Old men are so cute! I love their big glasses. I love when they wear their pants just a little too high. Suspenders are the best. Skinny or pudgy will do. Top it off with a cute hat, cane, or darling old lady wife, and I am all smiles. Anytime I see them in the grocery store or out about town, I always point them out to Anthony. (He does not share this fascination.) I get all weepy when I see them; I cannot help it! Recently this adorable old man rear-ended another car--I could barely contain myself. It was so sad\cute. Fortunately, no damage was done to either car.
This last week I think I discovered a major hotspot for cute old men--our church. These men are not only naturally cute, but they have their best suit on, and their well-worn Bibles and they are at church! How could it get any better? I submit that it cannot.
Anthony and I have just started buying grapefruit at the store. With buying grapefruit comes the tedious process of cutting the grapefruit before eating it. While doing this, it reminded me of the knife my family had growing up. It was this old serrated knife. All the color had come off the handle. And it was crooked in a weird way. This was the best knife to cut grapefruit probably because it had been used to cut a gazzillion grapefruits. And I am sure if I went home I would find that very knife in the same spot it always is. It would for sure be helpful at our home now because steak knives just aren't cutting it.
Sometimes the new, fancy-looking thing isn't always what is best. Sometimes the old, familiar, used item gets the job done just fine.
In the midst of all the stress surrounding TAKs testing and teacher cuts, let me share with you ten things that I am loving right now:
1. Tapioca pudding--my grandpa used to call it "fish eyes." I try to smash those little things with my tongue while I eat it. What are those things anyway??? For that matter, what flavor is tapioca??
2. Spring air as written by L.M Montgomery, " chatting together near the open door that led to the veranda, through which a cool, delicious breeze was blowing, bringing whiffs of phantom perfume from the garden, and charming gay echoes from the vine hung corner"
3. Reading the Anne of Green Gables series as mentioned above. I am already on book 8! I need good recommendations for reading material after I am finished.
4. Being at financial peace and on the same page as my husband in regard to OUR money. We were both raised to handle money very, very, very differently. Let me clarify, that neither one of us think that either one of our parents did it the "right" or "wrong" way. Blending two different ideas about any subject is going to take work. We have always known that finances would be our testing point. Thankfully, our financial advisor is a wonderful man of God and understands the importance of being at peace with our financial decisions. Peace, for us, meant that we paid off our debt. He helped us set up a payment plan to be out of debt (from college loans) in April 2012. We are so excited about working toward this goal!!
5. My best friend is going to have a baby!!! She will be a great mom because she has always been a loving, caring, sacrificial friend. I love you, Brittany!
6. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting another bundle of joy, too! I love being an aunt so so so much!
7. Playing volleyball at school.
8. Getting Anthony's car fixed completely for no more than our tax return! Thank you, Lord!
9. Playing practical jokes on Anthony. Last week when he was in the shower, I poured a glass of ice cold water on him. I thought it was really funny, but he initially got so mad that I will for sure think twice before I do that again.
10. The pictures on the right: McDonald's egg bacon cheese biscuits, magazines, and snorkeling. Currently I am not doing any of those, but I love them!
As Valentine's Day rolls around, it is fun to remember all the Valentine's dates that Anthony and I have gone in the past. We tend to do this with any holiday, but I also find myself doing it with my good and longtime friends. Even though we do this every year, it seems we have the most difficult time remembering what we did. Imagine how hard it is going to be when we have to remember more than 5 years!
This last week my family and I spent a lot of time "remembering when." Last Sunday my grandmother on my dad's side passed away. We knew her time was coming to an end. I saw her in October at my bridal shower in Michigan, and I knew it would be the last time I saw her. She was 91, and she was ready to go home.
I was really dreading going to Michigan for the visitation and funeral. The last funeral I went to was my great grandfather's, about 12 years ago. I think this one hit me harder because it affects me more because it affects me dad. And I am my daddy's little girl.
It wasn't as difficult as I anticipated; it was actually a good time to hang out with cousins and relatives I don't get to see very often. Thank God for my grandmother's life and the sweet memories she made with us. Thank God also for reassuring me that He is enough to sustain me in this rough time.
6. Like a week or so after we got back from our honeymoon, Anthony's car starts having trouble--like major, $2500 transmission overhaul, trouble. Turns out that wasn't what it was and fortunately, the car is still drivable. However, it was kinda like God asking us if we thought He was big enough to take care of and provide for us. I have been slowly (slllllllllllowwwly) making my way through The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. In the section of what wives need to know about God she says, "He considers all the possible ramifications. There is no limit to his understanding. This enables Him to determine what is best for you and how you can glorify Him the most." Anthony's car needing repairs was NOT in our financial plans. I mean, we knew we were going to need one eventually, but we didn't want to fork over the money now. We were faced with an adversity. Martha Peace continues by saying, "One example of good that comes from adversity is changes in your character as you become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Another example of good that comes from adversity is that God is tremendously honored if you respond biblically." What an awesome thought that God could use a lowly sinner like me to bring Him glory?!?!
7. Hello DVR!!! I had been living without a TV for the last year and a half. Now, I am being spoiled rotten. Cable...a gazzillion channels...DVR...Could I ask for more? I have made sure to keep Anthony up to date on The Real Housewives of Alanta and Beverly Hills, Millionaire Matchmaker, and Keeping up with the Kardashians. He gets so agitated with each show--it is amusing to watch (both him and the shows!).
8. We finish our first couple's project (snaps and claps for us!!). We had purchase some vinyl wall art last weekend. The kind that you press on to the wall and then when you move it (hopefully) comes off. We got the phrase "The fondest memories are made when gathered round the table." I love this phrase! and I hope that it is true for my family as it was true for me growing up. Getting that phrase straight was a big huge ordeal. Getting it to unstick from the paper was another ordeal. I was worried that certain letters would be stuck to the wall and others to the paper. Long story short: we got it up, we didn't kill each other...SUCCESS!!
9. Before we got married, Anthony said that he would help write half of the thank you notes for the wedding gifts. I finally nagged him enough to finish his thank you notes for his shower gifts. His shower was like 3 months ago. SO, if you are waiting on your thank you note, it is taken long than intended because I am having to write them all. Lesson learned: nagging works occasionally and it was dumb of me to believe that Anthony would write thank you notes. Here is an example of his thank you note: Dear_____________, Thank you for the ___________. I like it. Thank you, Anthony. hahaha I love you, dear!
10. Oh apartment living:) I naively assumed that once I moved away from my drunken neighbors on fry street that I would no longer need to hear my neighbors. But apartments are way worse\better. Worse in that you hear people from all sides. Better that it is like eavesdropping without all the effort or guilt. I mean, I am the one sitting in my home. They are the ones being loud. Unfortunately, nothing of interest has developed on either side of my apartment. Updates to follow....
1. Married life is not as different as I expected it to be. I often times look at Anthony and am like, "We are married!" (He then looks at me like I am crazy!) I spent enough time getting to know Anthony before we got married, that nothing really major has surprised me...yet.
2. I really enjoy cooking. My mom was a great meal planner, and I have incorporated a lot of her techniques. I use a calendar and plan my meals by week, then once a week we go shopping once a week. I have never been a big fan of going to the grocery store more than once a week. Plus, all grocery stores in Denton want me to poke my eyes out. They are so busy and never ever have enough check out lines open!
3. It is really great to be married to an Office Depot kinda guy.
4. It is always cold in the apartment because he is always hot. I would say that this is the area where I have compromised. I do have an electric blanket on my half of the bed. Check out #5 for an area where Anthony compromised.
5. I knew that Anthony was a snoozer--meaning he hits the snooze like 3 times before he gets up. I know this because while we were dating he often slept through his alarm and then was super upset when he missed going to the gym or was late to work. He often blamed it on the alarm not going off. This morning procedure is clearly inferior and ineffective. I, on the other hand, set my alarm for the time I want to get up, and then...look out...I GET UP. Novel thought, I know. I had been warning Anthony that this behavior would not be tolerated. True to my word, he has now learned how to get up right after the alarm goes off. So nice! The only thing that would be better would be if I didn't have to wake up when his alarm goes off.
So, I didn't get a chance to blog in December at all. My wedding planning and job were kinda all consuming. I will blog more about that latter. Today, I wanted to blog about going to the Denton Tree Lighting Festival in the square.
It seems like every time Denton is hosting something in the square I find out about it as Anthony and I drive by on our way to an already scheduled event. And every time I get so super frustrated because I think I would really love to go do those things. They are free events and fun entertainment. What could be better? Every time we drive by, I think nothing could be greater and I vow that next time the square hosts an event, "We will be there!" Well, this conversation has gone on for several years, but in December 2010 I actually made it to the Tree Lighting Festival. Here is what happened:
Originally, I was planning on going with my then fiance, but he had to work late. His disappointment in missing these events is similar to the disappointment he feels when we forget to DVR the Bachelor--which really isn't disappointment at all. But I was not to be deterred! I invited Carrie, a sweet girl from my high school group at Church. She had no idea what I was dragging her into.
We met up at a coffee shop near the square. The only notable thing that happened there was that when we were leaving, she saw this guy from student ministries and starting waving at him. This guy hasn't the slightest idea who I am (I know, super disheartening that all the high school boys don't know me by name). It was like a good full minute of Carrie waving and this guy awkwardly starring at us trying to figure out who we were. He never did figure it out, but thankfully the parking lot was short, and we were able to pull away.
In my head, I knew exactly where we were going to park. This always happens. For example, the first day of college. I knew of exactly one parking lot at TWU where commuters where allowed to park. And in my head, that was where I was going to park. The lot had plenty of room; no big deal. Wrong! Not only was that lot full, but every lot I passed by as well. I ended up parking at the Denton Public Library and walking what felt like a mile to class. You would think I would learn my lesson about parking lots, but no. Same thing happened that night. We ended up parking in this grass lot forever away from the square. I wanted to be sure that I could find the car when we left, so I made sure I read the street name where we were at. "Elm, I told Carrie, "remember Elm."
We made it to the square just in time to watching Natalie, another sweet, talented girl in my small group, dance. Then we went Wassailing. Wassail is like hot cider. A few days earlier, I found out that most of the stores participate in a wassail contest. You get free wassail and then get to vote on your fav. It was a good thing that I did not know about this part of the Festival in years past because my disappointment in missing it would be tenfold.
So Carrie and I traveled around tasting wassail. I definitely burned my tongue quite severely on the first cup. We only sampled about four glasses. One can only have so many cups of wassail.
Fortunately we had ended back up on Elm, so I decided that we should just head back to the car. Well, we walked a really long ways in the cold and dark. Nothing looked really familiar, but I was positive that we had parked somewhere on Elm. To make a long story short, I apparently can't read. We had parked on Bell. I guess on got confused because both words were short and had the letters E and L. Whatever, I guess next time I will have to take a picture of the street sign.
