thank you ernie!

yup. love the new blogger. wicked easy to put up a pic.....which has taken how long? sorry....lol
and thank you ernie for enlightening me.....

wonderful!!!

I have found the most wonderful invention next to my breadmaker!! Ready Rice/Rice Express!! this wonderful little package of rice that I put in my microwave, bag and all for 90 seconds and then I eat this wonderful mostly healthy hot rice dinner!!!
Oh I'm a happy woman!
and it comes in tons of flavors and it's great 'cause I can throw a few of these in my desk drawer for a late night or a no-money week!
I usually pack my lunch because (duh) I save so much more money that way....but sometimes I just have no time in the morning and I refuse to cut my devotional time short just to make lunch because I wanted ten [read 20] more minutes of sleep.....so toss one of these in my tote and I'm all set for a filling and healthy lunch! Uncle Ben's even has a no-salt brown rice and we all know how long brown rice takes. (although for all the other flavors I really prefer Rice-A-Roni's brand)

yup. the little things still excite me. and I ask...what's wrong with that :-)

We're going on an adventure!

I told Bug that my blindfold and I would pick him up mid-morning Saturday. He's so excited I can hear him grinning :-)

So, provided I remember to have him bring his camera and provided that I get him to upload said pictures from said camera....the post about the adventure should be coming shortly after the adventure!

He took me on a blindfolded date once...it was cool...had no clue where we were going and when he took the blindfold off we were at an art gallery, then to dinner at a little boutique type place and then off to a movie...I can't divulge any plans here since he might just decided that's the day to see what's new on our blog.....but I'm excited about it :-D

wait...WHAT????

today's mind boggler:
Why is it more expensive to do a simple wedding ourselves than to pay to have it all done?
I mean seriously!!
and get this.....it's more expensive to have a dry reception package than to have the one with the unlimited open bar package.....who was sleeping at the wheel with that one?
*grumble*
Wedding planning is supposed to be fun!!
although, it is rather cute watching Bug look at wedding websites and read the magazine articles with me :-) I love how involved he is! He even helped me pick out the girls' dresses!

so now that I've ranted.....

It's Tuesday.....and I have no fun picks of laundry or food to show because I have yet to invest in a digital camera....Bug's got one and the frugal side of me says to not get one since we'll be merging households in roughly 508 days....but then again.....nothing wrong with us each having one right? This is where it gets amusing...his dad will not buy anything without a full investigation into consumer reports....more to come when I announce to Darryl I've discovered the need to buy a digital camera.....

A "MUST" see!

So Darryl and I had date night Friday...and we decided to forgo our usual sit around going back and forth a la Jungle Book style "Whatcha wanna do?" "I dunno, What YOU wanna do?" and went to a movie.... Night at the Museum....HILARIOUS....there were points we nearly fell out of our chairs....so I highly recommend this movie...definitely family friendly....for the whole family!
so there's your PSA for the day.

The rest of the weekend went pretty well. We led worship at church on Sunday which I thought went smoothly....we went to lunch with an old high school friend of mine...that was awesome. It's rather amusing to me...I'm telling God I'm lonely and need new friends in this new city....and what does he do? Brings me all my "old" ones :-)
Turns out a handful of my closest high school buddies now live in Buffalo...how sweet is that? Now if I can convince the rest of them to move here my plan will be complete muhahahaha ;-)

Bug's doing great with the new job and has discovered that he rather enjoys running a cash register!

:-)

So Bug's first day on the new job went well...he got to add security tags to luggage.
I got to play with a baby and she fell asleep in my arms....
it was a good day.
Which brings us to Thursday...which is an odd day...a stepping stone from hump day to Friday....and I'm hoping it flies by because I get to see Bug tonight which is a wonderful thing.
We were talking the other night about how 500 and change days seems long and short...short in the sense of finding the money to make it all happen and long in the sense of we can't wait to be married...I know all things in the appointed time....but ya know....this has been a long time coming, LOL.

Hmmm.....

thank you Ernie :-)

My "what kind of dessert are you" result?

You're a...Triple Layer Cake
For you, baking is one of the building blocks of life. The sweet aroma of cookies baking. The delicious pleasure of frosting a cake. That first mouthwatering bite. The very thought of anything baking brightens your day. You bake for flavor, for family and friends, for the sheer joy of it. Quick, somebody fire up an oven

promises, promises....and then a brain spill

they promise that Spring officially hits tonight.
Tell it to my frozen fingers!! 24º! but...it's supposed to hit the 50-60 mark this weekend...maybe it will stay.
but anyway...to the good stuff!!!
So I've been reading John MacArthur's devotional Book Drawing Near and WOW it's amazing....
Darryl's always been a big fan of MacArthur....so I wasn't surprised when he recommended this for a devotional...he digs deep and really gets me thinking. Right now I'm studying my identity in Christ....which is kind of cool because right now in Be Confident I'm reading about how the angels are meant to serve us, to minister to us...and how Christ is higher than the angels and how our role plays into it all...I haven't gotten very deep into that aspect of it, but I'm looking forward to it.
Anyway....back to MacArthur - He's in Ephesians right now, and this morning I was reading about how there was a "down payment" put on us...a seal securing our inheritance....how cool is that?? I mean, we've all dealt in down payments in one way or another...we put in that security deposit and we know that we will get that good or service because we secured it....but for God to put his seal, his security deposit on ME....I'm blown away....God's got me twice, by creation and by redemption...how can I possibly not serve?

There are days when it's hard to be a Christian...I'm sure everyone can agree...and one day as I was struggling with a test, I was questioning myself....wouldn't it be easier to give up? and then it hit me like a soccer ball off Pele's foot.....I MADE THIS CHOICE. I wasn't forced into this life. I chose it. I know that this is the most excellent way....and as soon as that brilliant epiphany hit...I had another...DUH...You're not in this alone. Not only do you have a counselor to go to...you have an instruction manual and a direct line to the manufacturer....which made me think even more (I know...you can smell the smoke) I've got all this info....so why am I not perfect? Well...first it's impossible....but I still have to strive....and then I realized that it takes a special kind of lazy to not run that race...and then the conviction fell.....
Here I have it all laid out on a silver platter, my cake, icing, sprinkles and even the ice cream....and all I have to do is reach out and take it. His part was so huge....and mine so small...and yet...I'm the one that finds it hard?
This morning's verse on my calendar also appears in my email:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

With a promise like that....how can I do anything but fall on my face and serve?

oh yeah did I mention.....

So....Bug goes to an interview on Wednesday. He walks in the door from the interview to a ringing phone....he got the job!! (Marshalls) They tell him they will do orientation in about a week...he gets a call...no, orientation will be Monday...so as I happily type this...he's getting oriented :-) God's cool!

tired....very tired.

Well. I survived the weekend. It was kind of an emotional roller coaster...Friday was heart wrenching, as expected....went to mom's....we cried, made scrapbook pages of pictures of Shawn, cried, watched a video his friend made of pictures of him, cried, ate stuff....and were mildly amused when Nana delivered the cake we ordered.....Nana ordered a white cake with white frosting and "We'll always love you, Shawn" in red with a heart on top....Giant made it yellow cake and took it upon themselves to add "Happy Birthday" ...so we had a good laugh out of that...but all-in-all, it was a very draining day....Bug gets major props though....I had dropped him off in Cuba so he could get some sleep (he worked 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. then we drove to Cuba...) so when I got home he just let me be then curled up with me and held me and made me eat....I love him so much...and I really have to hand it to him...I'm not the easiest to deal with when those days happen....
Saturday we vegetized for a while then decided to get some groceries.....wonderful Nathaniel shoveled us out so we could...then Giant is doing this giveaway....so we decide to see what we can get....so we end up with a free loaf of bread and half gallon of OJ....sweet, right? then the little trainee dude is wandering around the store handing out more certificates so we ended up with another free loaf of bread.....which we gave to Nathaniel 'cause I was all about making something in the bread maker....
we opt for whole grain pasta and super chunky mushroom sauce for dinner, stop for Chinese and head home....watch a movie (the Departed....great except for the VERY rough language) and crash on the couch/floor...then dad calls to say that the roads are clear if we'd like to come over for my postponed birthday party...so I wake the Bug up.....who is fighting a migraine....baby him some and we head out...after three layer chocolate fudge cake with death by chocolate ice cream and some quality time with dad and his sheep (BTW, I held their new lamb...two days old at the time...and melted. yeah I guess there's still a little country girl left in me....)...then we head home...and because we're old....we're up long enough for me to toss some ingredients in the bread maker and a load of laundry in the washer....we head for bed....at 9:30....we read long enough for the wash to cycle so I can toss it in the dryer.....and then we're out....sad right?
Sunday was relatively uneventful...I made potato pancakes for Bug for breakfast and cut my finger when he distracted me....then we headed to Angelica so I could have my mother/daughter birthday lunch (which rocked....my mom is so cute. we ordered lunch and then she says "so, how many days do we have because we have to decide if I can wear the dress I want to to the wedding") Bug hung with the little sis...we looked at some pics for the wedding video.....then the long. boring. tedious.....downright painful drive back....remember when you were 16 and you could drive for days without it bugging you? and now....anything over a 10 minute drive is annoying....lol....more so since I became a "city gal" and everything is 10 minutes away.....rather than 45.......lol....anyway....
that's the synopsis of my weekend....how was yours?

"hump day"

what a weird phrase. yeah, we're halfway through the week...but we're also busting our humps...so hmm...weird.
I used to write a column for my college newspaper (Et Cetera) called "Deep Thoughts on Shallow Subjects"
I once wrote about the origin of the cliche "the rule of thumb" and then I wrote one on complicated simplicity...how things as simple as pencils become complicated. yes.
quite deep....but I haven't had my coffee yet so there will be no deep thoughts :-)
I'm heading out to the boonies this weekend to be with my family...man I hate this week. but hopefully there will be some vegging involved and I might get some much needed rest.
man this is a boring post...aren't you glad you stopped by today?

whoa...

it was 44º in Buffalo at 6:15 this morning. How freaking cool is that? I'm hoping this means that spring has sprung and it can start drying out around here. Yep. that's right. I'm discussing the weather. Why? because once you become a "buffalonian," it becomes vital to know the weather....because it changes every five minutes. So one must know if they are taking the rain/sun/mud combo, wind/sleet/snow combo or the very rare sun/warmth combo.....we must dress in layers ....therefore we must know which layers to choose...it's an art form you know....

And Welcome To Monday!

Wow this daylight savings time change thingy is really not fun. trying to figure out what's been changed what hasn't and what must be done ...at 5:30 (which my poor body thinks is 4:30) and without the benefit of coffee...yeah that was an adventure...

So I had a great weekend and birthday....Darryl and I went to lunch and shopping and I got a new Veggie Tales DVD...and it came with an adorable hat and mask (picture to come if I can get one....) and Darryl gave me Grey's Anatomy Season Two...so I'm stoked about that!
Going down to see the fam this weekend....Friday's gonna be rough so if you could remember us in your prayers I'd greatly appreciate it.

Also at Benders: I got Frank Peretti's The Prophet (he's awesome) and Be Confident by Warren Weirsbe. If you've never read any of the "BE" books...I highly recomend you get your hands on some....He exposits one book of the Bible at a time and extracts the theme in a way that makes it clear how to apply it to daily life. I just finished Be Mature not too long ago...a study on James and spiritual maturity...this one is on Hebrews and living by faith and not sight...I'm pretty excited to get into it...I'll keep you posted through my ...posts as to how it's going and the wonderful insight I am gaining ;-)

I love my little brother!

Email from my adorable younger brother Nathaniel on turning 26:

Hey sis,
I was just wondering if you were planning to come down for your birthday this weekend, I realize you are leaving our demographic that we have shared for these last 5 years, and they are going to have to implement a new marketing strategy for you now, but over and over I hear that 26 is the COOLEST age to be, think about it, your digits add up to 8, they subtract to negative 4, and adding the two integers gives you positive 4, 26 minus 4 is 22, and they are total dorks who are 22 or less, and if you try to take the square root of 26, it becomes an irrational number, and we all know that means your aren't a square, ad you can not be fractionalized, and if you can't be fractionalized, you can not be properly quantified, meaning of course that you are unique and there is simply only one of you! WOE to to those who remain 25... we both should feel sorry for them, they are easily fractionalized and that simply will not do... Anyways, let me know if you're staying in the BIG CITY or coming back to cuba, I hope you have a great day

Love,
Nathaniel

Isn't he awesome? he made me feel much better about "getting old" lol....

It's Thursday....I'm tired, but who's surprised at that?
Was gonna take my car in tonight but the guy can't do it until tomorrow....so that means I get 40 minutes to myself tonight!!! Holy crap! whatever will I do with myself????
I could contemplate the imortality of the crab....for those that remember Mr. Guildemyster or however the snot he spelled it.
Yes. I've come up with new and interesting "Jamiisms" suchs as "oh my bob"
so....Darryl and I are going to Tempo on Saturday and I am so excited...this place is amazing...great food, staff, atmosphere, food, view, food, and did I mention the creme brule???

meh...

it's a blah kind of day.
so why am I posting about it? because for some reason I think you care to know what's going on....
it's freezing cold, but that should shock no one....
I'm tired and my emotions are on a rollar coaster (no, not about not being 25 anymore, I think I'm over that...)
Next week marks 5 years since Shawn died....and everything feels so weird....and the tears come pretty easily....and things get to me quicker and I just want to hide under my bed with my teddy bear and wait for it all to be overwith....
I have a crazy few days in front of me....
IAAP dinner tonight....getting my car fixed (yay! hopefully it's not too expensive....) tomorrow, then Bible study and then Friday....the usual evening with Darryl and Saturday we're going back to that restaurant we went to for Valentines :-) that should be good fun. and if he emails me the pics...I'll post them.....lol...seems to be my issue in life...no one sends the pics they take, lol....if only that were my biggest issue right? ;-)

last week as a 25 year old

so...I hit 25...it was great...car insurance went down....I can rent a car without having to pay through the nose...and that year is winding down....
I had a good laugh about it this morning....my last week as a 25 year old? What the heck is that?
It's almost like I'm hanging up the very last remnants of my childhood....moving out of the mid-twenties....peeking around the corner at my late twenties...
what have I accomplished?
Well, I have a house...a great job...I'm marrying the most wonderful man alive who just happens to be my best friend. I've graduated college twice....I'm in a great church and being used in ministry....
that's a lot right? So why do I feel like this is just the beginning of an even more wild ride?