Days go by...

So, my bible verse for this week took me to this wonderful chapter....a chapter I definitely needed this week:

Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness.
Surely my soul remembers
And is bowed down within me.
This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I have hope in Him."
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.
It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the LORD.
It is good for a man that he should bear
The yoke in his youth.
Let him sit alone and be silent
Since He has laid it on him.
Let him put his mouth in the dust,
Perhaps there is hope.
~Lamentations 3: 22-29

Incidentally my verses for memorizing are 22 and 23....I havent really gotten them down pat yet, but that's ok...I'm getting there :-) I bought this ADORABLE business card holder from the "Real Simple" product line at Target, and it holds my memory verses perfectly. Half the battle is having a cute carrying case for these babies. ;-) Yes, I have priorities. I am a well accessorized Christian.

In other news, this week has just GONE. I dont even know what happened to it!! Time just flies and I wake up one day and its Friday and I wonder just what I accomplished.....well, if you must know: coffee dates with girl friends, over due chats with dear friends on the phone, surprise birthday parties, army "mandatory" functions and the decisions to read The Hobbit again after years and years. I think that about sums it up. ;-)


Last night was the army function which I spent talking to one of Brett's fellow platoon leaders-he's a really cool guy who's started coming to church with us ( which is awesome!)-he was born in India although totally brought up in the states. And if you've seen the movie The Namesake ( or read the book for that matter) he says that's basically his life. So, interesting. ( and if you HAVEN'T seen this movie or read the book...DO IT. They're good.) Anyway, so back to our evening at the army function. He's a cool guy and I found out he's actually in a BOOK CLUB! Which, as well all know, my secret desire is to be in a book club...so I asked him if I could join. I'm really hoping he follows through with his promise because it sounds like a very interesting group. Basically, there goal is to read books about the "un-sung hero's of war"... stories of small battles, men changed by war and battle but who were not necessarily generals or players in major battles. Sounds cool. And definitely not something I would necessarily get involved in on my own....

Today is my day off, and it turned out Brett and I BOTH got to sleep in, since we ( by powers of amazing persuasion and the grace of God...) were able to convince his CO ( commanding officer) to have a late call of 0900 when we were having dinner with him last night!! It was fun to listen to Brett call up his men and tell them the good news...you could just HEAR the happiness. I think the convincing factor was the CO got a call from his three year old daughter while we were at dinner and even for a NONfamily guy like him, you could tell he hadnt spent time with her ( as he said, "in two days") and even he was starting to feel bad.
Anyway, it was a miracle and Brett and I got to get up when the SUN was already up!!! YAY!
Of course, this means I'm now totally running late....gotta run!

blah-de-blah blah

I'm tired. I have a crick in my neck and my shins hurt from running on the treadmill, like four days ago. ( ok, it was just two).

Anyway, even though its evident that I am getting old and crabby-I did have a good weekend in which on Saturday I successfully completed my first meat loaf meal and therefore celebrated Chuck's 21st birthday in style. Brett and I also re-created ( against our will) our college days by going out for drinks at TEN PM!!!! with two of his work mates. Yes, you read correctly, we LEFT the HOUSE at TEN on Friday night!!! It was awful. That's usually when we're going to bed. But, we somehow managed to have fun anyway. ;-)
And then, today, after church we sat around in an IHOP for TWO HOURS waiting for food. I nearly died of hunger.
Anyway, I complain about all of this just to tell you that I feel old sometimes. There was definitely a time in my life when I probably ( I cant actually remember) would have taken all of this in strides and not complained ( loudly) about it.
AHAHAHAHAH!
Who am I kidding!?
I've always been like this.
It's part of my charm. I'm a complainer.

Right now I'm waiting for Brett to get home from getting his hair cut. I'm wishing that I had gone with him, because its taking a really long time.

EDIT:

Today I deleted blog links over in my "I Read..." section. Not because I didnt love the people I had linked there, but mostly because some of them hadnt blogged since 2007 ( or more)...so I deleted you. That's just how tough I am. hehe
Of course, that doesnt mean you couldnt, saaaaay, post something today and I'd TOTALLY put you back on the list. ;-)

Now, I'm off to work out and listen to This American Life. I'm just that cool.

my memory verse for this week...

So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ( Isaiah 41:10)

I can't help but be encouraged by this...for truly when does a day go by that we don't Fear something? There is always something that makes me "anxiously look about" ( which is the New American Standard Version's way of saying "dismayed") ....and it is ALWAYS necessary for me to get a reminder that Jesus is upholding me with his very hands, for I am His little girl.
There is no place I'd rather be.

P.S. Next week's verse is the easiest one yet! But, it's also jam packed full of goodness:

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me ( Philippines 4:13)

creature of habit.

So, a few months I started drinking soy milk in my lattes....it added this nice nutty flavor without being super sweet...plus it was good for me, right? Anyway, last week I mentioned this to Cindy when we were meeting for coffee and she was like, "noooo...it is actually BAD for you!" and then started to list all the HORRIBLE side affects that soy can have on your body. So, this past week I "tried to quit" but i gotta admit to you right now that I'm drinking a soy latte with white chocolate right now.
I just tastes so GOOOOOD. meeeeh! Can someone tell me once and for all if I'm really doing a number on my body right now? Because I suppose if someone other than the internet ( and Cindy..hahah!) can tell me that its bad than MAYBE I'd stop...maybe. Let's face it. I'm not very good at quitting things once I get started. ;-) .....so its lucky I dont really drink much and I dont smoke at all...and I only have vices like soy milk and project runway.


This week has been weird. Brett and I haven't had particularly lots of time together, various obligations have kept us apart until 10 pm the past two nights-yet, I've found it oddly satisfying that wherever I am without Brett, or whatever I'm doing waiting for him to get home I think about him and can't help but smile and delight in the idea that I will get to talk to him soon ( ish). And that's a blessing...at least he's been home which isn't always the case. *sigh* Anyway, he's my favorite person and just about the only person I care to tell about the events of my day....and if that means if I have to wait until 10pm to do it. Fine. I'll learn to deal eventually. ;-)

Oh! Forgot to mention Definitely, Maybe NOT a good chick flick...I mean, I appreciate that the writers were probably trying to add some sort of "level of reality" to the movie which I am guessing they thought was a good idea...but...HAHAHA...I gotta laugh, since WHEN has reality been something I want to watch ( unless its reality tv which is totally different)!?! If I'm going to pay$ 7.50 to be entertained I'd like for my romantic comedy to be wrapped up all pretty like, with the ending I want, thankyouverymuch.
So that was a bust.

But, at least I got to hang out with Katie and Edie, right? That was a bonus. :-)


Today is my day off, just in case you were wondering what I was doing blogging while drinking a latte...I'm NOT on the job and I DID pay for this drink. I'm at Forza's in Du Pont...I find that if I want to sit with my laptop and bible and have uninterrupted time-than its best to do it where I dont know pretty much EVERY SINGLE person that comes in the door. Anyway, today I'm meeting up with Cindy again-which I try to do once a week-and look forward to for days. And then I'm going to the commissary to buy the ingredients for Chuck's Birthday Request Dinner...he's asked for meat loaf and mashed potatoes and biscuits.....and we're having TEN people for the dinner. I gotta tell you, I'm a tad apprehensive about this meal. You see, besides "party food" I havent prepared a meal for more than EIGHT people ( that's how many chairs we have at our table) and...here's the kicker....I have NEVER even TASTED meat loaf, much less MADE IT. The very idea of it grosses me out. hahaha...so there's the nice little mess I've gotten myself in for this week! Meh!

Anyway, so today is me trying to figure out how the heck to pull off this meal. Which brings me to my interesting oint of the day:

It turns out that people dont like a grumpy giver. You see, I've started to realize that when my meal doesnt turn out perfectly, or how I thought it would, I will feel very much like pouting. Which I then do. And I'm starting to see ( duh!) that people don't REALLY care so much if the food's good...but they DO care if they have to contend with a sour chief. So, I'm trying to be happier even when things don't turn out just the way I want. ;-) Eh. After I just read that last paragraph to myself I thought about how all you sweet readers are probably shaking your head at me right now...since this is a very OBVIOUS lesson. Ah well, what's new? Abigail is always having to learn valuable yet simple lessons. :-) That's just how i roll.

tickled

So, first of all...before I forget go to this link here and comment on this picture to help my father win a $25,000 trip to ANYWHERE in the world!!! COME ON! How awesome is that?!

Next of all, I havent blogged in a few days, mostly because our internet connection ( that we steal) isnt working very well. BOO and also because, there really hasnt been too much going on...

Last night Brett and I spent an extra long amount of time discussing the possible job changes that the army may be giving him in the next few months...its crazy when you look at your life and realize that OTHER PEOPLE have control over what you do day in and day out...luckily Brett and I know that while "army" may think they have the reigns over Brett's life, we know better...God'll totally sort it all out! But, you can be praying for Brett and his future "career moves", you see, Brett will be promoted to CAPTAIN probably no later than June. On one hand this is cool because I'll get to say that I'm a captain's wife...and who hasnt wanted to do that?! And its cool because we'll get a raise, and who doesnt like money? Buuuut, its uncool because it'll probably mean the end of Brett's time as a platoon leader-which he has loved. And, according to him, it means that people start "noticing you"...which, I dont exactly know what that means...but I'm thinking not nice. So boo.

Last night I also got tickled by something retarded and laughed for a solid fifteen minutes. About minute 7 I started to try and think if I'd inadvertently taken any drugs-but I couldnt think of anything. I guess I just needed a good laugh. Plus crying. I did, however worry, that Brett might think I was crazy. It was a bit weird. even for me.

In other news, its been sunny for four days. IN. A. ROW. This makes me beyond happy. It doesnt make me stop wishing for Spring/Summer...but still, happy nonetheless! :-)


Tonight I'm going to see a girly chick flick with some of my bible study girls *grin*.....and since Brett and I went to the movies this weekend too...that means indepth movie reviews are coming soon! Stay tuned! :-)

just about perfect...

Last night Brett and I threw the perfect party...watching the new Brian Regan stand up DVD with about 15 friends stuffed into our living room eating pizza, guacamole and chips, snickerdoodles and mocha chocolate cake ( mmmmmmm!).....got a text from a friend who'd JUST gotten engaged ( congrats AMY!!!!) which I got to pass around to all the other girls in our bible study-I love technology today that makes news so instantaneous.

Today Brett made breakfast for Chuck and I....I looked up flights to texas ( yay for April!) while he and chuck did their bible study....Brett and I drove to the movies while our new handy-awesome GPS told us how to get there ( Happy Valentine's Day to me!!!!) and we watched Jumper ( which was lame..but, hey, I've been wanting to go to the movies for ages..)...came home to the mail and a V-day card from my sister....the exact same card I sent her ( great minds...).

Now Brett is playing on his Wii and I'm wishing I hadnt eaten half a giant bag of M&Ms plus 3/4 of a bag of sour gummies. Ugg.

I'd say my three day weekend is already turning out really well. :-)

why I hated valentines day and why I love my Papa...

First of all, who doesnt hate Valentine's Day? I mean, I'm married and I find it mildly annoying to be forced by hallmark to spend a day devoted to outward signs of affection....
However, I have reconsidered "outward signs of affection" for this post...


I remember it was the year that Titanic came out because I wanted the soundtrack soooo bad ( don't judge, you KNOW "my heart will go on" was good for like two days...). And I remember clearly being SO excited when Papa surprised me with the CD and some cherry sours for Valentine's Day that year. I can practically taste the Cherry Sours right now.
Anyway, its pretty much a known fact that Papa spoils the girls in his family. In fact, he spoils just about everyone he knows...but, we definitely get the most spoiling. ;-) And Valentine's Day was no exception...

Anyway, yesterday I opened my mail box to find a tiny box with a note written in pencil on a small piece of brown parchment paper attached:

"Sweetie,
Happy Valentine's Day
Love,
Papa

and a very pretty pair of earrings...

But, it was the thought and the note that really got me...It made me miss my Papa...and it made me think about all the Valentine's Days that he gave me little "just because" presents that made me smile and ultimately gave me hope in a holiday for people in relationships...which, up until last year, was never me. In some ways even though I'm now married and have someone to "share this romantic day with"...I look back very fondly to a time when there was no thought of fanfare or big plans or a sense of responsiblity to give your significant other roses or something...but instead I got these special little presents from my father who didnt HAVE to buy into the whole holiday, but instead decided to continue his common theme of spoiling his girls...

So, I think I've changed my mind about Valentine's Day...I'm using it to spoil all the other people that I think deserve some sign of my appreciate and love.... Afterall, EVERY DAY should be about spoiling Brett.... so I think Papa's got it right-he's spoiling ALL the important girls in his life....and I think I'll try to do the same! :-)

feet and their pain of holding me up all day

I quite literally had to sit down...I still have four bags of groceries to unpack but I just COULDNT do it!

You see, today has been crazed. It started late last night when I still couldnt sleep...what's UP with not being able to go to sleep?!! I mean, I'm tired, I'm not even that stressed...what's the dealio?!

annnyway, I'm pretty sure today's badness started with the not sleeping because let me just say, in my 7 months married, today was the worst attitude I've had to date about getting up at 4:30...I mean, it was literally a fight in my mind the WHOLE time I was up reading the bible, praying and writing in my journal.....pretty much means I need another quiet time tonight...
So, after the struggling quiet time with Brett I went back to bed for a measly hour...which turned into 30 minutes because at 6am I got a call from work saying "could you PLEEEEASE go and get us some lids for the coffee cups?!!"
This annoyed me to NO END...since I spent literally ALL DAY yesterday trying to get ahold of Mr. Boss Man to tell him that we were down to 20....10....FIVE lids...and would he please do something about this?! But, no answer.
And here we are EARLY next morning with me driving to Cash N' Carry which is, like, twenty minutes away....someone promote me already, you KNOW it would make life easier for all of us. Blah.

After the early trip to "everything in bulk" store...I spent HOURS at work. And, not that I'm "really" complaining but I had to stay an extra hour until Katy arrived so that Amy wouldnt be "alone" on her third day. I'm not complaining because I suppose its POSSIBLE that we have an insane influx of customers in an hour and her be all on her lonesome to take care of them in a shop she doesnt know wel, and then I'd have felt HORRIBLEl...but STILL....Abigail was TIRED....and....

after work, Abigail didnt even get to go home...nope, off I went to the Commisary where I bought groceries to feed hundreds. Or at least two.
And that brings us to when I dragged all my bags into the house about ten minutes ago and my feet revolved and decided they could NOT carry me any more with out a break and some chocolate.
Yes, chocolate.

the cold that was reborn

So, APPARENTLY my body was like, "hey, we had SO MUCH fun with that last cold...lets do it all again!"

Here's how it went:

Thursday: Sore Throat, feeling of tiredness
Friday: REALLY tired, feelings of possible death, really sore throat
Saturday: Pretty sure already dead. Sore throat + cough
Sunday: Sexy Smokers voice appears with more coughing
Monday: Nose starts to get stopped up, cough works its way into chest
Tuesday: Nose runs like its going all marathon training on me, still coughing
Wednesday: Nose wont stop running, box of tissues connected to hip, buuuuut cough is gone
Thursday: Nose runny but slowly gets better, by the night you'd never have thought I was sick!!! ( YAY!!)

And then we get to today...around 3pm this afternoon my throat started to get all sore and phlemy again and I just feel like getting into my PJs and staying there forever...

WAIT!?! What happened?! Did I catch some elses cold?! can you get the same cold again only after 24 hours of not having it?!!??!

I hate Washington and its rainy cold dampness that makes me a little walking petree dish.

"clean up, clean up, everybody do your share!"

...Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere!"


Ok, was it only at MY church nursery that we sang that song?!

Anyway, I feel like singing that song right about now and then having a WHOLE bunch of maids come through the walls and clean the apartment for me. House work is my LEAST favorite thing to do while I'm sick. strike that. Its my least favorite thing to do period.

Nonetheless it has come to this: its my day off, the house is totally dirty, and the embarrassment of this fact is starting to take its toll. So instead of watching T.V. in my PJs like I would like to, I will be dusting vacuuming and mopping like there is no tomorrow ( actually, if there was no tomorrow I totally wouldn't clean at all. This would be the time for God to give me a little heads up about the end times....)


I must now leave this post, because my nose is in need of a tissue and their still in the bedroom...gotta run. hahaha! get it?! "run" like my nose!?! hahahaha!
Ok. no. nevermind.

snot and dreams of sun

basically this ( writing this post) will be the second to last thing I do before I get into bed and stay there for as long as it takes ( to feel better). the last thing is I'm going to wash the dishes from last night that did NOT magically get done in the middle of the night by nice elves. ( why doesnt that happen in real life?!)

Today I decided to wear "other" shoes to work ( as in not my plastic nurse shoes) because I wanted to look "cute" well...stuuupid moooove. Basically even though I was wearing "sporty" type shoes my feet where aching after about an hour. At least I know the plastic work shoes are worth the ugliness. However, today is my favorite working day...I have all sorts of regulars that come in on just tuesdays and I enjoy seeing them and chatting with them. Also talked to a lady who has come in before who just found out the sex of her baby ( the one in her tummy...it would be weird otherwise) I remember her from the last time she came in-although it was several months ago-because she was SO EXCITED about being pregnant. She found ways to drop it into conversation, because she wasnt even showing at that point. Luckily she now looks well and truly pregnant and we were able to discuss baby names for ten minutes and then she promised to bring "Xavier James" in to meet me when he was born in June. Totally cute. Its cute when people are so obviously excited about something.

Last night I made gumbo. And biscuits. And Wes came over and we played the Wii. I've decided Wii Boxing is actually quite the work out. My words were, "Wow! This is like kick boxing class without the kicking!" ...ummm....yeah that would make it BOXING. DUH Abigail!! hahahaha!

So now I'm off to bed with my box of tissues ( for my runny nose) . And the third and last season of Veronica Mars. Ahhhhh...

stupid internet.

I wrote a totally awesome post about my weekend and then I realized the internet wasnt working and i lost the whole thing before I could catch it. boo.

So, instead here's the short version.
This weekend I cooked and I entertained, I attended parties and I cooked some more...I mingled, I chatted, I laughed and I cheered ( go giants! That fourth quarter was AWESOME!!), and I did all of that while feeling not particularly good...in fact, every single step I felt like, hey, this might just be my last...but God was so incredibly gracious and helped me through all of my socializing and my preparations...and I was reminded that, yes, hospitality IS often something one is Called to do...and therefore why should I think I must do it all in my own strength?! ummm....noooo...in fact, it would be BAD if I DID try to do it all in my own abilities and powers....so ask for Help in ALL situations. lesson learned. weekend gotten through....cold still going strong.
the end.

sick work.

I dont feel good. In fact, all minor activities that I have to do this weekend seem to be the most intimidatingly huge things ever. Work for five hours. noooo!
Go to grocery store. noooooo!
Make Soup for Souper Bowl Sunday. Noooooooooo!

Seriously, instead I just want to go to sleep for like three hours. Maybe more. Maybe nine. Maybe twelve. Whatever.

Oh, but have I mentioned how happy I am that Brett's home?! I dont care how much my throat hurts-he makes me feel better.

cancel

So, I set my alarm, got up and made one phonecall and two texts and went right back to bed. I basically cancelled on everyone that I had plans with today- in one fell swoop. But, it was totally called for since I was pretty much up until 3 last night and then awaked again at 5 ( which is the actual time when Brett walked through the door. poor boy)...and when I awoke this morning I had a nasty feeling in my throat I just feel uggy.

BUT, it was all made totally bareable ( if not grand) by the fact that I got to hang out with Brett this morning!!! YAY!!! He got to open his birthday presents, eat lunch and then played with his birthday presents all before having to go back to work at 2pm...the fact that HE had such a nice morning pretty much made my whole day. I'm SO GLAD he's home!!!!

The point however, is that now I'm left with nothing really to do...sooooOOooo...what now?! Today should be SORTA productive, right? ;-)

midnight.

Well, its a blessing I refuse to watch T.V. and that I realized a long time ago that its not good for me to watch the news... it seems that there was a big avalanche on the pass that Brett's company was driving through on their way back to Fort Lewis this evening... fortunately it missed them ( by a very close margin apparently.)... but there were some seriously scared wives. I was not one of them. I was happily ( well that's a bit of an overstatement) passing my waiting time talking on the phone with Carmi and making Brett's birthday strawberry cake truffles... totally oblivious to any danger.
I was glad that I have been able to talk to Brett several times over these last nine hours that he's been trying to get home-mostly because I have been able to calm the fears of other wives who couldn't get ahold of their husbands for whatever reason.... and this is why we have FRG! ( for those nonmilitary people, FRG stands for Family Readiness Group... and its basically made up of the wives of the service men-meeting together once a month...I confess I have a pretty bad attitude about the group because their meetings take up my valuable time with Brett...and when the guys aren't deployed I could see no reason for us meeting at all... but I take it ALL BACK...I see now the importance of such connections.

Annnnyway, I should have KNOWN something bad was going on-because I've been praying a lot harder this time around then I did the last time brett was out on the field. And it looks like prayers have been answered, while its already midnight and they are still far from being home they ARE still safe...thank goodness.

So, since I've got this time waiting for Brett...and since I definitely can't sleep ( among other things-I have had a considerable amount of sugar this evening...) I will account some of the words of wisdom that I've been given over the past few days so that I wont forget and so you can share them with me...

Someone recently sent me an email talking about how easy it is misunderstand, to be hurt and hurt forever by people around you....this particularly struck me:

If we could just see beneath, we could work to mend the wounds, to rebuild relationships, to set people free, or at the very least, to understand and extend them some grace. Instead we stumble around, unintentionally sparking off people, annoying them, hurting them, misunderstanding them, missing them. Give me eyes that can see and give other people eyes so that they can see me.

I loved that. I'm adding that to my prayers...to have eyes to see people and for people to see me....

I was also given this really good analogy of God working in our Spiritual lives...it is like building muscle. When you do weight training you are suppose to wait a day or so between training sessions for your muscles to rest and rebuild. In fact, it is during that restoring stage that the muscles rebuild themselves bigger and stronger than they were before-thus how one builds muscle in the first place...the point being the "muscle growing" happens during the rest period.... Sometimes when things seem to slow down, trials seem to be in the past and the present day doesnt seem particularly difficult ( or at least something we handle) we start to doubt whether God is still working in our lives-we start to think maybe we're getting lazy or something. No, these are just times of muscle building...times when God reinforces the lessons of yesterday, writes the words of the past pain upon our hearts so that it cannot be erased. It is the days of rest that are actually be filled with the most growing....

Eh. Unfortunately that analogy was told to me a lot better at the time...I should have written it down earlier...or at least when my brain was more awake. ( Hope Carmi will forgive me for butchering her words so badly.)

lost in a bad mood

I want a GPS for my car soooo bad. I get lost all the time. Today it was when my google maps directions failed me YET AGAIN trying to find some ladies house to drop off cookies for Brett's company. Now, I have cookies in my car and no soldiers to give them to, PLUS I just found out that the pass is closed so Brett is YET AGAIN delayed in coming home-apparently now it could be as late as 6pm before they get back to post ( and then it'll be several more hours before they can leave) and that's assuming that they're able to leave by 1pm.

I'm sad. And now I have to go to work and be "perky" for five hours.

a "wintry mix"

Every time I hear that phrase I feel like its some sort of trail mix that you make with chex cereal. Someone should really get on that.
Anyway, it is currently alternating between rain and snow outside. Its nasty. But my apartment is all toasty warm. mmmmm.

I just finished wrapping Brett's birthday presents. I mean, I realize he doesnt get home till tomorrow night, but I COULDNT WAIT ANY LONGER! I love birthdays so much! I just killed me that Brett was out on the field for his birthday...meeeh. But, he'll be home soon and then he can open up his presents and the cards that he's received. :-) Yay! And I'm making his strawberry truffles that he requested this evening/tomorrow.

I'm also making cookies for the soldiers for when they get home tomorrow...

In other news, one of my little ladies who usually comes in on Tuesdays for coffee has been really sick and has had to miss her coffee dates for the past month or so-but she was finally able to make it today. As I was leaning over the counter to hug her and tell her how happy I was that she was doing better-I had to remember just how lucky I am. My job has given me the opportunity to meet some of the most lovely people.

Today, I was also able to see my coffee house connections work for the good of someone else-Amy is going to start working there too! Yay! I think she'll be a good fit, and hopefully it'll mean I get to hang out with her even more. :-) unfortunately ( for her and me) we share similar life trials since Brett and her boyfriend Luke are both Platoon Leaders in the same unit ( different companies) and I feel for her as she starts to face some of the very same horrible-nesses that *I've* been facing for the past six months...at least she can now drown her sorrows in coffee like I do. ;-)

no sleep and snow.

This morning I rolled out of bed after only a few hours sleep-since sleep has decided to be my not-so-nice friend of late and has alluded me at all turns...

...and I found myself outside in a little mini winter wonderland. of course, here in washington everyone freaked out and were like, "whooooa its snowing...shut down everything!"-except for coffee houses of course. Which is how I ended up watching the snow come down at work and wishing I was in bed.

Today's been kinda...blah. I think its the sleep thing. Its been about a solid week now that I haven't been able to get to sleep properly. I would say it was because the side of the bed that usually hosts Brett is currently hosting his laptop ( with Felicity season 1) ...but the lack of sleep started before he left, so he's not to blame.
Of course, that doesnt mean that I'm not REALLY REALLY wishing he'd come home, like, right now. I want my person back. Brett is definitely my person.

I did, however, fall asleep at 4pm this afternoon and just woke up at 5pm feeling all discombobulated and guilty ( now I really wont be able to sleep tonight!)

Today I bought Brett's birthday present. It was fun. The guy at GameStop was so nerdy and excited about my purchase that *I* got excited too. I told him he didnt need to put the box in a bag and he was like, "No! What if you got mugged!?!"
I told him I figured that I'd make it the 3 feet to my car. Anyway, I like nerdy/geeky guys a lot. Probably why I married one. Even though I make fun of him for it-it makes my life a lot more interesting. :-) Incidentally, I think Brett's going to like his present....

I'm so tired.

I just got home from Bible Study and its 9:30....I think the major reason for my tiredness, however, is that I am fairly use to having time to myself throughout the day to "recharge" and, ummm, in the last twenty-four hours minus the 8 hours I slept I have had one and a half hours by myself. hahahaha! Yeah, I'm tired.
But, it was fun and totally worth it...and it once again proves that I loooove people and I looooove being around them.

Tonight's bible study was the second in a two-parter on the Spiritual Gifts...at the end everyone went around and named the spiritual gifts that they thought everyone had. I learned that apparently I am an enigma. I had the MOST spiritual gifts listed for me and I'm pretty sure its not that its because I'm gifted-its more that people just DONT know what to think of me.
Here's what they said:
serving, leading, knowledge, pastor, giving, prophecy, mercy, teaching, kindness, mercy

I think I was most surprised about the pastor...and...the kindness. I do not consider myself particularly kind. If anything I'm the opposite. Don't get me wrong, I think I'm nice but probably only in the most typical sense and definitely not "spiritually" speaking. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed that I had so many listed-it makes it hard for me to focus on any one of them and hopefully become more knowledgeable and grow with in them. Anyway, feel free to let me know what YOU think. I mean, hey, you're my blog readers-you know me pretty well. ;-)

Anyway, I'm going to bed. Now.

the good way.

So, I've been all busy the past two days. And its been extra girlie which adds an element that I just havent been use to as of late, and its definitely been a nice change.

Not long ago Brett and I had a really good chat about why I didnt really have many ( if any) girl friends here in Washington ( awwwww...) and i realized that it was going to require a mental change for me to make the "switch" from having a constant household full of guys to a constant household full of girls. Now, granted its easier when brett's out on the field to have a house full of girls-but ultimately, I just need to start realizing that I'm not JUST called to a life of feeding and counseling boys.. but that I can ALSO feed and hang out with girls too!! imagine that! ;-) Which means, that sometimes I cant always worry about whether Brett's tired, and whether he'll mind having girls ( because girls tend to be loud and giggly) around.... because, he can DEFINITELY handle it. I mean, he can handle the army...why not a bunch of girls?! hehehe.

Anyway, so until he gets back I've just gone ahead with my plan of being friends with girls full force. And so, for the past two days its be all girls, all the time...accept for Chuck who was also there...but Chuck is always, always there so thats ok....and its been fun! Last night it was long talks and more cupcakes ( in the form of homemade chai cupcakes...mmmm!) and the first season of Gilmore Girls...and today it consisted of an ENTIRE row of girls at church ( that's right...even MORE of my friends are coming to our church now! Its wonderful!) and then a lunch of pasta and then...of course....more Gilmore Girls. It turns out-it doesnt take much for me to get back into the swing of girl time. :-)

However, I have realized in the busy-ness of this weekend that I must also remember to take the time to listen to God, listen to His leading...in church today I was just sitting there and all of a sudden I was bombarded with all SORTS of things that I felt like I needed to bring up in conversations, people I needed to be praying for more specifically...it was like God was like, "YES! She's finally sitting still and being quiet-QUICK! Let me talk to her!!!"

I dont want to be like that. I do want to be a Sunday Listener. I want to be a God Listener all week long. Because, these new girl friends...and hey, even the old boy friends ( because I dont plan on getting rid of them.) deserve for me to be a friend that listens to what God's saying...especially since I know that's the kind of friends that I desire to have...friends that will call me on things that i need to work on/watch out for, friends that will encourage me when I need some praise...and friends that know exactly which I need ( that can be difficult to gauge sometimes).
So, here's to me listening more...

obsessive ( not compulsive).

Basically I'm like a small child in many ways. For instance, I'm pretty much as equally obsessed withDavid Sederis as many tweens are with High School Musical. Today, I googled him and then watched all sorts of youtube interviews with him.... yesterday I downloaded his book "Me talk Pretty One Day" and have been listening to it while running on the treadmill ( this basically came after I'd exhausted all my "This American Life" free archives. He's really funny. In a dry sort of way. I totally secretly wish I could be that funny.

Also, for much of this week I have been craving cupcakes like they were going out of style ( which they are SO not) in fact, I talked up cupcakes so much that my new-friend-Amy pretty much shut me up by agreeing to go to Hello Cupcake with me this evening. I bought four cupcakes. I ate two. It was glorious.

Anyway, this week is FINALLY over. Its been a weird week. I've felt really really busy, but I've hardly gone anywhere except work. So who knows what I've actually been "accomplishing". I do know that my toilets and bathtubs are in great need of cleaning. Side note: What is WITH the mold?! I can NOT seem to control the mold issue in our bathtubs! And do not comment and tell me I need to start cleaning them everyday or something..because, that's not an option...instead I'd like for you to give me a PRACTICAL solution. I'm pretty much obsessed with how horrible it is....I think about it all the time...I saw an advertisement for "bathroom refurbishing" on TV and I actually thought about it for a second, as though ripping out the bathtub is our only option left ( that's how I feel )....Anyway, I'll probably end up killing myself with bathroom cleaning products ( the fumes)...Brett will come back from the field next week to find my lifeless body sprawled in the bathtub, hand raised with scrub brush in hand....

I havent been able to sleep lately. I lay in bed and think of all the things that need to be done. Things I havent done...things like cleaning the bathtubs.
Anyway, last night was the WORST ( probably because Brett wasnt there)...2:30...its an evil, evil time when no one should be awake. ever. Hopefully, tonight will be a better because tomorrow I'm getting up "early" because Katie and I are going to Dream Dinners...and I know I'm being lazy by just linking that-I should go into detail about how COOL of a business idea this is...but I'm tired. ( lack of sleep, remember?) so check it out-and hopefully I'll actually be a better blogger and tell you about it tomorrow after I've actually experiences it first hand...no promises.
.

And that's just how I roll...

Yesterday I ran ( 2 miles...) on the treadmill whilest listening to This American Life on my ipod. I wonder if I'm the first person to find an NPR talk show as good workout sound?!

I then went and had icecream ( that's what you do after working out. duh.) with Amy who I met last week at Thurs. Bible Study and who is a really cool chick who also has a blog, likes to swim, wrote letters to a guy in ranger school and now plans on marrying him....these are just a few of the things we have in common. Another would be sarcasm. So, I think I'll keep her around. hahaha.

I took a "back way" to get home from the icecream only to find myself in the middle of nowhere...I almost freaked out but I just followed my "direction heart" and it lead me home. Sense of direction is a Spiritual gift...it should be added to the list.

I found Brett asleep on the couch when I got home. I woke him up and told him all about my day while he was still in the discombobulated state that naps never fail to put you in....so since I told him about the tragedy of our wedding video while he was still in discombobulated land I was able to discuss it in full without interruption for like ten minutes.........this is not to say that even when Brett is completely non-discombobulated he doesnt let me go all monologue-esque every so often. ;-) Its calming. I then informed him that "Indian food would be a very good idea right now" ( which is exactly the truth when you've worked out and followed that up with a chaser of icecream....indian food is the obvious ending.) and so off we went to Gateway to India..and MMMmmMmMmmm was it goooooooood.

We arrived home to Chuck who was in desperate need of "Wilson consoling" and so Brett made him a sandwich and I listened and so hopefully we ended up calming someone else down too.

And now we're here. At Wednesday. This week is going by soooo fast! Monday was pretty much a non-day ( thanks Martin Luther King! ) and its really set me back! Hopefully, I will accomplish all that needs to be done. As for right now....a quiet time is calling my name....

moving on...

Sooo, I just deleted a post. Sorry about that. Minor ranting....and I've blown my nose and dried my tears and we're moving on to....THIS PAST WEEKEND!!!
That's right, Brett and I had a fabulous time in Long Beach Washington...."home of the longest beach" and "kites"... we pretty much did NOTHING. Our hotel room was on the side of awesomeness....and the beach was cold but gorgeous. All in all a wonderful time was had by all. As in both of us.

So, we're home again and my next major task is to prepare for Brett's Birthday!!! YAAAAY! Brett turns 25 on Saturday. But, before you start freaking out about how that's not time enough to put your bank account in his name in honor of his birth....dont worry, Brett is leaving for "the field" on Thursday and will actually be out of town for his b-day. SOoooOOO, we'll be celebrating the NEXT weekend. I've got Best-Wife-Ever gifts coming his way....ooOOOoooo ;-)

Of course, until then I'll also be all by myself-which has become almost "normal"....however, I'm hoping that now that I'm an "official" bible study leader that my girls will feel obligated to hang out with me-we'll call it "extra credit in Holiness" or something.

your ( washington) resident blogger

So, today I went and got my Washington drivers license. I feel like I've become a traitor to my wonderful state of Texas...until I think of the many good reasons to become a washington resident:
My Texas license is expired and I cant get a new one because I'm out of state ( duh.)
In washington they have a law that if you're in the military or a military spouse you dont have to get your license renewed ( sweet.)
I can now vote for President in a state that doesn't vote republican EVER. SINGLE. TIME.
Oh, and being a texan is a state of MIND, and I dont have to be a resident for that. ;-)

Anyway, I'll be getting my license in the mail in a few short days. I will spare you the story of how I had to drive to the DMV twice in one day...and then leave a third time to hit up an ATM. Believe me it sounds a lot more exciting when I leave out all the details. ;-)

So, I havent blogged in a while, you're right. And I have no really good excuse, except that I've been SO boring of late that even *i* your resident Queen of Boring couldnt make it funny or exciting. I know, amazing.

I *have* watched almost an entire second season of Veronica Mars-so you can remember to ask me about that later. ;-) I have also managed to make a 16 yr-old not like me ( actually it was a long time ago-but apparently 16 year-olds hold grudges. go figure). And I've made a batch of cookies and a batch of Holiday Truffles-both of which I only ate "a few of" in the hopes of loosing a few pounds...this of course hasnt happened yet, but I'm still hopeful. I have drunk massive amounts of water-which, you know, is good for "something"...and "something" being going to the bathroom four times an hour. I have sent said batches of sweets to Brett's co-workers who pretty much needed any sugar rush I could give them since Brett's average working hours this week have been....about 13.5 hours a day....And, other than that, not much has gone on.
Tonight, I'm officially taking over as leader of the girls of the Navigators Thursday night bible study. My first order of business will be to find a nice short concise name for that. ;-)

In other news in case I cant think of anything exciting to tell you tomorrow...here's more exciting Wilson News: Brett has a four day weekend starting tomorrow-and I have a three day weekend starting Saturday. So, we'll be breaking out of town on Saturday to head down to "Long Beach" washington home of the "Windless Kite Festival: Longest running indoor festival in the country"...I know, I know, you're jealous.

hold on

the prius has something wrong with its breaks, our DVD player doesnt work with any universal remotes, we need to sell the truck still, I have a pile of dishes that need to be washed and an even bigger pile of laundry that needs to be put away, I need to go workout before Brett wakes up....

these are the things that I'd like to just put on hold for, like, twwwwwoooo seconds. Because, I mean, Brett took me out on a DATE last night! Like one that I didnt plan! And it was great. We went to this French restaurant I've been dying to go to for forevers. ( and BOY was it gooood) and then he took me on a scavenger hunt in target. I ended up with ice-trays, the sound track to Once ( if you havent seen this movie, go rent it RIGHT NOW.) and a pair of yonga pants. Yup, you could never guess in a million years what they all have in common-but I promise there is something. ;-) Anyway, I just hate how after all that we cant just STAY in happy-go-lucky land. Sometimes I hate being an adult who continually has a list of things that need fixing. Why can't I just go with the flow like sleeping-husband does?! ( speaking of which he's working on some sort of sleep-record, bless his heart-he average sleep for last week was like three hours....and I'm PRAYING he'll stay asleep long enough to put a little dent in his deficit.)

tough-o-la

So, Brett's out on the field again...but that's not much different from "normal" days so....It hardly seems worth mentioning. Instead, lets focus on positives:

My boss has started teaching me how to do coffee art! You know, the fun little pictures in foam on the top of your latte! That's right!!! I've been able to accomplish a leaf on more than one occasion. This is actually more exciting not just on the "learning new life skills" front but on the "my boss things I'm worth teaching tricks of the trade"-Its practically his idea of a promotion. Or something. Hahaha...anyway. I was excited.

Today was my day off and I had coffee with Cindy and then I went to the mall ( woo.) and followed that up with a few hours of watching Veronica Mars. Ooooh maaaaan, I just gotta love myself some teen drama! *sigh* and now I am off to my monthly Officers Wives Coffee ( aka. mixer)...which, is handy to have on a Thursday night when your husband is freezing out in the field somewhere all night long.

Wow. I thought I would have had more to say since I havent spoken to anyone since this morning. Apparently solitude grows on you ( like some sort of disease).

the new snoring

So, I lay in bed for about twenty minutes...and every couple of seconds Brett would twitch. I finally got so worried I got up and googled it to make sure he wasnt having some weird slow-motion seizure. The internet told me he was probably just over-tired. Which, after taking about a mili-second to go over how the fact that its only tuesday and this week has already lasted a life time-I agreed with the internet and decided Brett was not in danger. except from maybe keeping me awake with the twitching. ( "twitching, the new snoring")

Today/tonight was hard. But I've learned a lesson. Of sorts. I need to be BETTER about my days...so that I can be more prepared for whatever the NIGHTS might throw at me. case in point: after getting off work today my emails told me that I had the first season of Veronica Mars waiting for me at the library. ( yessss!) so off I went and then off to the store to do some "baking supplies for soldier-friends heading off to ranger school" shopping and then home again to do a little baking and a LOT of tv watching. I got sooooo lazy that I didnt even work out like I said I was going to ( in my head, I talk to myself...)-which made me rather lazy-cranky feeling by the time Brett got home at 7:30. Then things got all bad. One of the least bad things that happened was that I tripped in a hole in the parking lot outside our apartment and fell. on both my knees. and my hand. and my elbow. ( do not ask how I could have fallen on ALL these body parts at once, I am a modern day marvel.) And this was the thing that sent me over the edge. I was sooo unhappy and sad for the rest of the evening. I mean, SURE a lot of other badish things happened this evening...but it was this silly one that really sent me it the depths of dispair as Anne of Green Gables would say.
My point is, I feel like if I had been a bit more "spiritually awake" for most of my day...than I think I would have handled this evening better. In fact, I know I would have.
And this is where you can use me as an example of why "spiritual armor" is so very very necessary.

Well, I think I'll go try to push in next to my twitching husband who has taken over an entire queensized bed...the army has taught him how to take territory well. ;-)

the new year....

Last night at Bible Study I was a tad overwhelmed that everyone else seemed to have some big lifechanging plans for the new year-and Brett and I pretty much dont have any. But, now that I think about it-I'm cool with that. In fact, it would be kind of nice just to continue on with the changes that took place in 2007...I mean, I'm pretty sure we did enough big stuff in that year to at least last us for a few months into this year, right?! riiiiight???

It does look like I've all of a sudden inherited the leadership of the girls Biblestudy on Thursday night. I really really wasnt expecting that. And for some reason the "catching me off guard" thing has made me super apprehensive about it. I've never just jumped into leading a group like that without some prayer and contemplation going into it first. meeeh....

Oh, Brett just called and he's on his way home from work-I havent even started dinner and I'm still gross from working out. Nothing like a sweaty wife that offers no food. ( actually, come to think of it-Brett probably wouldnt be that bothered by that-only *I* would)...however, I'm going to cut this short to go remedy this now.

Fumes and Films

I'm currently taking a break from cleaning the bathrooms....ummm....I'm one step away from jumping on the organic/no chemical cleaning product bandwagon-because I get sickish feeling pretty much every time I clean. ;-)

So, I'll take a few minutes between toliets and the floors to give you my thoughts on things. haha.

First of all, I am now the owner of a Dilbert Wall Calendar. Not as good as FarSide. But, I was getting down right shaky without having my "dates up on the wall"...so it'll do. It'll do.

Second of all, the other night Brett and I watched Paris, je t'aime....and while we just stumbled upon it at the video store ( if I'd heard of it before then, I promptly forgot.) I totally enjoyed it. Basically it is twenty, five minute short films-each taking place in each of the different sections of Paris, each centered around the theme "love in paris", each directed by a different well-known director-it was a lovely mix of surprising, heart-warming, funny and interesting. It was a surprisingly cleanish movie and I totally recommend if if you'd like something a bit off the beaten trek.

Third of all, National Treasure: Book of Secrets-the secret is...who did Nicolas Cage's hair plugs, and why havent they been fired?! Honestly, there were times during the movie where I would take a break from the ridiculous plot to just sit and ponder the horribleness of his hair. geez! Doesnt he have enough money and clot to just GO BALD already!? The color, the texture...all of it was just as unbelievable as the movies idea of a script.
But, in saying that...the movie was still really fun, and Brett and I laughed quite a bit and Brett waited until after the movie to go on a rant about how movies made with millions of dollars should get someone to show them how to correctly wear an army baret....so that was nice. ;-)

central time

two hours.
It makes alllll the difference in the world. It was two hours that made Brett take a nap in the middle of the day yesterday...and sent us to bed at ten pm totally exhausted. And its two hours difference that has me awake right now at 6am. ugg.
Anyway, Brett's back to work-I sent him off with a kiss. At the time I was forcing myself to go back to sleep but thirty minutes later when my phone buzzed with a text from my mother I was still wide awake, so why force sleep, right?! ( I'm going to be cursing this decision later today).
I go back to work today. I'm actually excited/happy about it. I really do love my job. If only coffee house work was considered a lifelong career...you never know, maybe it can be. ;-)

So, very sad/frustrating news: I went everywhere yesterday looking for my yearly FarSide wall calendar and found that in the three days that have come and gone in 2008 ALL calendar stock has been depleated down to a dozen cat calendars, a hand full of Grey's Anatomy Calendars and a few muscle car calendars thrown in for good measure. That is all that is left. This horrible. I havent gone without my FarSide Calendar since....at least high school. I dont know what it would do to the universe if I didnt get it. And I really dont know what its going to do to the universe if I dont get a calendar up on the wall SOON.
In fact, I joked with Anna on the phone yesterday that the end of the world may be nigh-and while I was kidding at the time, I'm starting to feel really unstable.
Not having birthdays ( Stacy's was going to be added...but who knows how long I can keep that information in my brain-before I'll forget)...important Army-schedules, events I have to attend, my work schedule....all of this....I cant just keep it in my brain....no, no, no, my brain is being used for all sorts of other things. Things like song lyrics and Friends quotes.

Anyway, last chance today. I'm going to try to get to the Tacoma Mall and back ( it opens at 10...I start work at 11am) before work-and if they dont have my calendar than I'm going to have to order it on Amazon, rush deliver it and hope that I can hold up until it arrives.

135 pounds

Thats how much all of our luggage weighted on the way back from "the holidays" in Texas.
Ha! You didn't think I'd go telling you my post-holiday weight did you?! Ha-ha-HA!!! Silly.
Anyway, our luggage weighed a lot and now we're back in our little apartment next to the Puget Sound where all the dreary rain and coldness and the darkess come down once again upon our heads.
However, I'm feeling relatively good at the moment ( of course, I've only been up a few short hours), having already made my to-do list for the next week ( its looooonnng).

I must admit I was down right SHOCKED yesterday when I realized that it was, indeed, our last day in Texas!!! I had only seen my friends from "the old days" once...and I hadnt hugged enough people that I'd planned on hugging...and I hadnt finished the book I was reading ( lets just say that the first two chapters that I read on the plane COMING where really good!) ...and I hadnt had nearly enough time to blog about all the excitment....time, quite literally, got away from me. *sigh*

But, I keep saying to myself that "next time we'll be great"....and I mean it. I'm pretty proud at how Brett and I got through our holidays and by "got through" I mean, had a great time. We have the best families in the world. period.


I really must now head off to start doing the things on my to-do list....Brett is "at court"...since one of his soldiers is "in trouble" and Brett's the highest commanding officer and apparently that is code for "give up one of my days off to spend it with soldier at court"...and therefore I should TRY to be productive while he's gone....( he did, however, look really hot in his Class A uniform when I got up to make him coffee this morning...so there's that.)

I just scanned my to-do list and the only thing on there that looks remotely fun is to go and buy my 2008 calendar so I can put in all the birthdays and holidays for the year....so do you think leaving the bags still packed, the house still dirty and all the christmas decorations still up to run off to target is a good idea??!!!!!

We shall see.

** Oh and also: I'm dedicating this post to Emily who I probably had some of my favorite chats with during the last two weeks, and who I am happy to say will start commenting more often on this blog since she apparently reads it so faithfully.*hint*hint ;-)

"relaxing"

Gone our the days when Christmas holidays = relaxing. But, luckily the relaxing has been replaced by fulfilling...which is also nice...

But, yes, things have been incredibly busy, as Brett and I have negotiated our first Christmas as a "family unit" that must divide its time between two houses ( both alike in dignity) ....I have to admit before we left on this holiday of holidays I was apprehensive that by dividing up our time we would end up not making ANYONE happy...but, we've got gracious families who obviously learned how to share at an early age and for that I am eternally grateful. I know they have all be exceedingly nice to forgive us for all of our "first christmas foibles" .

Of course, all of this has left me with noooo time for blogging:
But, I'd say some of my personal highlights have been:
Getting to have a looooong girlie chat with my Bible Study girls-we had to recap six months of time apart and it was encouraging to see what God has been doing in each of their lives since I left nacogdoches ( it also gave me all the prayer-points I'll need for at least a little while. hehehe)

Singing Christmas Carols with Brett's mom and cousin.
Wrapping presents while Anna and I "gossiped"
Sitting around with my lovely friends from church-discussing our long history together.
Eating. ( period. I've gained like five pounds in a week).
Unwrapping presents with family-the giving of gifts and watching others receive gifts such fun!
Going to church. Bethlehem Mission will always be my home church...for the people there will always be my family. The encouragement of the saints knows no bounds.

The whirl of gaiety

As I knew it would-life has been pretty craaaazy since Brett got home last week. In fact, we havent a had a moment to breathe ( or blog).
Thursday we had the last Navigator's Bible study until the new year-I'm looking forward to seeing what 2008 will bring! Its kinda exciting that while I am new to the navigators ministry, it hadnt really been established in a huge way until the past few months-so I've gotten to see the "beginnings" of what God will hopefully be doing at Fort Lewis.

Friday Brett and I had the other PL's ( platoon leaders) over as well as the family ( wife and daughter) of one of them. We had a grand ol' time playing Scattagories-and the boys were amazing-they didnt talk about work at ALL!

Saturday was spent working, catching up with Chuck and then getting ready for....the Messiah!!! Yay! Brett gave me tickets to the Seattle Symphony's Handel's Messiah and BOY was I excited to go!!! As a little girl my parents would often take me to the Universitys "community wide" Messiah because it usually came around near my birthday and it was kind of a "special" holiday treat. Since then I've always had a special place in my heart for this beautiful music-I use to listen to it full volume on Sunday mornings in Dunedin ( when my residents had been particularly rowdy the night before...I felt that Handel was the best "cure" for a hangover. hahaha) and often when I'm feeling spiritually "low" its a sure thing for lifting my spirits. After all, the Messiah is straight scripture-ALL of the words come directly from the prophets and the new testiment. This year I was really sad that I missed going to the Messiah in Nacogdoches-it just didnt seem like Christmas without it... But, on Saturday I heard it live from the mouths of professionals and it just about made me cry. I had also never heard the entire Messiah in the correct order ( The Nacogdoches Community messiah is greatly condensed and "re-arranged")...and it brought back all kinds of admiration for musical theory.....

Ok, so enough of that, moving on...Sunday, was our church's Christmas program and then we had our Sunday night Bible study's Christmas party ( White Elephant Gifts...it was pretty terrible! hahaha!! I loooove gag gift parties) and I continue to be truly greatful for such a wonderful group of Believers that we get to hang out with and be encouraged by week after week!

And then there was Monday which included me running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to bake cookies and pigs-n-blanket for Brett's Company Christmas Party and for my co-workers...as well as finishing up Christmas shopping and packing...oh, and I also tried to do some "cleaning"...but that kinda failed in a big way.

Yup, I was actually kind of relieved to go to work today because all I had to do was stand there and make coffee for people. In comparison to the craziness of late it was actually NOT work! Besides, one of my customers gave me a little box of chocolates for a Christmas present! How cute is that?!
So, anyway...the next time you'll hear from me I'll be in Nacogdoches continuing with the Christmas party season. Whew!!!
My prayer for you, my dear readers, as well as for myself is that throughout this BUSY time of year that you'll have time to spend with our Wonderful Lord and Saviour who deserves Praise and Thanks for coming to this earth as a baby and then growing up to Die for our sins! Pretty incredible!!!

and THEN what happens?!

So, FYI a healing burn is a lot worse than a "fresh" burn...because a "healing burn" itches like there's no tomorrow....its a good thing its winter and I wear long sleeve and bulky sweaters-making it harder for me to reach the thing or I SWEAR I'd rip my arm off....dont worry, I have refrained from scratching the thing...I'm a good girl.

Brett's home!! I cant tell you how happy this makes me! Of course, those of you who think I've lost all my cool-as-a-cucumer-feminist ways...well, go right ahead and think that. I am still a perfectly self-sufficient women who only cried a little bit and then went about her day when her husband was away...and yet you will not shame me into saying that I'm totally fine about having my husband gone for weeks on end. I'm sorry, its just NOT RIGHT. And no. Life was not as fun when he wasnt here. It just wasnt. So there.

For those of you who dont know...Brett and I will be heading to Nacogdoches, Texas on Tuesday the 18th and we'll be there until the second of Jan. -we're also planning on going to Chris Lewis's wedding on the 29th-though we still havent figured out how we're getting there. So, baring in mind that we will not have a car for two weeks and therefore will be at the mercy of friends and family-we'd love to see anyone who'd like to see us! I can't tell you how excited I am to see all my loverly Texas folks. The North West is just NOT the SAME. ;-)

Apparently its a good 40 degrees warmer in Texas too...so there's that to keep in mind when gauging how excited I am too. hehehe.

It's all very romantic...

I'm listening to Norah Jones ( who DOESNT love her?! Tell me that?!), drinking Cabernet Sauvignon, and to make matters even better the light bulb above me just went out-meaning the lighting is OH SO romantic in here....

The only problem: Still no husband.
I can pretty much think of nothing else. When is he going to get here?!


( he called to say it would be six....that means more like eight.)

The gimp arm.

I think "gimp" is a New Zealand term. I definitely heard it for the first time when I moved there. But, whatever the case. I like the word. And it totally discribes my right arm at the moment.
You see, I went to the doctor today and had them look at my totally awesome burn ( the doctors and nurses were so impressed with it that they brought in a other doctors and PAs to look at it. "Coffee did that?! "
Yes..I know...I'm special.

So, while I was there at the doctors office I requested that they stick me with the tetanus shot as well as the flu shot...and I also told them to go ahead and give them to me in same arm ( I mean, come on...how bad can it really hurt?!) Apparently, that was a BAD idea. My right arm is like totally immoble at the moment. ugg.

But, at least I'm not going to die of infection or the flu any time soon.

In other news, I had a lovely lunch with Cindy. She's Andrew's ( Navigator staff, leads all the bible studies Brett and I attend etc.) wife and I've been just dying to hang out with her one on one for a while. So that was lots of fun. It was interesting to get a very different perspective of Navigators-a really refreshing one to say the least. And I pray I get to spend more time with her in the future.

And now, I'm going to take an asprin or something before my arm falls off.

who am I kidding?!

So, I appreciated everyone's worried comments on last nights blog. And while my first thought was, "oh, its no big deal-It seems to be healing up ok..." my second thought was, "Abigail if you listed all the bad luck you've had with sicknesses this year all in a row it would take up MORE than one page...do you really want to chance that?!"

So, you'll be happy to know that I have a doctors appointment tomorrow to get my burn all check up. And until then I have it all nicely bandaged up safe and sound. Incidently, I am going to ask the doctor to inject any kind of flu shot he wants into my body as well...because, hey, I'm ALL ABOUT trying to finish up 2007 without any more ailments. ;-)

In other news-Only two more days till Brett gets home!!!

What to DO?!

So, as you know...Brett's away. And that's been pretty much awful for a multitude of reasons-but today I'd like to share with you things that I feel need to be documented since he's not here to share them with me:

When Brett's away I pretty much let the house "go"...in fact, he came back early from the field once and has made fun of me ever since for the state of the house when he walked in.

This time, however, I have a reason for my mess. I am FINALLY getting around to documenting our wedding in the form of scrapbooks...this is what the living room looked like when I finished this evening:



The other thing that I feel I should "document through pictures" is really NOT for the faint of heart. You see, at work on Saturday I burned my arm by spilling scalding coffee on it. It turns out it was a pretty considerable burn ( I didnt even cry!!) and hours later I looked down and I had a bubble about an inch and a half wide and an inch high on my arm. It was FREAKY!!!



Of course, that wasnt as freaky as today when it developed a little tiny hole and started to ooz. EWWWWWW!!! And by the end of the day it was looking red and awful.





So I bet you're wondering why I'm sharing this with you?! Well, its pretty much AWFUL not having a boy around to share such gross sadness with. I had NO ONE to complain to about the pain yesterday and no one to show the gross oozing with today. So, I've added another reason for missing Brett to my very long, long list.

I did get to talk to Brett for a few moments this afternoon. He sounded a bit down but he's doing a wonderful job taking care of his men. He told me that he and another platoon leader where going to get together to come up with some points to take to their commander about the low moral among their men. They have all been treated poorly the last few weeks and EVERYONE is down. Hopefully I was able to encourage Brett a little bit in the short time I was able to talk to him, I reminded him that I'm not the only one praying for him. So thanks to everyone that is remembering him and those working with him in their prayers. I know they need it!

Call Me Crazy

So I wanted to make a phone call...but my phone is "roaming" for no reason...so I'll wait.
This morning has to have been the worst since Brett left...I had no idea that the weekend would be SO much worse-but it makes sense. He's usually HERE on the weekend. ( at least most of the time). So, when my alarm went off for work this morning I almost cried. Luckily work distracted me. *sigh*
My co-worker and I had a lot of fun today-we made up nick-names for all the other employees ( mine is Applesauce) and made name-tags and then I went to the dollar store and bought her a fuzzy raindeer hat with bells on them to wear ( she's convinced she'll make more tips with a holiday hat). But, now the fun is over and I'm back home. Today I'm going to try hard to be productive. There really ARE many things that I could do-for one thing I could start to work on out "Wedding Album" ...you know five months into the marriage its really about time that happened...I could clean...the kitchen is seriously in need....I could make cookies or work on a few of the Christmas Presents that I'm being 'creative" with...but, sadly, I just feel like going to bed and eating a tub of cookie dough ( possibly both at the same time).

Last night I watched the first season of "America's Next Top Model"....Pitiful. I know.

Please forgive me..

I have a horrible confession to make:

Today I went and saw Golden Compass.
I know. Where ARE my values?! I am totally disappointed in myself too...but I am making up excuses right and left:
You see, Brett and I read the Golden Compass as well as part of the second book in the series ( name escapes me) while we were on our honeymoon ( it was very romantic-we read outloud to each other on the beach...awwww.). Anyway, it wasnt really until the SECOND book that we realized that the author, infact, hated God and that God was the root of all evil. ( Whaaaaa?) So, we stopped reading the books in complete disgust. But, unfortunately that didnt make the first book any less enjoyable. However, when I saw that the Golden Compass was going to be made into a movie I was still WHOLE HEARTEDLY against it just because I knew that they would most likely make the second and third books into movies too... but this didnt stop the previews from really looking good....
Which brings us to today when I went to pass my time at the movie theatre to watch Enchanted for the second time...I bought my ticket for Enchanted and headed towards the theatre...and thats when I saw that The Golden Compass was starting just two minutes before my movie...and so I walked in...and I watched it.
At least I didnt give them my money though, right? I mean, the good people at Disney got my money instead...and you know....the Disney people are...well....I dont even REMEMBER the last time Christians everywhere banned Disney...was it last year? Or maybe even earlier this year? I cant keep up.

Anyway, back to me being horrible. So, I watched the movie and I gotta say-Nicole Kidman was a really PERFECT evil person. I totally believed it. And I gotta say I was HORRIFIED at the polarbear fight...because, well, it was very very graphic and I cant believe children in the theatre saw that....I think the interesting thing was that, while in the book it was very clear that the main "bad people" where part of the Catholic church, in the movie they were just referred to as "the majestrate" came across as more of a "government" than a "church"...I am interested ( only slightly ) in finding out what they will do to water down the heretical views of the author for the rest of the movies...
And just so you know- I think its absolutely WRONG to take children under the age of....gosh....I dont know....14 to see this movie, if they cannot understand the "underlying" messages at play-that's pretty dangerous.

But, thats the shameful thing I did today.
Hope you'll all forgive me.

8 more days

So, the countdown till Brett comes home continues to be slowish/deadstopish. Buuut, I've been keeping myself busy. Like last night I spent, like, eight hours making chili ( as in the "Abt Family's Secret Chili-Cheese-Dog Recipe" chili)...unfortunately eight hours is not enough and I'm hoping that the fact that I stopped the cooking process and then re-started it again today is not going to hurt the chili too much...anyway...it better be good because I'm feeding a bunch-o-people with it tonight...
I also watched Somethings Gotta Give which ranks high in my romantic movies that I like list because of the scene where Diane Keaton cries while she writes...I cant TELL YOU how realistic that is!!! ;-)

Today, I went to work and rocked my drink-making so much that I had customers tell me that, and I quote: you are at least FIVE TIMES BETTER at making coffee then the girl that made if for me yesterday!!! ( which, I'm going to take as a my coffee is really really good-and not that hers was really really bad) and then I had three other customers tell me that Ihad made them awesome drinks....unfortunately not loud enough for my boss to hear. Which was annoying. So I repeated it to him. "Hey, BOSS...that guy just told me that I make the best drinks."
Boss's Response: "hahahahaha!"

This made me sad but luckily he followed his ( uncalled for) laughter with a sip of my espresso and then he admitted that I did , in fact, "make a good shot."

Coming from him...This was high praise...and even though I DID fish for it...I'll take it. *sigh*

I also got a pedicure today. Don't judge. My husband isnt home and my toes were gross. Plus how else will I get to read USweekly and People Magazine?! Exactly.

I was going to "get all skinny and 'hot like at our wedding'" While Brett was away-but I've decided eating a lot while he's gone is working better for me....what was I thinking?! Stress eating is like Number One on my list of things I do.

Snowy, Sad, Sweet

So on Saturday it snowed.
And I was like a very gitty little girl, running around in my pink boots. Brett laughed at me and took the pictures. ( I'll share them later). And then we bought red flannel sheets and White Christmas on DVD. Ok, so it didnt happen that quickly but you get the picture....
I pretty much lovethe flannel sheets. They were Brett's idea to get me through the ten COLD, LONELY days that I have to sleep in bed without him. ( aww.)...and they seriously rock. I pretty much wasnt tired anymore this morning but I slept thirty more minutes just because of these sheets.

On Sunday we went to church ( which I am continuing to really, really like). We've also recruited enough people to come with us that we fill up a whole row. ;-) Plus, I met a girl at the Thursday night Navigator's bible study that goes to our church-so I legitimately know a person at the church!
after church we ate Thai food ( my request), and watch Flight of the Conchords ( Brett's request)*. And then things got bad. Brett had to prepare to leave and pretty much everything to do with leaving for ten days had been left till the last minute. It was awful. Brett was gone. I felt like something was missing. Then I realized it wasnt just Brett...it was also my cell phone. I had left it at the place where Brett had gotten his hair cut. I drove to the barber shop, crying....wondering why life was dreary and awful.
I got my phone. Pulled myself together. prepared for Sunday Night Bible Studay....went to Bible Study. Didnt give a single signal that I had had a breakdown earlier in the day...

And then...I got a text from Brett saying that because of the bad weather he was going to be home for another night, that I would see him "around 9".
This was glorious news!!! I have to tell you, for someone who is not about 'goodbyes' anyway...the goodbye we'd had Sunday afternoon rated around negative 365 on the sale of goodbyes. So the chance to do it again was actually a GREAT relief.

So that's how Brett and I ate leftover Thai food and laid on our flannel sheets making a itunes play list intitled "Sad but Pretty".
( I think you'd have to be there...but I'll share the play list with you anyway).**
And finally finishing the night with Brett quoting flight of the concords and asking me if maybe we should get out of bed and watch that one scene one more time....( answer: no.) And finally, saying goodbye over a quiet time this morning.

Yes, Brett's going to be gone for ten days. And that's awful. But, I know that already God is taking care of even the littlest things like getting a good goodbye rating....


* Anna and Ryan introduced us to this wonderful show, Flight of the Conchords about two New Zealanders in New York City-who just so happen to be in a band. There is no really good way to discribe how totally wonderfully hilarious this show is....but I recommend it 365 percent.

**
1. The Highway Man, Loreena McKennitt
2. Sabra Girl, Nickelcreek
3. Why Does my Heart Hurt so bad, Moby
4. Theme Song from The Last of the Mochicans
5. Into the West, Annie Lennox
6. Both Sides Now, Joni Mitchell
7.Mi Mancherai (Il Postino)
8. Everybody Hurts, R.E.M.
9. All Mixed Up, Red House Painters
10. Let that Be Enough, Switchfoot
11. Language of the Heart, David Wilcocks

I thought things revolved around ME!!!

So, this week has been totally bad. That's already been established. But, you know what ELSE?!
Well, this week I deemed myself well enough to start working out again ( plus I had gained five pounds in a week)...therefore I syched myself up to go to the little gym that our apartment complex provides ( remember yesterday and the Judge Judy?!)....So, I was TOTALLY disappointed when my dreams of having an hour working out "fly by" while watching Oprah's "favorite things" episode where completely dashed by that weird couple composed of the giant black man and the tiny asian women who watch Judge Judy....but THAT IS NOT ALL....the giant man decided to do LUNGES. And he decided to do them IN FRONT of my stationary bike....and he decided to COUNT out loud...LOUDLY...

ONE....TWO....THREE.....etc. etc. THWERTEEN....( that's right, he misprounces thirteen every time. this makes it infinitely worse).

So, I made it through yesterday ( if you call fuming while working out "making it") ...but today I decided to avoid the wierd couple and go in the morning instead. Oh yes, I thought, it'll be great...Regis and Kelly are doing a special on "Atlantis" where Brett and I went on our honeymoon...thirty minutes will fly by ( who was I kidding with that hour business anyway?!).
I arrive and everything is peachy. The gym is empty. I turn on Regis and Kelly and have settled in to watch Kelly (without makeup!!!) swim with the dolphins-when WHO should come into the gym....WEIRD COUPLE!!!!!
Whaaaaat?! Its freaking 9am!! Why are they here?!?!!!!!
And then...just as weird man starts counting out his lunges....the craziest thing happens-which just goes to show that my life is a lot like Candid Camera...the television....DIES....

Which is the short version of why I cut my thirty minute workout down to twenty minutes today...because BELIEVE ME....ten minutes of hearing the number "thirteen" misprounced 5 times with no television to cut the sound is WAAAAAAAY TO LONG.

I have half a mind to ask weird couple to give me a time when they are NOT at the gym. Because seriously the gym should be my OWN PERSONAL workingout place, dont you think?!

update plus something good.

Ok, so yesterday was bad, today wasnt MUCH better but at least today I didnt have someone ruin my plans of working out to Oprah in the apartmentcomplex's gym and instead hogging the TV to watch Judge Judy ( I didnt know anyone WATCHED that trash!!!!) and one of my favorite customers did not fall down in the parking lot...( all of which happened yesterday along with Brett getting home at ELEVEN PM!!!!!)
So, yes, today has been dreary and sad but a little better: And I'm fighting off the depression with a serious force....does this remind anyone of Dunedin?! Seriously. Abigail does not do well without the sun. Incidently, did you know that the sun officially sets at 4pm now?! Geez, that's practically midafternoon!!!!
So, I just got a text from Brett saying that he thought he'd be home around 6ish. I gotta talk to him about this. Its actually better for him to just text me with "I love you, wish I could come home" rather than a particular ETA. Because I think that's what made yesterday so awful. I got a text from him nearly every hour with a NEW estimated home time...each time it was at least thirty minutes to an hour later than the text before....it was dreadful. I'd rather just not know.

Anyway. GOOD NEWS: I just got Sarah Plain and Tall on DVD from the library! How excited am I!?! I havent watched this since the days when I watched only the movies that Miss Kim from church had "edited" for us....my question now is, are their any kissing scenes in Sarah Plain and Tall that I've been missing out on like I was with Man from SnowyRiver?! Because that was hilarious.
I guess I'll just have to watch and see.

I'm ok, really, I promise

So, after sending two random and scattered emails to my father in the space of two hours...one stating that the sermon I had uploaded from the Mission's podcast had died on me 15 minutes in ( ironically the sermon was on self-pity...and while during those first fifteen minutes I had identified that, yes, "I am displaying some of those tendencies right now"...I had not reached the part of the sermon that would have gotten me OUT of such a state...)
and the second email was after I had spent an hour trying to "get credit history" by having a credit card...ironically, you need a credit card to get credit history, you cant get a credit card without credit history....
So, anyway, after those two emails I'm pretty sure Papa's going to worry about me. Darn it. I dont want him to do that...so instead....here's the blog that'll hopefully end all positive-like.

Anyway, all of this to say the last few hours have been kinda hardish. I burst into tears twice ( of course, unlike the rest of my family that includes REAL LIVE TEARS). Did some bible reading. wrote in my journal. wrote a message to my sister-in-law. and I prayed. and now i'm listening to "How deep the Father's love for us" over and over again on itunes. Because that's just how I roll...

You see, dear friends, while I have been mentally preparing myself for weeks for Brett's two weeks out in the field-I forgot about building up the proper defense against this week...this week has proven to be: yesterday Brett arrives home at 8:30...and then tonight....tonight I just got an text saying "probably more like 10:30"....yeah...well, its 10:39 now. I dont know what I'm MOST upset about...well, probably its the injustice of the idea that when Brett finally DOES get home tonight, he'll just have to get up 4 hours later and do it all over again. I've never been more protective of a person in my life. Army Strong, Army Sleepdeprived.
But, whatever the case...I realized tonight a few things about myself.
I like to be "self-sufficient". Which shows itself in the crazy-planning I've been doing for myself about "the two weeks". I have( had) pretty much convinced myself that all was going to be "perfectly fine" as long as I followed all my "keeping busy plans".
Of course, I forgot to really pray about it ( in passing doesnt count). And I also forgot to think about today rather than tomorrow. And most importantly I forgot about putting this day into His hands...to give him today and not just the days that I thought ( in my infinite wisdom) I would need His help.

To place my trust in Him is really ALL there is.

I'm reminded of the song that pretty much got me through 2005.
Way to go Hillsong:


.....My hope is in the Name of the Lord
Where my help comes from
You're my strength, my song.
My trust is in the name of the Lord
I will sing your praise, you are faithful

I need to remember this, I need to remember where my Help truly lies...not within myself...not in anyone else....there is NO other answer. For my Trust is truly in the Lord. For He really IS faithful.

Of course, I still dont have a credit history, and in the great sceme of things, I think that's what's truly important, don't you?!

"I should go Christmas Shopping"

That's what the inner voice is telling me today, but I think I'll ignore it. Afterall, its gorgeous outside...after three days of solid rain and no sun to speak of-the air is practically sparkling....so shopping seems like a dreadful way to bring it down. I hate shopping. Actually, strike that...I hate shopping this time of year-when I feel pressured to buy, buy, buy and I quite literally feel the crowds pressing in on me. meeeh.
Anyway, I'll wait until next week when Brett's gone and I can just stay at the malls until bed time. Boo! I miss Brett already and he's not even gone yet. Last night I had the silly thought pass through my mind that i couldnt have lived in Washington without being married to Brett because I need him to keep the bed warm. ( he's a really awesome heat-putter-outer)...and then I realized with a sinking heart that I'd have to turn up the heat next week for sure.

Work was sloooooow today, rudness abounded. Luckily the sun is still shining and I'm going to talk to Lydia on the phone. * happy sigh*

8ish

That's what time Brett said he'd be home tonight. So I figure I've got some time to blog... first of all, today was a day of Mail-Love.
I got THREE packages in the mail plus a birthday card. Thus the Birthday love continues :-). I'm terribly spoiled by all of you wonderful people who sent me sweet messages, cards, texts, phonecalls and packages. I've got the best friends/family in the world. Seriously.

In other news, our neighbors mike and katie brought back a sweet stomach virus with them from their thanksgiving break. I've only thrown-up once but I've felt pretty "ew" all day....just praying its a twenty-four hour thing...or maybe 48 hours. I could handle that. But NO MORE THAN THAT. Seriously, who else thinks I'm in the running for "sickest girl of the year"?!

I watched The Producers today. I never got around to seeing it when it came out a yearish or so back....and I gotta tell you, Matthew Brodrick with his little "security blanket" was hysterical!

I also worked with my boss today. He wasnt nearly as critical as he was the last time I worked with him, maybe ONE DAY he'll actually hear customers compliment me on my "best lattes"...that's right. I'm not bragging I'm just trying to make myself feel better-why does one always feel SO inadequate around ones boss?! Is it just me????

Right now I'm importing all my Christmas music onto my computer. Yay!!

thanks for the giving

So, yes...its been a while since I last blogged. A week in fact. But, it was a BUSY and FUN week that included a lot of family and food goodness and therefore I had not a second-even to myself in which I could have legistically spent blogging. So you shouldnt feel bad about me neglecting you. ;-)

I currently feel very blessed...After all the whirlwind of visitors and holidays ( thanksgiving and my birthday) I am left with a definite sense of contentment. I think it started with Louise leaving our Sunday night Bible Study a few weeks back and exclaiming how much she liked it, the people, the fellowship, the depth of study....and then, having my family come visit for a few days helped me continue to look at my life through a larger perspective to stop and say, "why yes! I DO have really nice friends and new family to share life with! And, hey, Washington's actually gorgeous when its not raining!!"-and to see that while there are some difficult things to contend with, ultimately these last four months of marriage/moving/life-changing have been truly helped along by the Almighty. Lots to be thankful for.

So, lets just go ahead and jump right on in to the Christmas season shall we?! Gosh, it seems like even though the media has been trying its best to push christmas on me sense early October I was still not prepared for the general outpouring of Christmas-hysteria on Friday....every time I drive past the Tacoma Mall I start to hyperventilate from all the cars! Buuut, even with all that I am actually really happy its almost December. Its going to be a trying month I can tell-you see, for the first two weeks I will be all by my lonesome ( brett's out on the field again) and then he'll come home and we'll have three christmas parties in a row and then we'll head off to Texas for two weeks ( !!)....which pretty much brings us to January. WHOA! Time is going to rush by!!!

At least for now, however, I am back in the swing of "normal" life...and shall try not to have TOO much of an 'after guests' depression occur. It helps that since the family left on Saturday night we've had three seperate "parties" at our house to 'help' eat up our leftovers...so that's kept me busy. :-)

family/friends

So, Louise left on Friday and I then went HARDCORE and tidy-ed the house, went to the commisary and bought a BUNCH-O-FOOD in preparation for Thanksgiving, did laundry and pretty much did all my 'prepare for guests' all over again ( it helped that I'd been up since 5:30 because of taking Louise to the airport...)
Josh ( Brett's brother) arrived on Saturday evening and thus the whirl of gaity that is the Wilson house of late continues...

Currently, Brett and Josh are playing Magic. I really need to take a picture of them....otherwise you wouldnt believe me when I explained the cute nerdiness of it all ( or geeky, I think they perfer geeky. anyway..). And I'm trying to catch up on household things....however, things just seem to be getting away from me lately. I keep forgetting things or messing up recipes of things I've made over and over again. This does not bode well for Thanksgiving. meh. Luckily my madre and sista will be here to pick up all the slack. YAY! I'm so excited....

Of course, dont think I've been doing ALL work...I also watched Sound of Music in bed and then took a very short mini nap this afternoon ....( thanks to Stacy for giving the great tip of going to my local library for DVDs from a long time ago-I've been digging the free rentals! And watching lots of movies I'd totally forgot about!!)

I'd also like to make a note of an event that happened this afternoon...I was trying to prepare lunch for Brett, Josh, Chuck and Seth ( who'd gone to church with us)...just waffles, bacon and scrambled eggs...but things just didnt seem to be working well for me...I kept making mistakes on the recipe-or forgetting about the bacon...and THEN the waffle iron DIED ( after four months?! i have no idea what happened!!) and so I just gave up!! and had to go lie down ( I know, it sounds dramatic.) but the boys were soooo cute and totally took over and salvaged the whole lunch ( with help of our neighbor's waffle iron). As much as I absolutely LOVE to cook and take care of everyones food-needs when they visit-it was also really nice to get served for once! :-) I've got good boys.

No reading required.

Get a Cash Advance

And just to prove this is true....you can see pictures of my time with Louise here

platinum lining

Since arriving on Friday, Louise has read Anne of the Island, Anne's house of Dreams, Anne of Ingleside and she is currently reading Rilla of Ingleside.

This gives the impression that we havent been very good hosts. But, ACTUALLY, if you knew Louise you'd know that she's a fast reader and therefore it does not mean we've neglected her AND if you also knew Louise you'd know that she just finished her MAJOR fifth year medical exams that pretty much decide if you get to be a doctor or not-and therefore a little book-reading time is probably just what the doctor ordered.

So, anyway, today Brett left for his "week in the field" ( prayer requests: that they finish up their training by friday so he isnt stuck out on the field all weekend-especially since his brother josh is arriving on Saturday-that would STINK! And I'm praying hard for army-kindness here.) and he had a NASTY headcold when he left which made me sad about him leaving. He had to leave at 1am which ALSO made me sad about him leaving ( because that's just a dreadful hour). And then-him just not being here made me sad about him leaving.

But, Louise and I were blessed with the most beautiful winter day and we used it to its fullest by going to the Seattle Woodlands Zoo. We saw lions and tigers and bears-quite literally. Oh my. However, I think my favorite was the gorillas. Whatever that means about me. ;-) And after the zoo we wondered about and found a little, off the beaten path, mexican food place that was seriously great-food AND atmosphere! ;-)

So, ultimately, I am blessed that God has created the perfect schedule for me-by making my time without Brett also time WITH Louise which gives my dark cloud a nice platinum lining. :-)

My favorite things...

definitely include having my "worlds" collide. And yesterday the beginning of my two favorite weeks finally arrived-you see, THIS week Louise is here from Wellington, ( duh. surely my blog readers know this).....then the day after she leaves Josh arrives from Nacogdoches to hang out with his brother brett ( but surely he'll hang out with me too!) and THEN three days later my family will arrive...
yes, it is SO much fun to have people that know your HISTORY walking around in your current world!! And having Louise here is truly going to be a blast....lets just all cross our fingers that my boss gives me some time off from work. ( as of today, Saturday...he still hasnt given us next week's schedule. BOOO!)

a small black coffee

His name is Allen. I know this because I got a peek at his armband that he wears for the state mental hospital where he spends his nights.
During the days he is free to roam the streets near by and inevitably he makes his stop here at my coffee shop where he always buys a 12 oz. drip coffee.

I learned quickly that you really must give Allen his change in nickels and pennies otherwise you'll end up robbing him blind.
You see, this elderly man with his straggly beard and hair-in his crusty trench coat and straw hat that has a green plastic visor-which has long ago stopped shading from the sun....this man is a lover of words.
He carries dictionaries and a pocket thesaurus in his bag. And his favorite words?! Well, his favorite words of the day he will declare with a flourish and a laugh and then-a penny. A penny that will make that perfect little clinking sound as it hits the other coins in tip jar. It seems to be just the thing to get the affect of Allen's words across. Sometimes he'll sit quietly in the corner as I serve customers and then he'll get up and come over and drop in another coin... and then I'll know that he's probably just had a new revelation that he's particularly proud of....

I've sat, on slow days, at a table with Allen. Conversations with Allen make no sense at all, just a jumble of ideas-captalism-share croppers-corn-John F. Kennedy-the hokey pokey...these are all part of one very large thought and SOME HOW they are connected, though for the life of me, I have no idea how. But, with a cup of black coffee between us and several more "money ideas" ( as he calls them) yet to go for the day- sense doesnt seem to matter too much.

pictures or something.

So, here are the 7 or so pictures I thought were worthy of expressing our trip to portland of course I only took ten or so pictures total, but I'm very decerning.

Wild and Crazy Fun Times.

So, in the future I'll probably look back and sigh and wish that I hand such glorious simplicity again, so this is for you, future....

Last night consisted of the following:

I made myself a totally fabulous playlist on itunes and played it extremely loud and made brownies and waited for Brett to come home...6:30 came and Brett finally arrived home ( I turned the music down) and we ate dinner ( no, it was NOT brownies)...and then I read my blog post "I'm your huckleberry" out loud to Brett while he washed the dishes. Yes, I know this is really lame...but people had been commenting about it saying things like, "you guys are soOOooo funny!" and the like and I felt like Brett should at least know WHY people thought he was funny...

And then we moved to the couch where I snuggled up to Brett and got out my brandnew book that I'd just checked out from the library ( I know, I know...I go to a bookstore, buy like ten books and then arrive home to really really WANT the one book I put back on the shelf.) and started to read him sections that I'd already read, turning periodically to see if he was enjoying it as much as I was...not really. he fell asleep.
I suggested he go to bed ( its around 8pm now...). He says no. He continues to dose on the couch. I read my book ( incidently, this book is by far the most fascinating thing I've read in AGES, its called "Born on a Blue Day" by Daniel Tammet and it is the memoir of an Autistic Savant...it'll blow your mind). Finally, at 8:30 Brett gives in. We go to bed...Brett decides he can read ONE CHAPTER of the book he's reading ( because its a short chapter after all) and so I lie next to him trying desparately to memorize Titus 3:5.
When he's finished I recite the 8 verses I have memorized and finally becoming dreadfully stumped on Titus 3:5 even though I'd spent the last 15 minutes saying it over and over to myself. I pout. Brett tells me its ok.
Brett falls asleep.
I continue to recite my verses to myself....and finally fall sleep myself.
The end.

"He saved us, not by any righteous things we have done, but my His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal of the Holy Spirit." Titus 3:5

Somebody check me. Did I get it even remotely close?!