Cynthia's six month birthday tomorrow, as well and Shannon and Josh's three year anniversary. One thing led to another (as it always does in these cases!) and I realized it's been like SIX MONTHS (or a little more) since I've moved away from Wisconsin. WOW!! Time really does fly by so quickly!!!

So...I thought I'd just recap what's been going on....

September/October - Move to Virginia
October - Cynthia was born;
November - Thanksgiving...time at Marilyn and Karl's and time with Krystina's Family
December - Job layoff; Dad's Heart Attack; Mark and Krystina's wedding; Dad's Heart Surgery
January - Dad's recovery; Return to VA and move to SC
February - Settling into SC, job hunt; Joined Morningside Baptist Church...love it!!
March - Stephanie and Hugh's wedding; GOT A JOB!!!
April - Nothing yet....it's only April 1 right now :o)

Wow -- that's a pretty full six months(ish), huh??

It's been neat to see how the Lord has worked things out for me. Things were so tough for a while, when I was in Virginia. The Lord taught me SOOO much about depending on Him and trusting Him to meet my needs...emotionally and spiritually, mostly.

Jer. 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." As I was looking up this verse online to get the exact verbiage, I came across a devotional that was talking about the context of this verse, and how it's in the middle of the Lord proclaiming judgement. It is SOO comforting to know that we serve a loving Heavenly Father who knows exactly what He wants for us and how to go about accomplishing His perfect will for our lives, even though it's hard and it hurts sometimes. I think that is what the Lord has really been teaching me the past six months or so. Growing pains are a "necessary evil" so to speak. When the Lord stretches our faith, it hurts. BUT we know that He is always there for us, and we know that we can trust Him...even though what is happening doesn't make any sense to us whatsoever.


I am REALLY loving it here in Greenville....I've actually been wanting to move back here since I graduated college. Church is going really well, and I've made some GREAT new friends!! Ben and Tiffany are my neighbors, and then there is their friend John and his brother Pat and another guy named Jeremy. The group of us have started having Sunday dinners together....it's a blast!! That is one thing that I have missed. Sunday dinners are a big part of family life at home. It's so nice to have such fun neighbors!

My apartment is still really great....I'm getting even more settled in here. I'm definitely putting down roots, and I'm not planning to move any time soon.

Well...that's about it for the update. My brain is pretty fried....it's bedtime. Ya'll have a great night!!

So far....ok

Wow!! It has been SUCH a busy week!! Training for the new job started on Monday, and I have to say it's been very interesting. I'm finding that the job is going fairly well for the most part. It's coming to me fairly easily which is nice. BUT they have given us homework every night, which I don't really like....but hey -- life isn't made up of what I do and don't like. HA!! If only, right??

I haven't gotten home until really late every night. Well, not EVERY. I got home on Monday and tonight about 9:00pm, and I got home around 7:30 on Tuesday. It's Bible Conference week at BJU, so I was hoping to be able to get to more of the services, but so far I've only been able to make it to Monday's. I'm planning to go tomorrow night, though. It's the Alumni Association annual meeting and reception.

ANYWAYS....the bus kids TOTALLY wore me out, so I'm exhausted...pretty sure it's bedtime. Thanks for all your prayer and support. I appreciate it!

Work and Stuff

Well, I have some news. I have a job. It's not THE JOB that I really wanted....the one I interviewed a week ago for. BUT is a job. I will be working for a company called Level One. The job is working in their call center....er....Central Leasing Office answering incoming phone calls about apartments and such. The thing I'm not too fond of is that the hours are second shift and I'm required to work one weekend day a week. That means that I have to work every Saturday so I can go to church on Sundays. PLUS there isn't really much of a chance that I'll even have 2 days off in a row. BUT it's the job the Lord provided for me. When I talked to the recruiter, he said that you can eventually work up to being able to have first shift hours....so that's a bonus. And, he and I talked about career opporunities with the company, outside of the call center. There seem to be quite a few. So in all, I'm starting to get a little excited about the job. It's always fun to learn new things, right??? Oh -- I start Monday.

I also had a Stampin' Up! workshop last night. It went really well, and even though there were only 3 guests, the hostess got some nice stuff. Here are the projects we made:


This is just a cute little spiral notebook....the kind you get at Wal-Mart 4/$1, but they are so fun to alter, and I really love the way it turned out!!

The best way to make these is to unwind the spiral and take the notebook apart. Then, after you finish your design, use a small circle punch (we used 1/8") to punch the holese for the spiral to go back in and re-wind the spiral.

Supplies:
Stamps - A Beautiful Thing
Cardstock - Groovy Guava, Blue Bayou, Whisper White
Ink - Groovy Guava, Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi
Accessories - Groovy Guava Double-Stitched Ribbon, Brads
Punches - Circle Scallop, 1 1/4 and 1 3/4 Circle, Round Tab



The other project we made is this card. Isn't it fun?? I fell in love with this stamp set when the new catty came out, so I'm really happy to have it now. ACTUALLY, I traded for this set...so I didn't even spend any money to get it.

Supplies
Stamps - The Free and the Brave
Cardstock - Soft Sky, Purley Pomegranate, Blue Bayou
Ink - Blue Bayou
Embelishments - Soft Sky Double Stitched Ribbon



This project is what I gave the hostess of the workshop as a thank you. It is a 4x4 magnet that came with my phone book. I think there was a roto-rooter ad or something on it. Doesn't it look MUCH better with pretty ribbon and sparkes??

Supplies
Stamps - Bugs and Kisses
Cardstock - Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate
Ink - Purely Pomegranate
Embelishments - Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon, Dazzeling Diamonds (glitter)



And here are some other projects that I've made. You can find details for these cards on my Splitcoast Stampers gallery HERE.

It went like this

Well....I was chatting with a friend today. It went like this:

Them: What are you up to tomorrow?

Me: I don't know yet. What are you up to tomorrow?

Them : Working

Me: That's nice.
I'd go to work...but I don't have a job.
I might do some stamping.
In fact....
....it is very likely that I will do some stamping.
In fact.....
I'm almost 100% sure I will stamp some cards tomorrow.

Them: That's cool.
(insert cheesy grin here)

It amused me greatly, so I thought I would share.

Interview

Hi. It's me again. I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much to everyone for their prayers. My interview went really, really well. The job sounds quite fascinating. There is so much attached with the ministry....it sounds fabulous!! I won't bore you with all of the gory details, but the Chavers were both really nice. I enjoyed chatting with them over lunch. They are very down-to-earth people Oh -- and I met Frank Garlock at lunch today, so that was interesting. Apparently, they are old friends. ANYWAYS....after lunch, they took me back to the place where I would be working. It is a renovated school that was built around the 1870s, I believe. They have a complete stage there, including a turntable and all sorts of other nifty gadgets.

So, it sounds like a great job. They are going to be letting me know within the next 2 days they said, but hopefully by Monday. I appreciate your prayers that the Lord would give wisdom and direction.

Thanks again!!

The Desires of our Hearts

As you may or may not have noticed, I have a flare for the dramatic. Being such, I REALLY love plays and the theatre. I was introduced to opera while I was in college, and I actually enjoyed it (especially since they display sub-titles so you can read what's going on!). Well, this year at BJU, the spring Opera is The Barber of Seville( <----- production photos, if you are interested.....). I especially enjoyed this production when I was in college, particularly because they perform it in English....yessss!!!! So, I really REALLY wanted to go, but couldn't swing it financially. Sheesh....what a disappointment!! Weeeell.....a friend of mine, Mrs. Joyce Parsons (who works in the costume room at BJU) had an extra ticket and invited me to go with their family. So, now I get to see the opera.

What is it the Bible says about the desires of our hearts??? Hmmmm......

It's Curtians for you, Buster!

Living room curtains, that is. Mom sent me a package today. It had the curtains from my bedroom at home, which are PERFECT for my living room. The couch is blue and green and tan plaid and the curtains are tan. It looks great!!! PLUS I found this ribbon that I love and have been hoarding for quite some time. It makes a great tie-back...don'cha think??? Here are some pictures:

Also, I recieved a phone call today about a job. It is with a place called The Academy of the Arts. It's here in the Greenville area, and is run by a man named Nicky Chavers. Some of you may have heard of him. The "place" sends drama teams to churches in the summer time. During the school year, they hold seminars and stuff like that at Christian schools.

The job would be as the Administrative Assistant. Dr. Chavers asked me what I majored in while I was at college and I told him Practical Christian Training and that I minored in speech, and he seemed to think that would be an ideal background.

So, I'm having an interview/lunch with Dr. and Mrs. Chavers on Thursday at a little deli right down the road from where I live.

It sounds like a great opportunity, and I really do appreciate your prayers regarding this one. It would be so nice if I could start working SOOOON!!

For Sale or Trade

Ok....so....here I am at last posting my retired sets up for sale or trade....such a hard thing for me to do!! I am hoping that these sets find loving homes.

I am willing to sell or trade everything listed. I don't have any set prices in mind, so make me an offer.

Wish List:Current SU! sets, accessories, ribbon, DP....pretty much any current SU! item.Thanks for looking!!

Current SU!
Wild Rose

Retired SU!
Flutterbys (DD)
Furnished with Love
And Everything Nice
All Wrapped up w/Accessories
Watercolor Garden
Alphabet Soup
Garden Collage
All I have Seen
Flower Filled
Fresh Flowers
Trim the Tree
Holiday Wishes

Happy Birthday Greetings (BG Stamp)
Just Jeans (BG Stamp)

Wash Day (Jumbo Wheel)
Hollyhock (Jumbo Wheel)