Saturday, February 28, 2009

February has come and almost gone. Hard to believe. But here we sit on a rainy Saturday afternoon, watching the warm weather leave and ushering in another bout of cold (hopefully one of our last) before the onset of spring in a few weeks. For this, I cannot wait. I really like cold weather, for like a week...maybe even just on Christmas Day...but after that I am pretty much over it. So, as you might imagine, I am way over the cold weather by now and very thankful for what is to come.

Our month was fast and furious...Aiden saw seven months come and go (how quickly it has flown!), Nathan traveled to Phoenix and D.C. which left me a few days of single parenthood - I had a great time enjoying Aiden, we heard from three great friends who are all expecting (right around my birthday!), I joined a Bible Study at a church near the house to get to know some ladies and experience some growth personally, and along the lines of growing, I started training for a half marathon that I'll run in April. The training is fun, but just takes up so much time. With the little dude in tow, I can't imagine training for a full marathon... but we'll see what the future holds.

Aiden is such an active guy these days and is into pretty much everything. But his zest for life and the verocity with which he lives it makes me appreciate so many things about life. He loves to eat and would do it all day if we let him. His transition to solids has gone quite swimmingly and he is very methodical about the way he eats. It's quite a funny treat to witness. This video (which is not attaching right now) was taken a few weeks ago...he is so funny. It's hard to believe this little guy was not even here at this time last year. Now he's the center of our world and teaching us something new about ourselves and God every day. We love him!

WILL POST LATER

The Bible Study I'm involved with is a Beth Moore study on Esther and I'm excited to learn about her life and how it impacts us as women. So far, it's been super enlightening and the subtitle says it all, "It's Tough Being a Woman." Every week we add to the list of reasons why that statement is true and it's really been a great deep dive for me into my own soul as I find myself in a brand new place in life as a mom, not going to an office, and dealing with new relationships in a new environment. Making friends once we're all out of the college "bubble" is so very different and female relationships are such a different animal all together. Doing this has helped me see that is not so far off base...we'll see how God uses that as the year continues.

Nathan's job is so busy right now and he's totally swamped with huge projects that are very demanding, but at this point, we're both very grateful he has a job given the current economic climate. It will hopefully calm down once a few things get off the ground for him and we'll be able to enjoy our summer.

As March is on the horizon, we are enrolled for Mommy and Me at the pool (hooray!), anticipate Nathan's birthday, a trip to Crested Butte, Aiden's eight month milestone, a practice half marathon for me, and as I mentioned before...SPRING! All pose such excitement as we head deeper into 2009.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Missing Dad

This week was one of those weeks. You know, we all have them and this one was one of them. Nathan was out of town all week working hard in Arizona at his real office. Aiden was teething pretty badly and fighting the feverish cold that often accompanies it. And I was fighting something on my own. It was a busy week at work and by Thursday, we really missed Nathan. So Aiden had the idea to send him a message so he wouldn't forget us while he was working. Here is our attempt at a "don't forget us." Please note how Aiden loves to look at himself in the camera. So cute!


Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Yes, I will admit, I am hanging on by a thread to my 20's and am indeed a member of Facebook. There, I said it. But, just to caveat this for myself, I did graduate from college LESS THAN 10 years ago, which I feel like somewhat justifies it for some reason. Well, that and I'm not a sexual predator. (I know, shocker!)

It seems that right now the thing is these surveys, which honestly, I don't have time to fill out and pass around. But, one night I had time while Nathan was entering his time (weird, but true) and I actually completed a survey with some very witty and yet straightforward answers. And somehow, for reasons I am still trying to uncover, it got erased. So I figured since I don't have time to sit there and do it all again, I would do at least one survey and post it here for the world to see, although I think my readership ends up being closer to just me and Nathan, with the occasional hit by my parents. Sad, but true. :)

So here we go. Here are the rule on Facebook: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. If you want to play, and you find yourself reading this, consider yourself tagged, go ahead, play along; otherwise, here are my 25 random things:

  1. In the 13 years that made up my grade school life, I attended 6 schools, lived in four states, and in at least 13 houses (maybe more, I can't remember all of them to know for sure). Since leaving for college, I have lived in 11 more places in 3 states. I am a moving expert.
  2. I have, undeniably, two of the most powerful "Spidey senses" of almost anyone I know. The first is a canine-like sense of hearing - I can hear things that I don't necessarily think I should be able to...and that most people around me can't pick up. The second is my super strong "sniffer" (aka sense of smell) - I can pick up a scent a mile away...I mean, maybe a mile is exaggerating, but I can smell the most random things. In both cases, these senses can be both a blessing and a curse.
  3. When I was in college, a guy approached me at a restaurant and asked if he could take my picture in a guitar shop down the road...long story short and fast forward a few months - I was featured in Lucky magazine.
  4. Nathan and I met, were engaged, and married a year and a week from the first day we met. (We met on July 3, I moved to different city on July 10, he came to visit August 7 (Braves game!), he asked my parents if he could marry me on September 15, we got engaged December 23, we were married July 8....whirlwind of a romance!)
  5. Memorization is fairly easy for me. When I was five, I memorized Luke 2 for church. In middle school, I learned the United States in alphabetical order and can still recall them. In high school, I memorized the book of James and could recite it word for word until I graduated from college. Be it words or numbers, I can pretty much memorize anything I put my mind to.
  6. I cannot drive a manual transmission vehicle. Call it ignorance or lack of appropriate resources...I just cannot do it and I honestly can't see the need for it in my life at this time, especially given the hills in Tennessee.
  7. In college I majored in accounting until my last year when I made the switch to marketing. I am 3 credit hours shy of having a double Bachelor's degree, and about 50 hours away from being able to sit for the CPA exam. I have thought about doing that...but that's about it.
  8. I absolutely love lip gloss. No matter how many I have rotating in my current repertoire, I always look for new kinds and colors at whatever store I'm in.
  9. Clinique Bonus Time is like Christmas in my house. I'm not sure how many times I have purchased the Bonus, but I hawk them like a good sale. I have more free bags than should be humanly allowed and yet, I will obsess about the new bonus until I have it in my possession.
  10. I hate being late. I mean, really and truly hate it. I love being punctual and think it's disrespectful to not be. My husband is always late. This is my plight in life.
  11. When I'm nervous I clean my nails, look at them, feel them with my thumb...that's a dead giveaway that I'm thinking and the wheels are turning. They usually always are.
  12. I speak my own language of sorts (hence the "karaspeak" blog title). The most noticeable part of my language is my tendency to add an "s" onto any number of words to make them my very own. Examples: When the restaurant brings a basket of bread to our table, it is known as "breads." My mom's grandma name is Mimi, but to me she is "Mimis." You get the point. Nathan is scared for Aiden as he learns his words and has tried convincing me to change my ways for the sake of our son. I'm going to have to figure out a contingency plan.
  13. Three year olds who still wear diapers make me crazy. So do three year olds who are not weaned. These should both be criminal offenses.
  14. I absolutely love to clean and love doing laundry. I love the smell of clean laundry (especially sheets) and how it permeates even to the outside of my house. I love a warm pile of clothes sitting on my lap. I love that something goes in dirty and comes out clean.
  15. I crave change. I can't stand for things to be the same for too long or I will go crazy. Not only my location, but in life. Maybe that's what I get for moving all those times.
  16. Learning is my favorite. I love to learn and if I could afford it I would be a perpetual student. When I was in grade school, I used to make practice tests for myself at home and then take them and grade them. Sad, but true.
  17. I love to read and love to write. I secretly wish I could write well enough to pen a published work one day. It was a goal of mine at some point in my life...and I still have life to live, so we'll see.
  18. Music is a language in and of itself. It speaks to a whole other part of me that I don't know how to get to with any other method. It moves me beyond words. If I could sing or write songs for a living I would do it in a heartbeat.
  19. I love to run. I even ran a race in my seventh month of pregnancy and had this amazing feeling of accomplishment to be able to pass people with my big old belly hanging out there. It was exhilerating. Ironically enough, I used to hate it. I ran track in high school and the furthest I ever ran in a meet was one lap around a track (400 meters). I ran mostly to spend time with my dad, who was the coach. However, sometime in the past four years, I have found a true love for it.
  20. I love to cook, and I love to bake. There is something about a hot cookie out of the oven that can change the course of a day. That and brownie batter. Cooking/Baking soothes me in a way not many things can. I do it whenever I get the chance, although with a little one in tow, I don't have time as often as I'd like.
  21. Most dogs scare me. I was attacked when I was about three and chased down by a dog (while walking ours) when I was in third grade. Once I get used to a particular dog, I am usually okay, but from the intial meeting, I am typically scared out of my mind. Therefore, I would not consider myself a pet lover. They are smelly and messy and require more work than a child. I think people who have unhealthy relationships with animals have a lot of issues they aren't dealing with and need help. There I said it.
  22. I am fiercely independent. Aside from asking help with something I can't lift or open I almost NEVER ask for help. I need to get over this for my own good.
  23. The beach is my favorite place in the world. I wish I lived there (sans hurricane season). I could lay on the beach on a warm day without doing a single thiing but lay there. If I had music, books, and a stack of gossip, fashion, and health magazines I would be made in the shade.
  24. Due to number 23, I absolutely abhor cold weather. My worst nightmare is waking up in a place that never gets warm.I will never move to this place.
  25. My biggest fear is failure. I fear it more than spiders, well, depending on the size of the spider.
There it is...there are millions more, but that is all for today.