Wow. Hard to believe it's actually Christmas. This year flew by. Not that the others haven't, but still... yeah, wow. So what's new? Work has picked up since my last post. I've been really busy which makes the days go quick. Didn't have class last week, which was nice. The last couple classes I've had have been online so sitting in a classroom after working all day reminded me of the pros with online classes. But nothing can beat those in-seat discussions.
Christmas was quiet and uneventful. I am dog sitting til Jan 2nd, so yesterday Ace and I went to dinner at a co-worker/friend's house. She invited us over and it was really nice. The food was amazing - YUM and the conversation was fun. We picked up the squirt this morning and so today feels more like Christmas than yesterday. He opened his presents from Santa and loved everything. He has all sorts of new favorites. LOL. He cracks me up. Tonight we will feast on Ace's fabulous lasagna and crash from all the carbs. I'm hoping to watch Up! So we'll see. Tomorrow a friend and her family is coming over for brunch and play time for the kids. She and I will gab, the boys will talk whatever and the kids will exhaust themselves on toys. Nice way to spend a Sunday I think:-)
Um... what else? OH! So Christmas Eve Ace and I took the light rail to downtown Denver. It was like a ghost town. We walked around in the freezing cold, found a fancy restaurant and gorged ourselves on yummy food. On the way I gave $20 to a homeless man. Normally I don't hand out anything, but being Christmas eve I felt bad that we had a warm bed and he might not. Ya never know in this state if they are really homeless or punk trust fund twerps begging for sport. Either way, he was able to get a nice meal. And my heart felt good. I haven't started my new job yet. I think come January I will have more to tell about that. Still dog sitting now and then though. As of right now I'm booked Jan 10 - 18th. The extra cash is just hard to pass up, ya know?
K. I think that's it. I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. This one definitely reminded me of all that Christ has given us.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Long time gone
Sorry for not posting! I don't even know who else reads this thing other than Michelle in Maryland! Anyways, I know I have some catching up to do.
Thanksgiving in San Diego! Well, the 16 hour drive there seemed to go by fairly fast. Ace of course drove the entire way and I slept off and on. We got in shortly after 8am, just in time for the squirt to wake up and be ready to go! SO... Nana and I took the squirt and his cousin (miss M) to an aquarium in La Jolla. It was short and sweet but definitely a nice trip away from the house. Of course the weather was GORGEOUS and the kids liked seeing all the different fish. Plus there was a neat Seahorse exhibit. All in all, it was time well spent. Then that night we hung out at the house with the fam and ate a nice steak dinner. Mmmmmmmmmm..... steak. That Thursday while Ace helped Nana in the kitchen, I ventured out with the squirt to Coronado Beach. Now, my sis had given me directions but somehow accidentally mixed up N with S. So, the squirt and I almost ended up in Mexico. Seriously. I took the last exit before we hit the border. I laughed of course and we found our way to the beach. It was AMAZING. My new profile pic is evidence of that. We had a blast. We splashed in the water and played in the sand. It was great! Of course we were only there for an hour, but it was much needed spirit time on my end. Then that night we had a MAJOR feast. Goodness gracious I felt blessed:-) The whole family joined together and we just sat around afterward. I did some much needed knitting and actually finished TWO projects while we were gone. A pair of socks that I'll post a picture of later and a scarf for a friend on the east coast.
That Friday the boys went and played baseball and we just hung out at the house. Had dinner that nice at a fancy restaurant and got to see Nana & Grandpa's new house. Um... Then that Saturday we all made Tamales, the normal family Christmas tradition. But since we aren't going to be there for Christmas, we did it early. Pictures of that will be up soon as well! Then that night we hung out again. All in all I think Ace and the squirt had a great trip. I had a wonderful time visiting with my sister-n-law because she is just so darn wonderful. I love her dearly. And in all seriousness - I have no idea what I would do without her.
We drove out in the wee hours on Sunday morning. It was so sad but cute, the squirt says, "where are we going?" and we tell him, "We are going back home so you can see Momma." and he responds with, "But I wanted to go back to the beach." with sad puppy eyes and everything. Sigh. I know.... I wanted more of the beach too.
We made it back in like... 17 or 18 hours. Stopped in Utah for some In-N-Out. GAHHHHHH!! Hark the angels sing their voices... la la la la... Hamburger heaven for those of you who haven't experienced the glory. Mmm. It really is soo good.
What else? Well I finished my last class - Lifespan Development. That was an interesting class. Online, which I definitely do not prefer but I guess easy. Then two Mondays ago I started Human Sexuality. So far that class is really fun. And I'm looking forward to our next one on the 28th. Keep in mind people - this is all for my psych minor. WHICH!!! OH MY GAH!!!!! I received in the mail today my official certificates for Biblical Studies AND Project Management. I want to frame them they look so fancy. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! I'm so excited.
Dog sitting has still been busy. And on top of full time work, full time school, dog sitting, part time parenting I now have an official 2nd part time job as a caregiver for this company called Touching Hearts. It's a really neat business and I'm excited to be a part of it. It's basically non-medical care for seniors or really anyone with a disability. We go shopping for them, we help them bathe, we fold laundry, some light house work, we read to them, go on walks with them, etc. SO it's good for them and it feeds my soul. I contacted our church a few weeks ago trying to figure out where my skills/gifts can be best be utilized and no one has really been able to help yet, so we'll see. I think this new job is a right step toward figuring that out though.
Work has been really slow still. I love my team though. They are so amazing and I like learning something new every day. We actually adopted several families through a headstart program at a church and dropped all the kids gifts off yesterday. It was a moving experience. I just wish that we could give and give and give. ALL the time. Because there are so many kids out there who have nothing. And their wish list items are like, toilet paper; wash cloths, PJs, socks, an action figure, a barbie. So much stuff that we take for granted on a regular basis.
Other stuff... Ace and I are still doing really well. I feel like we are having more fun and communicating better. I still have my moments when I get moody and snap, but then I calm down and apologize and chill out. As a family we are doing really good. The squirt is so darn smart and quick. He wants to play with legos right now, which is fine. And he loves sports still so if thats on TV, he watches a lot of games.
So last, but not less important - I finally touched base with my uncle for the first time in .... YEARS. As well as his daughter and son - MY COUSINS!! It's so sad to think that we lived in NC for as long as we did yet we never got to see them and hang out. So I didn't get to grow up with family. Lame, huh? But now they are all grown and independent and expressive and smart and motivated and soooo much more. And it just felt really great to hear my uncles voice on the phone. Now I feel a little more in the loop in regards to my mom, which is good. So hopefully the lines of communication will remain open. One can hope!!
Thanksgiving in San Diego! Well, the 16 hour drive there seemed to go by fairly fast. Ace of course drove the entire way and I slept off and on. We got in shortly after 8am, just in time for the squirt to wake up and be ready to go! SO... Nana and I took the squirt and his cousin (miss M) to an aquarium in La Jolla. It was short and sweet but definitely a nice trip away from the house. Of course the weather was GORGEOUS and the kids liked seeing all the different fish. Plus there was a neat Seahorse exhibit. All in all, it was time well spent. Then that night we hung out at the house with the fam and ate a nice steak dinner. Mmmmmmmmmm..... steak. That Thursday while Ace helped Nana in the kitchen, I ventured out with the squirt to Coronado Beach. Now, my sis had given me directions but somehow accidentally mixed up N with S. So, the squirt and I almost ended up in Mexico. Seriously. I took the last exit before we hit the border. I laughed of course and we found our way to the beach. It was AMAZING. My new profile pic is evidence of that. We had a blast. We splashed in the water and played in the sand. It was great! Of course we were only there for an hour, but it was much needed spirit time on my end. Then that night we had a MAJOR feast. Goodness gracious I felt blessed:-) The whole family joined together and we just sat around afterward. I did some much needed knitting and actually finished TWO projects while we were gone. A pair of socks that I'll post a picture of later and a scarf for a friend on the east coast.
That Friday the boys went and played baseball and we just hung out at the house. Had dinner that nice at a fancy restaurant and got to see Nana & Grandpa's new house. Um... Then that Saturday we all made Tamales, the normal family Christmas tradition. But since we aren't going to be there for Christmas, we did it early. Pictures of that will be up soon as well! Then that night we hung out again. All in all I think Ace and the squirt had a great trip. I had a wonderful time visiting with my sister-n-law because she is just so darn wonderful. I love her dearly. And in all seriousness - I have no idea what I would do without her.
We drove out in the wee hours on Sunday morning. It was so sad but cute, the squirt says, "where are we going?" and we tell him, "We are going back home so you can see Momma." and he responds with, "But I wanted to go back to the beach." with sad puppy eyes and everything. Sigh. I know.... I wanted more of the beach too.
We made it back in like... 17 or 18 hours. Stopped in Utah for some In-N-Out. GAHHHHHH!! Hark the angels sing their voices... la la la la... Hamburger heaven for those of you who haven't experienced the glory. Mmm. It really is soo good.
What else? Well I finished my last class - Lifespan Development. That was an interesting class. Online, which I definitely do not prefer but I guess easy. Then two Mondays ago I started Human Sexuality. So far that class is really fun. And I'm looking forward to our next one on the 28th. Keep in mind people - this is all for my psych minor. WHICH!!! OH MY GAH!!!!! I received in the mail today my official certificates for Biblical Studies AND Project Management. I want to frame them they look so fancy. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! I'm so excited.
Dog sitting has still been busy. And on top of full time work, full time school, dog sitting, part time parenting I now have an official 2nd part time job as a caregiver for this company called Touching Hearts. It's a really neat business and I'm excited to be a part of it. It's basically non-medical care for seniors or really anyone with a disability. We go shopping for them, we help them bathe, we fold laundry, some light house work, we read to them, go on walks with them, etc. SO it's good for them and it feeds my soul. I contacted our church a few weeks ago trying to figure out where my skills/gifts can be best be utilized and no one has really been able to help yet, so we'll see. I think this new job is a right step toward figuring that out though.
Work has been really slow still. I love my team though. They are so amazing and I like learning something new every day. We actually adopted several families through a headstart program at a church and dropped all the kids gifts off yesterday. It was a moving experience. I just wish that we could give and give and give. ALL the time. Because there are so many kids out there who have nothing. And their wish list items are like, toilet paper; wash cloths, PJs, socks, an action figure, a barbie. So much stuff that we take for granted on a regular basis.
Other stuff... Ace and I are still doing really well. I feel like we are having more fun and communicating better. I still have my moments when I get moody and snap, but then I calm down and apologize and chill out. As a family we are doing really good. The squirt is so darn smart and quick. He wants to play with legos right now, which is fine. And he loves sports still so if thats on TV, he watches a lot of games.
So last, but not less important - I finally touched base with my uncle for the first time in .... YEARS. As well as his daughter and son - MY COUSINS!! It's so sad to think that we lived in NC for as long as we did yet we never got to see them and hang out. So I didn't get to grow up with family. Lame, huh? But now they are all grown and independent and expressive and smart and motivated and soooo much more. And it just felt really great to hear my uncles voice on the phone. Now I feel a little more in the loop in regards to my mom, which is good. So hopefully the lines of communication will remain open. One can hope!!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Turkey day is a comin!
And I'm gonna eat me some In-N-Out. WHOO HOOO!!!
Wow. So this weekend was sort of a really awesome weekend. I learned tonight that my new psych teacher isn't actually avoiding me, instead I totally forgot about my school email address that I had set up. Oops! But yeah, so that's good. And I got to spend several hours with my close friends that I consider part of my Colorado family. Meanwhile Ace got to attend his much anticipated Pro-Football game and his precious Chargers won. YAY! Hmm. So I actually sort of feel a little scattered right now. We leave Tuesday for San Diego. And I feel really good. I've had time to refocus and remember what's most important: FAMILY.
Work has slowed down dramatically and so I'm starting to train on super cool stuff. At least to me anyway. My class is neat. The book is actually really good and I'm bummed that I'm just renting this textbook. Did you know you can rent textbooks? YEPPERS. I had no idea till a co-worker told me about it because her son rents his. I am now a fan. But yeah, I actually like this book. Unfortunately, it retailed for over $140. Ick. Why do textbooks have to be so outrageous?
Other stuff? One of my oldest friends from high school is hopefully having a baby this weekend! Michelle - you are in my thoughts girlie! And we had a great day with the squirt yesterday. He was so well behaved and I just felt like we really bonded. Oh! So my dog sitting has taken off again. I will literally be away from home every single weekend in December. Not sure what we're doing yet for Christmas or New Years, but at least Ace and I will be together. One year though - we'll live it up BIG TIME!!
Ok, I gotta a Roxy kitty on my lap. She is laying across me to the point where I can barely type. LOL. Cats are too funny sometimes.
I hope that everyone has a terrific THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY! Do not forget to tell all of those that you care about what you are thankful for! I know I am thankful for all of you who read my blog and are close to my heart.
I love ya'll!!
Wow. So this weekend was sort of a really awesome weekend. I learned tonight that my new psych teacher isn't actually avoiding me, instead I totally forgot about my school email address that I had set up. Oops! But yeah, so that's good. And I got to spend several hours with my close friends that I consider part of my Colorado family. Meanwhile Ace got to attend his much anticipated Pro-Football game and his precious Chargers won. YAY! Hmm. So I actually sort of feel a little scattered right now. We leave Tuesday for San Diego. And I feel really good. I've had time to refocus and remember what's most important: FAMILY.
Work has slowed down dramatically and so I'm starting to train on super cool stuff. At least to me anyway. My class is neat. The book is actually really good and I'm bummed that I'm just renting this textbook. Did you know you can rent textbooks? YEPPERS. I had no idea till a co-worker told me about it because her son rents his. I am now a fan. But yeah, I actually like this book. Unfortunately, it retailed for over $140. Ick. Why do textbooks have to be so outrageous?
Other stuff? One of my oldest friends from high school is hopefully having a baby this weekend! Michelle - you are in my thoughts girlie! And we had a great day with the squirt yesterday. He was so well behaved and I just felt like we really bonded. Oh! So my dog sitting has taken off again. I will literally be away from home every single weekend in December. Not sure what we're doing yet for Christmas or New Years, but at least Ace and I will be together. One year though - we'll live it up BIG TIME!!
Ok, I gotta a Roxy kitty on my lap. She is laying across me to the point where I can barely type. LOL. Cats are too funny sometimes.
I hope that everyone has a terrific THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY! Do not forget to tell all of those that you care about what you are thankful for! I know I am thankful for all of you who read my blog and are close to my heart.
I love ya'll!!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Givin it up and handin it over
Yep. That's my new rule as I embark on the next few weeks of stress, chaos and lots of things completely out of my control. I realized today that I really don't handle stress well. Which surprises me because I like to think that I can adapt quickly and welcome change. However - that does not include stressful situations.
This past weekend I dog sat for my new favorite little pup - Eliza. I adore her. I also had a nice and hearty paper to get done by midnight last night. I think I've mentioned in a prior post that the class I'm in right now is Lifespan Development Psychology. I absolutely love the items that I'm reading about and it is genuinely interesting to me. Problem is - I don't care about a grade. I'm not one for competition and I sort of feel like that's what school is about. Who can get the best grade? Until this point I have succeeded in having straight As for my college career, which for me is a huge accomplishment. I despised high school and so to actually focus on something in college and do my best at it is very ... nice. So what I discovered the other day is that part of why I don't participate in sports is because I don't like the competition aspect of it. I understand why others do, but I am just not wired that way. With this class in particular, I feel like the reason I am paying over $1k a class is so I can learn about this subject by a professional and learn tools to aid me later. So I don't see the point in writing a bloody paper! Is my measly little 6-8 page paper going to make a difference in someone's life? Uh... no. Now, if it were then I might care. Scratch that, HELL YES I would care if it made a difference in someone's life. But it doesn't. Instead I'm competing with 15 other students for the best grade. At least that's what it feels like right now. SO. I stressed and agonized all weekend long about this stupid paper. And it wasn't stupid really, just insignificant. My topic was sign language with babies. I had to find a journal and then critically analyze it. PAINFUL. I'd rather endure a migraine for 2 days, and that's saying a lot. Anyways. Got it done. Turned it in. Wiped my hands. Then I couldn't fall asleep last night and ended up watching Keeping up with the Kardashians until 2 am. Yep. And I ate half a bag of potato chips. Of course with Eliza woke me up at 6am to go potty I was exhausted. SO I slept in a couple extra hours. Got to work and within about 15 minutes began to just feel strange. I had a decent breakfast so I think my blood sugar was fine, but I just felt... off, ya know? Talked to my boss and left for the day. Ahhh... came home, did some light cleaning and straightening and then soaked in my fabulous tub for about 30 minutes.
During the tub soak I prayed for almost the entire time and got out feeling refreshed and much better than this morning. Why you ask? Because - I did what many other Christian women have recommended - Give it to GOD. Of course I struggle with this every single day because I'm a control freak. Today I reminded myself that I have to give it to God. There is so much out there that I have absolutely no control over and it is wasted time for me to worry about it. Right? RIGHT! Then I had a fabulous little nap and when Ace got home I felt good enough to work out. We headed to the workout room and I walked for almost 2 miles. It felt great and then when we got home I talked him into doing a 10 min yoga exercise with me. I can only hope that between the workout and wonderful soak, I can get a good night's sleep.
So the other issue that has been heavy on my heart and mind lately is our road trip to San Diego next week. First of all, we are going to be in the car for 15+ hours with a young child. GAH! Are we nuts?? Yes, a little. But I have done a ton of research and prepared the craft/goody bag tonight in high hopes that we will make it to Cali and back in one piece. After checking all sorts of web sites online I feel ready. I have a bag full of goody bags for the squirt along with tons of crafts, puzzles and other misc items to keep us all busy for a good 4-5 days. Now second, we are staying with Ace's family. For the past few weeks I've been planning and planning and going over all the details in my head. This day we'll do this, tomorrow we'll do that, etc. It finally dawned on me today during the fabulous soak that I really need to focus on including Ace's family in as much as possible. They don't get to see us very often and so it's not fair of me to whisk the squirt away to all these cool places just because I want to keep him busy. I realized that I can keep him busy and visit with the family at the same time. It might be a little challenging, but I can do it. Better yet - WE can do it.
Final word: I will survive the next several weeks. I will be patient with school and accept that I don't have to get an "A" on everything. I will also pray a LOT on our trip to San Diego and practice as much grace as possible.
OH! A couple fun things to look forward to - - A hair cut on Thursday, nails done on Saturday, hanging with close friends on Sunday and **hopefully** seeing the new Twilight movie, New Moon. GAH!! I am sooo excited.
This past weekend I dog sat for my new favorite little pup - Eliza. I adore her. I also had a nice and hearty paper to get done by midnight last night. I think I've mentioned in a prior post that the class I'm in right now is Lifespan Development Psychology. I absolutely love the items that I'm reading about and it is genuinely interesting to me. Problem is - I don't care about a grade. I'm not one for competition and I sort of feel like that's what school is about. Who can get the best grade? Until this point I have succeeded in having straight As for my college career, which for me is a huge accomplishment. I despised high school and so to actually focus on something in college and do my best at it is very ... nice. So what I discovered the other day is that part of why I don't participate in sports is because I don't like the competition aspect of it. I understand why others do, but I am just not wired that way. With this class in particular, I feel like the reason I am paying over $1k a class is so I can learn about this subject by a professional and learn tools to aid me later. So I don't see the point in writing a bloody paper! Is my measly little 6-8 page paper going to make a difference in someone's life? Uh... no. Now, if it were then I might care. Scratch that, HELL YES I would care if it made a difference in someone's life. But it doesn't. Instead I'm competing with 15 other students for the best grade. At least that's what it feels like right now. SO. I stressed and agonized all weekend long about this stupid paper. And it wasn't stupid really, just insignificant. My topic was sign language with babies. I had to find a journal and then critically analyze it. PAINFUL. I'd rather endure a migraine for 2 days, and that's saying a lot. Anyways. Got it done. Turned it in. Wiped my hands. Then I couldn't fall asleep last night and ended up watching Keeping up with the Kardashians until 2 am. Yep. And I ate half a bag of potato chips. Of course with Eliza woke me up at 6am to go potty I was exhausted. SO I slept in a couple extra hours. Got to work and within about 15 minutes began to just feel strange. I had a decent breakfast so I think my blood sugar was fine, but I just felt... off, ya know? Talked to my boss and left for the day. Ahhh... came home, did some light cleaning and straightening and then soaked in my fabulous tub for about 30 minutes.
During the tub soak I prayed for almost the entire time and got out feeling refreshed and much better than this morning. Why you ask? Because - I did what many other Christian women have recommended - Give it to GOD. Of course I struggle with this every single day because I'm a control freak. Today I reminded myself that I have to give it to God. There is so much out there that I have absolutely no control over and it is wasted time for me to worry about it. Right? RIGHT! Then I had a fabulous little nap and when Ace got home I felt good enough to work out. We headed to the workout room and I walked for almost 2 miles. It felt great and then when we got home I talked him into doing a 10 min yoga exercise with me. I can only hope that between the workout and wonderful soak, I can get a good night's sleep.
So the other issue that has been heavy on my heart and mind lately is our road trip to San Diego next week. First of all, we are going to be in the car for 15+ hours with a young child. GAH! Are we nuts?? Yes, a little. But I have done a ton of research and prepared the craft/goody bag tonight in high hopes that we will make it to Cali and back in one piece. After checking all sorts of web sites online I feel ready. I have a bag full of goody bags for the squirt along with tons of crafts, puzzles and other misc items to keep us all busy for a good 4-5 days. Now second, we are staying with Ace's family. For the past few weeks I've been planning and planning and going over all the details in my head. This day we'll do this, tomorrow we'll do that, etc. It finally dawned on me today during the fabulous soak that I really need to focus on including Ace's family in as much as possible. They don't get to see us very often and so it's not fair of me to whisk the squirt away to all these cool places just because I want to keep him busy. I realized that I can keep him busy and visit with the family at the same time. It might be a little challenging, but I can do it. Better yet - WE can do it.
Final word: I will survive the next several weeks. I will be patient with school and accept that I don't have to get an "A" on everything. I will also pray a LOT on our trip to San Diego and practice as much grace as possible.
OH! A couple fun things to look forward to - - A hair cut on Thursday, nails done on Saturday, hanging with close friends on Sunday and **hopefully** seeing the new Twilight movie, New Moon. GAH!! I am sooo excited.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Sugar cookies are DA BOMB!!!
So tonight Ace, N and I are making sugar cookies. This is my second recipe in the search to find "the one"!! We'll see how they turn out.
What's new around here? A couple weeks ago we had a massive snow storm. So bad that the Federal Center actually closed early 2 days in a row and had a 2 hr delay 3 mornings in a row. The roads weren't all that bad. Parking lots were a different story. Anyways... then last Monday school started back up. I'm already questioning whether I can do this or not. Or if I want to. It's online, which is hard for me. I prefer in-seat so I can participate in the discussions. Plus I'm a visual learner. But in the end it will be great, right? Right. That's what I have to keep telling myself.
Work has been steady. It's slowed down a LOT which is good because now I can learn other cool stuff. I also learned some sad news about one of my former employers. Makes me so thankful for my job.
San Diego road trip is coming up quick now. Two weeks from today we will be hangin with family. I have gone somewhat overboard in preparations. Since we are driving and it will be 15+ hours in the car I've made all sorts of lists and have a huge bag full of stuff for the squirt to do. I also have stuff to do. OMG. I purchased the largest knitting needles I have ever seen today. Size 35!!! Crazy! I'm making a scarf for someone... and supposedly it will go quick with the large needles.
Sigh. I feel like I have so much to blog about but can't think of everything right now. I'll write again this weekend. As I procrastinate writing my paper. BLAH.
What's new around here? A couple weeks ago we had a massive snow storm. So bad that the Federal Center actually closed early 2 days in a row and had a 2 hr delay 3 mornings in a row. The roads weren't all that bad. Parking lots were a different story. Anyways... then last Monday school started back up. I'm already questioning whether I can do this or not. Or if I want to. It's online, which is hard for me. I prefer in-seat so I can participate in the discussions. Plus I'm a visual learner. But in the end it will be great, right? Right. That's what I have to keep telling myself.
Work has been steady. It's slowed down a LOT which is good because now I can learn other cool stuff. I also learned some sad news about one of my former employers. Makes me so thankful for my job.
San Diego road trip is coming up quick now. Two weeks from today we will be hangin with family. I have gone somewhat overboard in preparations. Since we are driving and it will be 15+ hours in the car I've made all sorts of lists and have a huge bag full of stuff for the squirt to do. I also have stuff to do. OMG. I purchased the largest knitting needles I have ever seen today. Size 35!!! Crazy! I'm making a scarf for someone... and supposedly it will go quick with the large needles.
Sigh. I feel like I have so much to blog about but can't think of everything right now. I'll write again this weekend. As I procrastinate writing my paper. BLAH.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Relationship Revelations!
First off - I am not afraid to admit that Ace and I have been in marriage counseling since late August. We've gone once a week and it has helped tremendously along with reading certain books, attending a marriage class at church and just spending quality time on our relationship. Now, having said that I feel that it is always important to share what we learn with others. Who knows what we might learn from each other?
What is marriage? One of the first assignments we were given was to really analyze and express our expectations of the marriage we are in. Oddly enough, we did not have the same expectations. SHOCKER! (you might sense some sarcasm on occasion) So yeah, his expectation of marriage was completely different than my own. SO we listed the major stuff out on paper and described in detail exactly what each trait meant. Then in our sessions we talked through every expectation and asked the other person if they felt it was possible to meet that. It took 3 sessions to get through, but in the end was a great exercise. In our class, the first night we were reminded that the mindset we both have to be in, in order to learn, is negotiation and acceptance. We have to ask ourselves, "What is our purpose as a couple?" It sparked a lot of great discussion and was really nice to just hear what the other spouse is thinking/feeling about our marriage.
What are the differences between men and women? Other than the obvious. Now - this area really rocks my mind and seriously opened up HUGE avenues of understanding for me. I felt like a thousand light bulbs went off all at once. It was great. I'm going to try and breakdown all the stuff I learned in each medium.
Class: Men - they report. They compete with each other. They long for independence and enjoy a struggle. They are very guarded with each other. They want to make sure that THEY are the ones making a decision. What can they do differently? LISTEN in a different way to what women are saying. Women - they repore. We connect. We ask for a consensus and always want to know what others are doing. What can we do differently? We can talk to men in a better way - BE SPECIFIC! And also understand that most men understand logic - not emotions.
I love this stat: Women use 35,000 words a day. Men use 3,500. HA!
Books: So for 3 weeks I begged Ace to read the book Wild At Heart. I think I posted a note about it before, but I will mention it again here. This book is awesome. Along with the basic understanding that men just flat out don't communicate like women. And society in general is trying to force men to communicate like women. Well I am not going to do that anymore! I am going to learn my husbands language and as our instructor says in class - Become the expert on your spouse!! I know that a lot of this stuff is basic, but yet we don't take it into practice. Ok. So the other book that was good for us was From Anger to Intimacy. Right now we are reading Saving Your Second Marriage Before (or during!) It Begins. A lot of the books stress the same points over and over again but when your marriage has been in trouble for a period of time, I think it's important to have repetition. Then it becomes ingrained in the brain.
What do women want to know? That their relationship is secure! What do men want to know? That they are the hero!
What do we know about commitment? So this class was more of a reminder for me than anything. I know I'm already committed, but how much - that is something I forget all to easily. That night I was reminded that when I said "I do" to Ace, I meant, I will be there through thick AND thin. For better AND worse. For rich AND poor. It's so easy to say, I just want a thick, better, rich marriage. But that's just not life. We also did a little recap on some flow chart stuff that I haven't seen in a few years. We start out with attraction, move to time together, then to attachment, then to commitment and onto marriage. Of course a lot of relationships get stuck in the attachment/commitment phases and sort of go around in circles there.
Communication and having fights. First of all, for whatever reason there is a myth or idea out there that being angry and having arguments is a bad thing. IT'S NOT! Now, I recognize that not everyone is as confrontational as I am. SHOCK! But still, we need to learn how to fight in a healthy way. Or even how to have a discussion. One of the items brought up this last week was when women ask men a question and there is always a pause. Our instructor told us - men need about 1.5 minute to process their answer. That's why they usually say, "I don't know" when we ask them something right away. Their pause doesn't mean they don't care or aren't paying attention. It simply means they need a little bit of time to think of an answer.
The Floor Technique. Have you ever heard of this? I have several years ago and it's a very challenging tool for me to use. It forces you to slow down. It forces you to abandon any thoughts or ideas you have while the other person is talking and really listen to what they are saying. What a concept, huh? It's HARD!!
After all of it I have realized just how much like an infant I am. At least in marriage. Yes, I learned a LOT from my first marriage. But there is still so much to learn in this one. It's a new person. We are a unit. ONE FLESH. I have never been that with anyone else. And this is to be taken very seriously. It takes lots of work and effort. Thankfully, Ace is patient and has openly committed himself to me and to our marriage. And while you may think that happens when you get married - it does. But you have to do it over and over again with every trial you face together as a couple.
K. That's it for now.
What is marriage? One of the first assignments we were given was to really analyze and express our expectations of the marriage we are in. Oddly enough, we did not have the same expectations. SHOCKER! (you might sense some sarcasm on occasion) So yeah, his expectation of marriage was completely different than my own. SO we listed the major stuff out on paper and described in detail exactly what each trait meant. Then in our sessions we talked through every expectation and asked the other person if they felt it was possible to meet that. It took 3 sessions to get through, but in the end was a great exercise. In our class, the first night we were reminded that the mindset we both have to be in, in order to learn, is negotiation and acceptance. We have to ask ourselves, "What is our purpose as a couple?" It sparked a lot of great discussion and was really nice to just hear what the other spouse is thinking/feeling about our marriage.
What are the differences between men and women? Other than the obvious. Now - this area really rocks my mind and seriously opened up HUGE avenues of understanding for me. I felt like a thousand light bulbs went off all at once. It was great. I'm going to try and breakdown all the stuff I learned in each medium.
Class: Men - they report. They compete with each other. They long for independence and enjoy a struggle. They are very guarded with each other. They want to make sure that THEY are the ones making a decision. What can they do differently? LISTEN in a different way to what women are saying. Women - they repore. We connect. We ask for a consensus and always want to know what others are doing. What can we do differently? We can talk to men in a better way - BE SPECIFIC! And also understand that most men understand logic - not emotions.
I love this stat: Women use 35,000 words a day. Men use 3,500. HA!
Books: So for 3 weeks I begged Ace to read the book Wild At Heart. I think I posted a note about it before, but I will mention it again here. This book is awesome. Along with the basic understanding that men just flat out don't communicate like women. And society in general is trying to force men to communicate like women. Well I am not going to do that anymore! I am going to learn my husbands language and as our instructor says in class - Become the expert on your spouse!! I know that a lot of this stuff is basic, but yet we don't take it into practice. Ok. So the other book that was good for us was From Anger to Intimacy. Right now we are reading Saving Your Second Marriage Before (or during!) It Begins. A lot of the books stress the same points over and over again but when your marriage has been in trouble for a period of time, I think it's important to have repetition. Then it becomes ingrained in the brain.
What do women want to know? That their relationship is secure! What do men want to know? That they are the hero!
What do we know about commitment? So this class was more of a reminder for me than anything. I know I'm already committed, but how much - that is something I forget all to easily. That night I was reminded that when I said "I do" to Ace, I meant, I will be there through thick AND thin. For better AND worse. For rich AND poor. It's so easy to say, I just want a thick, better, rich marriage. But that's just not life. We also did a little recap on some flow chart stuff that I haven't seen in a few years. We start out with attraction, move to time together, then to attachment, then to commitment and onto marriage. Of course a lot of relationships get stuck in the attachment/commitment phases and sort of go around in circles there.
Communication and having fights. First of all, for whatever reason there is a myth or idea out there that being angry and having arguments is a bad thing. IT'S NOT! Now, I recognize that not everyone is as confrontational as I am. SHOCK! But still, we need to learn how to fight in a healthy way. Or even how to have a discussion. One of the items brought up this last week was when women ask men a question and there is always a pause. Our instructor told us - men need about 1.5 minute to process their answer. That's why they usually say, "I don't know" when we ask them something right away. Their pause doesn't mean they don't care or aren't paying attention. It simply means they need a little bit of time to think of an answer.
The Floor Technique. Have you ever heard of this? I have several years ago and it's a very challenging tool for me to use. It forces you to slow down. It forces you to abandon any thoughts or ideas you have while the other person is talking and really listen to what they are saying. What a concept, huh? It's HARD!!
After all of it I have realized just how much like an infant I am. At least in marriage. Yes, I learned a LOT from my first marriage. But there is still so much to learn in this one. It's a new person. We are a unit. ONE FLESH. I have never been that with anyone else. And this is to be taken very seriously. It takes lots of work and effort. Thankfully, Ace is patient and has openly committed himself to me and to our marriage. And while you may think that happens when you get married - it does. But you have to do it over and over again with every trial you face together as a couple.
K. That's it for now.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Ah... the sweet stench of cow poo
Yep. That's what you smell here right before it snows. About 1 day prior, in fact. Ugh. The other morning it was dumping snow all over the place and all the weather people were like, "Yes, so this will continue through the morning and die off early afternoon." NOT. It snowed all day. Thankfully, our ground is still too warm for anything to stick so it all melted and turned to slush.
Ok. Update from last time. Our anniversary was last night. Ace and I exchanged gifts. I gave him two new photos for his desk. Both of me and the squirt. He made me a special poem that he put on one of our wedding pictures. SOOOOOOOO beautiful. I'll see if I can post. Anyways, CC came over to watch the kid while we went to dinner. No bowling. We'll have to do that another time. Unfortunately, our din din wasn't all that great. Which is alright because we can do something nice and better another time. But our time together was great and that's all that counts. YAY!
Last weekend was fun. Saturday we went to the birthday party. The squirt had a BLAST and was all huggy with the other kids. It was so great. I couldn't stop smiling. Afterward we went to the pumpkin patch where he ate a 1/4 lb corn dog!! I couldn't believe it. We picked out our pumpkins and took some pictures and made some kiddy crafts. And what amazing weather! It was literally the perfect day. Then on Sunday Ace and I did laundry, cleaned and just hung out. It was great.
This weekend has been uneventful. Saturday we took the squirt to KP for his annual flu shot. Thankfully, times have evolved and he got to do this nose mist thing. Whew. Afterward we headed to the park. Fed the ducks and seagulls lots of stale bread and then went to the playground for a bit. The library is within walking distance from the park so we went over there and got some new books and a couple kiddo movies. In the evenings Ace and I have watched a couple movies. Friday night it was Gran Torino and last night it was Away We Go. Both were pretty good. The last couple movies before were kinda lame. OH! And I got new tires on the car yesterday. We are slowly getting ready for our ROAD TRIP!! Today was church and the sermon was good. A little hard to get into, but still good.
K. Books posts to come shortly. Along with other stuff.
Ok. Update from last time. Our anniversary was last night. Ace and I exchanged gifts. I gave him two new photos for his desk. Both of me and the squirt. He made me a special poem that he put on one of our wedding pictures. SOOOOOOOO beautiful. I'll see if I can post. Anyways, CC came over to watch the kid while we went to dinner. No bowling. We'll have to do that another time. Unfortunately, our din din wasn't all that great. Which is alright because we can do something nice and better another time. But our time together was great and that's all that counts. YAY!
Last weekend was fun. Saturday we went to the birthday party. The squirt had a BLAST and was all huggy with the other kids. It was so great. I couldn't stop smiling. Afterward we went to the pumpkin patch where he ate a 1/4 lb corn dog!! I couldn't believe it. We picked out our pumpkins and took some pictures and made some kiddy crafts. And what amazing weather! It was literally the perfect day. Then on Sunday Ace and I did laundry, cleaned and just hung out. It was great.
This weekend has been uneventful. Saturday we took the squirt to KP for his annual flu shot. Thankfully, times have evolved and he got to do this nose mist thing. Whew. Afterward we headed to the park. Fed the ducks and seagulls lots of stale bread and then went to the playground for a bit. The library is within walking distance from the park so we went over there and got some new books and a couple kiddo movies. In the evenings Ace and I have watched a couple movies. Friday night it was Gran Torino and last night it was Away We Go. Both were pretty good. The last couple movies before were kinda lame. OH! And I got new tires on the car yesterday. We are slowly getting ready for our ROAD TRIP!! Today was church and the sermon was good. A little hard to get into, but still good.
K. Books posts to come shortly. Along with other stuff.
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