Studying and Cuddling

The boys, along with Carl's side of the family, went to the movies today to see Harry Potter.  I, unfortunately, had to get more studying done.  Only 5 more class sessions left, I have to keep reminding myself.  While I was studying, little Belle who recently got a hair cut was a bit chilly so she was cuddling up to me.  I snapped a few photos in photobooth so I thought I'd share them with you here.  

 Isn't she sweet in her little pink sweater?

Wish me luck on my quiz!

5 classes left.

5 classes left.

5 classes left.

I can do this.

Good news!

Ya know those happy endings that always take place in movies, but don't really seem to in real life?  

Well guess what.

Remember my old friend, Buddy who has been residing at the vet's office in my hometown?  

Well, if you don't remember him, you can read about his story here.

Thanks to my dad, I now have an update on him.  

Buddy, who lived at the vet's office for about 2 months, now has a sign at the vet's office that says he has a forever home.  His forever home provides him with a huge yard to run in, other dogs to play with, and kids that love him!  How exciting!

How incredible is that!  I am so so thankful that Buddy has a forever home now.  I really got attached to him, and if it weren't for his size, he just might be here with me now.  I never thought he would find a home, or a family that loved him like I did in the short hour that I spent with him, but I certainly do believe he has found that and so much more, now.  

Not only does Buddy have a loving family now, but he also saved a life when he was in the vet's office.  A puppy had to have a blood transfusion, and if it weren't for Buddy, the pup would've died.  How amazing.  The little sandy homely looking dog I picked up on the side of the road not only saved a life, but wound up having a happily ever after story of his own.  That's my kind of fairy tale!

My Moe's Fiasco

I have to warn you by telling you this post is incredibly boring.  Like, it's really...really... boring.  I just had to vent.  You don't have to read it.  If you continue, don't say I didn't warn you.  And obviously, I was not asked to write a review for the restaurant mentioned in this post.  So, here it goes.

Last week, I had the pleasant surprise of the opportunity for extra credit in my audiometry class.  Extra credit is few and far between, so whatever it was going to be, I was on it.  It was easy, all I had to do was bring a yellow ticket to Moe's Southwest Grill and show my receipt to my teacher.  The yellow ticket allowed Moe's to donate $1 of my sale to the audiology foundation.  Pretty easy extra credit, eh?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

Here's the thing though.  I can't stand Moe's.  I don't like the food.  I don't like the noise in the restaurant.  And I sure as heck don't like that they yell when you walk in.  And when every person behind you walks in.  It gets old to me, fast.  Really fast.  But, for extra credit, I will do it *sigh*.

But wait, that's not all (say that in your best game show voice)- if I went to that specific Moe's with my yellow ticket, I could get three points for extra credit for me, and one point for every other person I brought with me (up to five points).  Score!  I'll bring Carl and Austin.  And then Forrest came over.  So, he would be joining us, too.

We get to Moe's and the noise of the place started driving me nuts when I was only in there for about 2 minutes.  I was searching over the menu trying to find something I would like, and I decided to ask for a bean burrito, even though I didn't see it on the menu.  "No problem," the guy told me.  It came time to put everything on the burrito, and he asked what type of bean I wanted.  "Refried, please."

At this point, you'd think the nice guy would've told me that they do not have refried beans.  But, no.  What'd he do?  "Okay.  Would you like sour cream or guacamole?"  I got both.  I figured the beans were coming later.  Then, he wrapped up my burrito.  With sour cream and guacamole.  And nothing else.

"Umm.. I ordered a bean burrito....."

"Yeah but you wanted refried beans."

"That's correct."  I was confused.

"We don't have them."  He continued wrapping up my "burrito."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want a burrito with just guacamole and sour cream.  Crazy, I know.  Go ahead and put some sort bean in there."  And so he did.

Then, I was helping Forrest order and the guy could barely hear Forrest over the counter.  That was certainly understandable because Forrest is little, and the counters are tall, and the people behind the counter ARE YELLING EVERY 5 SECONDS!  "Forrest, what type of meat do you want?"  I asked.

He asked for beef.  I looked at the guy behind the counter and said, "He'd like beef."

He took a nice scoop of beef when Forrest shouted, "WAAAIT!"  I bent town to Forrest and I asked what meat he preferred.  "That one."  He was pointing at the chicken.

"I'm sorry, Forrest would like the chicken."  The guy took a nice scoop of the chicken, and wouldn't you know it....

"WAAAIT!!!"

Once again, I bent down so as to not yell (not that I could if I wanted to), and I asked Forrest again what type of meat he wanted.  To make a long story short, this is how the order went.

Beef.  Chicken.  Pork.  Do you have turkey?  Ok chicken.  No wait, pork.  No...No, wait.  Beef.

So, we finally have all of our food, and we go sit down at the table.  I'm hoping my burrito is going to be really good, but I wasn't necessarily holding my breath.  As I sat down, I reached my hand in my pocket and I felt the yellow ticket.  Shoot.  Now this meal didn't count because the ticket wasn't handed over at the time of purchase.  Ugggh!  I took the ticket out of my pocket and as I tried to bring it up front anyway, I realized I was at the wrong Moe's.  The wrong Moe's.  Seriously?

Five points is a lot to give up, so we ended up driving across town to the other Moe's and I purchased three drinks for three different people in the restaurant so that I could get my darn extra credit.  I want those five points, dang it.  Carl and I had enough soda already, and the boys certainly didn't need any more sugar, so I gave the cups to some random people in the restaurant.  Two of which were girls in my class that just ordered water, and the other one was the guy behind me in line who thought I was pretty darn cool for buying him a drink.  (I actually had Carl ask to buy him a drink so he didn't think I was trying to flirt with him..... you know, "Hey, can I buy you a drink?" At a mexican grill instead of a bar.  )

Yeah.  That was my night.  Thanks for letting me vent.

Running For My Existence

I came across this video on youtube a few days ago and it really touched me so I thought I would share it with you all.  Part one is a little slow, but it's worth the watch.  This gentleman has accomplished so much, and for such a good cause.  Just take a look and offer up a prayer for him, or donate if you'd like.

So many questions!

I've received a few emails from you folks asking just where, why, and when are we moving.  I didn't realize it at the time but I guess I did kinda leave you folks hanging.  Sorry about that!  I'll try to answer as many questions as I can in this post.


Where are we moving?  We're moving to Turlock, CA.  Never heard of it?  Yeah, me neither.  Not till recently, I mean.  It's a small town south of Modesto.  And no, I hadn't heard of that until recently, either.  I'll say it the best I know how without directing you to google maps: we're moving two hours east of San Francisco, and slightly south.  (As a side note, I accidentally said two hours west of San Fran to a friend when I was describing where we were living..... she thought there was some island we were moving to.  I meant east.  I'm not always the best with directions, sorry!)


Now, I've never been to Turlock, so I can't accurately describe the town.  However, Carl went there for a visit, and from what I've gathered from how he has described it.....

• Turlock is an agricultural town
• It has a population of about 70,000 people
• It's located in a valley, with mountains on either side
• We can't see the mountains from Turlock
• It doesn't snow

Here's what I've gathered from other people..... (I don't know how accurate this is...)

• It smells..... I'm not quite sure what it smells like, people just keep saying "agriculture."  Not sure if that means manure?
• It's hazy from smog rolling over from the big cities around it
• The smog stays there because it's in a valley
• The people are extremely friendly

Why are we moving to Turlock?  Carl got a job working at MedicAlert.  'nough said.


When are we moving?  We need to be there by January 3rd.  That's the day Carl starts work.  So, the absolute latest day to arrive would be January 2nd.  It's about a 3-4 day drive (we'll most likely have a truck, definitely an 11 year old boy, and a small white puppy..... two of which won't be able to hold their bladder for too much of an extended time: I'll give you a hint, it's not the truck with the bladder issue).  So... that means we plan on leaving either Dec. 26th or 27th.  Which means Christmas is going to be bittersweet.  I'm thinking it might be more bitter than sweet.


So, that's it for now, folks.  Big plans, big plans I tell ya.


Just to show you how concerned some of us are about moving (ha ha)...while talking about moving with my family, here is an honest to goodness question that Austin asked us.  "Can we stop at a 7-11?"  (We can say thanks to Robbie for that one.... he introduced Austin to slurpies!)  Sometimes I long for the kind of days where my biggest concern about moving across the country was whether or not we could stop at a 7-11.  It's all good.  :)

Part three!

Georgia was excited when we got to my house because I......have......a.....bed! 
Haha! She high-tailed it for the bedroom and crawled in!

We visited at my house for a little while and Georgia stumbled upon my graduation cap. 
Yay for graduating in December! Here's the little model sporting my cap.

On the way there, we sang with baby G. She knows her alphabet, isn't that neat? 
If you sing with her, you can take out any letters in the song and she'll fill them in!

We decided to go on to my parent's house, so off we went. On the way there, in her car seat, this is what Belle did.

She's not used to keeping up with a toddler!

We had a fantastic weekend with baby G... She's one special little girl!

Part two!

When we picked up Georgia, we took her to McDonalds.  On the way there, we asked her what she would like.  Initially, she answered, "Nuggets and fries."  So I whipped out my camera and asked her to repeat it.  Our conversation was a little bit different, but cute nonetheless.

After picking up our food, we went to the park.  Oh....Did I mention Belle was with us?

Here's Georgia's great Aunt Patty with her at the park while we were eating.

And here's me and Belle with baby G.

We played at the park for a while, but it was getting late so we left.

We went back to my house.... wait till you see what Georgia was excited to see!

Georgia on my mind...

So, you may or may not have heard me talk about this sweet little girl in my life named Georgia.  Georgia is my cousin's (Dustin's) daughter.

She.

is.

PERFECT.

Every now and then, my parents keep Georgia at their house, so I spend as much time with her as I can.

This soon-to-be two year old talks up a storm.  And we LOVE it!

I turned around while mom was driving, and I caught Georgia-long-legs practicing for gymnastics.  I think she was stretching here.

She realized her cousin was snapping a photo, so quickly changed positions and smiled for the camera!

Isn't she cute?

More about our day to come!

THE news:

Before I announce the big news, you need to understand something.  Otherwise, you might not understand why this is such "big" news.

To make a long story short, I grew up in a small town.  I was born and raised in a beautiful old blue house.  In June of 09, my husband and I joined as one, so it was time for me to move out.

I won't lie, there were some tears over leaving home.  But, let's face it, I was 12 minutes from home.  Yes, just 12 minutes.  Easy breezy.  Super convenient.  I still go home to my parents a couple of times each week.  Why, you ask?  I enjoy their company.  I enjoy going home.  My parents and I have a close relationship and we all get along wonderfully.  So, I get to go home to visit as often as I want.  And- they babysit for us.  When we go out of town, or are gone for long days, Baby Belle gets to be spoiled at Grandma and Grandpa's house! 

Plus, here's my parents front porch.  Why wouldn't I want to visit here?  Isn't it charming?

It's like a little escape from a semi-crazy life.  And their side yard:

Which is why my news is considered big in my book.
You've guessed it- we're moving.

Where you ask?

Umm... that's across the country, y'all.

Away from my parents, away from my husband's parents, away from Austin's grandparents, away from all of our friends, away from our church, away from everything we know, away from.... okay, you get the picture.

Which means, there are going to be a few lot more tears.

But.  There is good news. 

1. I know God has a plan for me and my family.  This is part of His plan, and I choose to trust Him.  It's good to know that God has a plan for little old me, but I feel strongly that part of Him moving us across the country is to teach me to trust Him more.  
2. My husband and I are learning to cling together more than we ever have before.  And I didn't think that was possible, because we already have more respect and love for each other than I could ever dream.  Moving so far away from our known little world in Florida will undoubtedly enable and even force us to cling together even more.
3. Financially, we'll be a lot safer than we are now.  
4. I've always (as long as I can remember) wanted to be a Proverbs 31 (see verses 10 through 31 if you are unfamiliar) woman, and I feel that having a "fresh start" so to speak will allow me to create who I want me to be.  (Not that I couldn't do it here in our Florida home, but it's almost like a New Year's Resolution type thing... fresh starts can be helpful.)
5. Our small groups from church have helped me become friends with some amazing women.  Women that lift each other, that glorify God, and love one another with a genuine love.  We've grown so close through small groups, I'd feel blessed if Carl and I could put the idea of small groups in our future church's mind.  It's such an opportunity for growth.  
6. If any of our friends would like to go to California, we will  host you in our home.  Any of you.  Seriously.  Hello, free place to stay!
7. Blogging material!  Need I say more?  Maybe I'll even go to the BlogHer '11 Conference! 
8. Moving!  It's gotta be kinda fun, right?  I've never actually done that.  (How crazy is that?  When I "moved" from my parents home to my husband's home, it was more like "Come home from my honeymoon and my new home is full of my things"....that I didn't pack.  Yep, family moved me in to my new home.  It was such a blessing to come home from our honeymoon with no moving to do!)
9. We're going on an adventure.  That's always fun, no?  Carl and I always have so much fun when we're sightseeing together, exploring a whole new town is bound to be a blast!
10. Planes make traveling easy.  We don't have to take 5 days to make the cross country drive, we can hop on a jet a fly home for holidays.  (This gives Christmas music a whole new meaning... think: "I'll be home for Christmas.")

So, that's it.  That's our big news.  Exciting, isn't it?

Thoughts?  Opinions?  Moving tips?  Suggestions?  Wanna book a stay in our new home (haha)? Wanna get together before we leave this town? state? time-zone? coast?  

Coming soon!

Hi friends!

So, I'll be delivering some big news to you tomorrow.  

And no, we're not pregnant. 

Till then, here's Belle enjoying the cooler weather with a stylish pink sweater.  

Have a relaxing evening!

Seven, seven, seven.

While I was sound asleep in my warm bed this morning, Tiffany was up and at 'em!  This girl seems to always wake up early to blog... kudos to you, Tiffany!  Well, she tagged me in a post that has been going around, so now I get to tell you seven things about myself that you did not know!  Thanks Tiffany, from Makes Me Blush!

1.  This may not count because a few people out there do know about it, but I'm including this anyway.  My lifelong friend, Mia, and I had to get Rabies shots!  When we were at church as wee little ones, we found a frog and played with it.  It sucked on our fingers, crawled around on us, and laid in our hands for a while before an adult saw us and told us this frog was actually a baby bat.  The baby bat was apparently sick, so it was kicked out of its nest.  Mia and I hid the bat in the bushes and scurried off to our moms to fess up.  Mommas called the health department, who searched for the bat.  Much to their disappointment, they couldn't find it. So, the parents thought "Better safe than sorry" and had rabies shots ordered for us, per the health department.  Note: that medicine in the needle burns.  And stings.  Especially on the bum.

2.  I hate my major.  I started my program at the University of Florida because Sign Language was heavily involved, and then due to budget cuts my program was rearranged and Signing was no longer part of the curriculum.  When people talk to me about what a great field I'm in, I always smile and agree, hoping they're going to say something I haven't heard before.  But....truth is, I'm not just seeking a job that requires my learned skills.

3.  You know how they say babies release endorphins for women when the hold them?  I'm totally one of those women.  But not only with babies...with dogs too.  I swear my Belle is therapy for me.  Such a loving little girl.  I can be having a horrible day and lay down next to her and she rolls over and always welcomes me by opening up her arms and kissing my nose.  Almost like a hug....from a really small person.  I'd like to eventually take her to a nursing home or hospital to give some lovin' to some older folks, too.

4.  I would one day like to own a bakery/ cafe.  Something like Starbucks, but cuter.  And everything will be homemade and cute in it.  One day.

5.  I all of the sudden feel extremely boring because I can't think of two more "interesting" things to say about myself.  How bout them apples.  I'll keep thinking.

6.  Chocolate-peanut butter frozen yogurt at TCBY is my favorite.  Yum-a-licious.  Only Frozen Yogurt I've ever had that I CRAVE.  In my opinion, TCBY> Mochi.  Just sayin'.

7.  I have seven weeks till I graduate.  YAY!!!!!!!

The end! :)