Thursday, February 26, 2009

10,000 steps

Actually, it is 10,636 steps that I have stepped since 9 a.m. this morning. Yes, gals, the pedometer is back on the waistband. My treadmill still isn't fixed from October, and I don't feel like buying Ephadrasil hardcore. That translates to 7.33 miles according to my mode button.

And what a difference going to work makes! Yesterday I walked 4.96 miles and the day before 5.27. Both of those days included sitting on my rear watching movies, so I shouldn't be too surprized.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Too Quiet Son

Do you remember when custom rubber stamps were all the rage a few years ago? When everyone was stamping their own cards and there were stamp parties instead of tupperware parties?
Well, one of my custom stamps was recently put to use by my son and his best friend.



Yeah, I told Chris that they were being too quiet.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Continual Happiness Blog

In a time of family troubles, I reached out to Carrie and Kelly to help me remember some happy things in life. And, true to form, they have followed through and led my mind down a path to positivity instead of the path well traveled to worry.
I want you guys to know how happy it makes me to see new posts. To remember that happiness exists everyday even if I'm not feeling it at the moment.
For the rest of you, feel free to post as you feel the little happinesses in your life. It really helps to share the wealth and pass it along. Love to us all. Friendships like these are a whole other type of wholesale insurance term life insurance.

Special Delivery

Last night one of my girlfriends stopped by for a drink. We started talking about movies and she has seen about everything while I have seen almost nothing. We talked about The Changeling and The Secret Life of Bees.

She went home and I started dinner. I got a call from her on my cell telling me to open the door. I was wearing the baby, dishwater and laundry running, while Ivy and Bec had both ears. When I opened the door, she handed me both movies that she went and rented for me! She said, "here ya go" and turned around and left. So sweet.

If I had an extra ticket to somewhere fun, I'd buy her some Zero Halliburton luggage and off we would go to enjoy some time off!

A Phone Call

I'm sorry if I sound gushy. I promise I won't write only posts about Joel now that I'm married, but I have to say this.

Joel just called me as he was walking to get dinner. I just love how he loves to call me. I'm really not saying this in a mushy way. I'm saying it in a way that I am amazed that a guy can be like this. I'm saying it in a way that says I am so stupid that I wasted years of my life talking to guys who never seemed to love calling me on the phone.

It's an awesome feeling to know that this guy thinks I'm really cool, and he loves the fact that he is with me. He tells me everyday I'm beautiful, and he says it in a way that makes me believe he truly sees my beauty every time he looks in my eyes. He enjoys my sense of humor and my talents. He isn't afraid of commitment. He isn't annoyed by me—he actually thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread.

He's mature. He isn't a coward. He's a true man.

I honestly didn't know that existed anymore. I'm glad he found me. :)

Pancakes for Dinner

Today my aunt called me. She asked me to come across the street to her house for pancakes tonight. (Something the children will actually eat.) With my husband gone from morning until night on school days, it gets lonesome at times, as well as monotonous. So the change of scenery was perfect. Plus, I didn't have to cook!

Monday, February 23, 2009

A Little Help From My Friend

My single gal co-worker (Kim) came over to the house on Wednesday and helped me out a ton. She was exactly what I needed. We focused on the living room and bedroom. We moved all the gifts out of the living room and rearranged the furniture around the way that I imagine would look best. It looks sooooo much better. Mind you, all the bachelor furniture is still in there, but at least I know that my idea for furniture arrangement works. :)

Then we put together the other nightstand that I had purchased. And we put things up in the bedroom while watching LOST.

There is still PLENTY to do, but I feel that order is coming. And it was nice to have a friend over.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Watching my kids at play

Although the weather is still pretty cold and overcast, I took the older two kids to the park today.
Instead of walking the short distance, we drove. Instead of totally bundling them up, I threw a hat and their coats on them quickly. I had the feeling that if I didn't get them out of the house in a very fast manner, that it might all fall apart.
I parked very close to the playground, rolled down the car window and started to read my book while they played. After a time, they caught my eye when they were playing on the merry go round.
They weren't fighting, they were getting a long. They weren't yelling, they were laughing. And I was captivated. I layed my head down in the open window with the cold air on my face and took it all in. I almost fell asleep, and it was one of the most contented moments I have had with the older two recently.
At some point, I hustled them back to the car. It was a wonderful little trip.
Of course, if I had the option of playing with some wii accessories, it might have been a totally different story.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Remember me?

Well, thanks to Kelly, I revisited this blog and realized how slack I've been on keeping up with everyone here. Honestly, I feel like I don't even know half of you anymore and I'm sure some of you will wonder who on earth I am too. I'm so sorry to be so delinquent lately! Forgive me.

To fill you all in, I'll use a trusty bullet-point list. Here is what has been happening with me lately:
  • I started my new job on September 25, 2008. I am Program Director for the Corinth Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau. I love the job. I get to do a lot of neat things and there is some travel involved too, which I like. It is a good job.
  • I still run my Etsy vintage store and it has been doing well. I hit 600 sales there not long ago so that was very exciting.
  • I bought a house in January - my first forray into homebuying! It was such a long process but the house is now mine and that feels good. I'm in the process of getting a few things repaired, painting, ripping up carpeting, etc. It is a 100+ year-old bungalow in a delightful part of town. I'm excited!
  • The other major thing... I met a boy. :) His name is Jack and I really like him a lot. He is originally from Texas but working on his Master's in Central Mississippi right now.
(Yes, he is tall. He is 6'7" so he towers over me. No worries about ever wearing heels that are too high!)

So... those are the major points of news with me. Lots of little points of news but those are the biggies. Again, sorry to be so lax in staying-tuned. I hope that we can all catch-up, either by email or phone!

xo,

Karen Beth :)

Warm Clothes

When we were little and my mom was doing laundry, she would call out to us when she took clothes out of the dryer. We would all jump on the couch and she would pile the warm clothes on top of us. It was the best feeling.

Ivy doesn't like to do this. She gets too hot. But on the occasion that Chris gets out laundry, sometimes I'll have him pile them on me. It takes me back and makes me smile.

And not needing a Chicago injury lawyer makes me smile too!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Unite!

Well girls, I was talking to Karianne last week, and I think it is about time we met. Here are my thoughts. Let me know how many of you might be up for it.

I'm thinking we should plan a year in advance. That way, it is on the calendar and you can save for it (money-wise and vacation-wise).

I'm curious about your thoughts on January 2010 or February 2010. I would think that the prices on tickets should be low because travel would be low around that time of year. I don't mind spring or summer either, but I also don't want to compete with family vacation times and holidays. I would be curious if it is better for you gals with kids to meet before school starts or after. Please let me know your thoughts because I can be quite flexible. Those of you with kids have to do more arranging.

My other thought is location. Since we are spread all over the freakin' country (coast to coast), I know it would be best to meet somewhere in between. Joel and I have a HUGE 5 bedroom house that is filled with single mattresses. It will probably take a year before we will have everything in order, but it would be the perfect location because I could offer free lodging! Also DFW is an international airport; so the flight options are more vast.

Over the next year, we could be looking online with Orbits and Travelocity and Southwest for the best priced flights. And since I wouldn't be purchasing a ticket, I could handle breakfasts and a few meals. :)

The city of Fort Worth offers lots of fun things to do if we want to do more than huddle in the house and giggle our hearts out. There is the Stock Yards, Billy Bob's, and plenty of country music entertainment.

So what do you say? If we don't plan ahead, you know we will never do this. Now that I have an awesome house, I would love to invite you ladies to it! :)

Get back to me!!!! :)

Monday, February 16, 2009

The Microwave

We do not have a dishwasher and I don't want one. I get a kick out of doing my dishes old school. Our stove/oven is the one that Chris grew up with. Pretty much all of our appliances are old and that fits me just fine. We even have discount bedroom furniture

Our microwave is ancient. And I love that thing. It is huge, so we use it as an extra storage shelf that holds a lot of things. It has absolutely nothing digital on it. The timer is a dial. The start button is an actual push button that is about 2 inches wide.

One of the first sounds that Ivy and Bec could mimic was the "ding" of the microwave. So sweet. One day, I should keep track of how often I use it. My hot packs alone would be at least 3 times a day. Every once in a while one of us will bring up replacing it, but the other one is normally being rational and will bring up all of the great features it has that cannot be replaced. I'm dreading when it finally decides it's time is up.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Alone Time

My husband picked up a full-time college course load this past semester, and is still working around 3 full days per week. We don't see him a lot, which means I'm alone with the children the bulk of the time. Don't get me wrong; I love them! However sometimes I am just so touched out! Tonight he was finally home and I went and cleaned out the basement, and did several loads of laundry while I was doing it. I even folded the laundry down there, all alone. Even though it was work, it was refreshing for my spirit. I needed the stillness. It give me so much contentment.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Redbox

I love Redbox (the DVD kiosks). The DVD's are only .99 per night. They have a fairly decent selection. And every Monday, they issue a promo code for one free night. (happy number 1) As a big fan of Nicholas Sparks, I've been waiting for Nights in Rodanthe to come out on DVD. To my delight, Redbox got it! (happy number 2) I thought everyone would surely have rented up their supply before I got to them, but my aunt went yesterday afternoon and found it in stock, and picked it up for me. (happy number 3) Today the only thing I have to do, is take Forest to Tae Kwon Do. It's a rainy, dreary day, and it feels like the perfect excuse to curl up on the couch in the afternoon, fold laundry and watch the DVD. (happy number 4)

-Carrie

Friday, February 6, 2009

White Russian

A couple of weeks ago, Chris and I were able to head out for drinks after a basketball game. We didn't have to get right home to relieve the sitter, so we enjoyed trying out a new bar in town.

Reading through the drink list, I thought that a White Russian sounded really good. I can't believe that I hadn't had one before, since it turns out that it is a classic. I loved it. First of all, it was very pretty and secondly it tasted like a very thin milk shake, which I love as opposed to thick milk shakes.

Well, I headed to the liquor store and now the White Russian is my drink for the beginning of 2009. Last year it was a Mango Martini. Just another thing to add to my list of phases. I can see myself this spring, under the Flowering trees enjoying this drink in the open air.


Cheers!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Abreva

I have a cold sore. I freaking hate cold sores. I had to take a tranquilizer last night because I was so uncomfortable. (Yes, I know that I'm a tad over the top, but I really hate cold sores) Anyway, I can tell that I'm going to get a cold sore if I allow my lips to get chapped. I try really hard to not let that happen, but sometimes it gets away from me. Last week I told Chris, "I think that I'm getting chapped lips. That means a cold sore."

And yesterday, there it began. And I'll tell ya, it is a doozy too. I can't remember a worse one than this one, in fact, there may be two!

Abreva is my savior during these times. I live with Abreva smeared all white and attractive all over my sore. I have no shame when it comes to pain relief. I'm sure that it will only be a few more days before it is all of the way gone. Thank goodness I don't have any celebrity appearances to do between now and then!