In Need of Some Encouragement

Yeah....I haven't posted in a while and for that I apologize. I'm on here now! No need to fear! My life has been pretty busy with everything going on at once. AAAHHH!!!! But I will hopefully be able to catch you up on everything that's been going on.

Life has been majorly hectic. I got a full-time job - FINALLY! And I was working there for about three days when all of the sudden my boss gets a call telling him to pull all of his employees because we're done working there. I was like "WHAT?!" The reason we were there in the first place was because of problems the full-time, hired-in employees were having with parts and we were checking them to see if they would pass inspection. Well, needless to say, I pulled 20-30 bad parts on my last night that were bad.....and yet we're being cut from work. They probably didn't like us very much because we were pulling bad parts but you know what? Then fix you're problems and don't blame us for doing our job. Simple as that lol. So hopefully I can get a different job. Probably going to give him a week and then call him and ask if there's anything and if not, I'm hitting up other temp agencies. This is just so frustrating. Get a job, then everyone gets cut. Just my luck -_-

Also, Craig and I are trying to figure out if we're staying here for another year or if we're moving. The landlord wants to know by Monday. We're thinking "You're kidding, right?" She wants to know 4 months in advance? Who does that??? Crazy psycho woman. So we're sitting here talking about whether or not we want to move. Whether we do or not is also contingent on whether or not I have a full-time job. If I do, then we HAVE to move cause otherwise we'd be making too much money. Ugh.

We have way too much going on in our life for comfort right now. I mean....when God sends trials your way - he sends them ALL at once. It's nuts. All we can really do is trust in Him and do His Will. Hopefully we can figure something out soon though.

Does anyone have any uplifting, supporting verses they can think of? Or even some favorite verses they can share? I'd like to read some uplifting verses and get some encouragement from them. If you could just post them in the comments, that would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

TIM HAWKINS

Last night, my good friend Corey came up to our apartment and we all went out to eat together and then went to go see Tim Hawkins in Orland Park, IL. It was awesome! We had so much fun! We got a few pictures and lots of videos. The best part was when Tim was talking about marriage. He was asking who all was married and stuff and lots of people cheered. He then made a joke about how they were hiding from the kids, leaving the kids at home with a sitter and that "we're FREE!!!!" lol. Then, he asks who were newlyweds that had only been married less than a year. Literally, Craig and I were the ONLY ONES. So he asked how long we'd been married. We've been married almost 7 months, so Craig just told him "7 months" so what does Tim do? He starts calling Craig "7 month guy" and teasing us from stage. I wish I had gotten it on video! We asked the church if they recorded the video of Tim, but they weren't sure. But it was hilarious. Afterwards, we all got autographs and Craig had him sign it to "7 month guy" and Tim was like "Oh you're him? Awesome!" it was great. Then he asks Corey "You know him?" and Corey's like "Yeah, man! I was his best man!" and then of course, he asks me if I was the wife and called me a lucky girl. And I thought to myself "Why yes, yes I am" :-)

Then, we all get back to the apartment and what does Craig do? He decides to ship me down to Chillicothe with Corey!! So I am currently in Chillicothe visiting family and friends that wanna see me. But it was really nice of Corey to drive me down here to my mom's place. It's gonna be awesome being able to surprise family and friends. Especially those that don't have facebook or don't know about this website. Tomorrow, I'm planning on driving to my grandparent's house and surprising them :-D It's gonna be great seeing their faces. I'll get the =O "What are you doing here?!" response - and it's gonna be great!! :-)

When I walked into my mother's apartment last night, all of the sudden I heard a quiet "Meow" and saw Callie walking out to visit me. And right behind her was Jeannie! Which was really strange because Jeannie doesn't normally come running out when someone she hasn't seen in a while or someone she doesn't know is here. So her coming out while Corey was still at the apartment was really strange for her. But Callie was like "Oh! You're HERE!!!!" And immediately wanting attention, wanting to be held. Oh it was super cute!! And she hasn't left my side since I got up either. She's been stuck to me like Velcro all morning long and is currently laying next to me on the couch. Cute little thing :)

NEW CAR!!! (And other stuff)

We got a new car yesterday!! I'm pretty darn excited about it :-) It's a 2006 Kia Optima that only has 91k miles on it. We are pretty happy with it. It has a couple minor cosmetic issues with it but that won't cost much to fix. Tomorrow we say bye-bye to Scorpio/Thor/Land-barge. To be quite honest, I am going to miss Land-barge. Craig's had it over a year. But, it's all in the Lord's will for us to get a different car. So we did.

Super, super happy!! My bestest guy friend EVER is coming up on Sunday afternoon. We're all going to go see Tim Hawkins IN PERSON!!! I'm totally stoked. Tim Hawkins is my faaaavvvveee!!! I'll post a video of him so y'all can see what I'm talking about. He's quite hilarious. I've seen Darren Streblow (another one of my faves) in person and I loved it! I'm totally taking my camera tomorrow night and taking pics. We're also going to go out to eat so I'm pretty stoked about that part too. We're gonna have a blast.

Well....a little update on the kitties. JD has been really bad lately. He's been going #1 outside the litterbox. And I mean...everywhere. He ruined my little netbook my uncle gave to me for Christmas in 09. And he's ruined some bags as well. So....Wednesday night, we went to take him to the local no kill shelter. We set him down and got ready to leave when we decided to give him a second chance and bring him home, hoping this would scare him into behaving. So far - it's worked!! He hasn't done it since we brought him home. And hopefully it will stay that way. I had a whole 2-3 loads of laundry to do because of him - little brat. JJ, on the other hand, has been doing pretty well. She really hasn't grown much since we got her and that's really strange. But she's eating really well and is healthy. So I'm not too worried. She might have just been the runt. And we can't feel her bones or anything so that's a good thing.

Craig and I started meal-replacement shakes together. We're hoping to each lose weight and the shakes are really yummy as well. So it definitely helps the diet. We're using fruit, milk, cottage cheese, and some other stuff in our shakes so we're getting nutrition, protein,  fiber, and our vitamins. So we're not starving ourselves or holding out on the healthy stuff from our body. We're also going to be doing some working out to help with the process. Needless to say, we're pretty excited about it and I hope this works. A few people I know are doing this and said that it's working for them so here's hoping! Wish us luck! :-)

Busy week

Well this week has been pretty crazy. All week, we were trying to get a hold of the insurance company to talk about the van and trading the title of the van for the check we would be getting. Craig left message after message all week long. Finally, yesterday, he got a call back and the woman was saying since she was in Wisconsin so we'd have to call someone else. Craig was trying to call this person as well and wasn't getting any responses. So, he decided that he'd call every 45 minutes. It only took 2 calls (thank goodness) and he got a response. Finally! After a week of calling and leaving messages, they responded.


We will hopefully be getting a new car by Tuesday and then the tow truck will be taking away our land barge (which Corey has named "Thor" and Craig has named the van Scorpio). So we will be driving a smaller car (which will make me feel safer driving) and a car that we don't have to climb through just to go somewhere haha.


I'm still looking for a job. I've signed up for www.care.com and already gotten someone asking about me watching their kids. So that's pretty exciting. And hopefully it will work out!


Well, there's a little update on what's going on in our lives!

Hey y'all!

Hey! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been a busy, busy girl!!

Well, Craig and I started a new business. And so far, it's going pretty well. We already ordered some stuff through it too so we are benefiting ourselves! I also signed up through care.com to hopefully get a babysitting gig. The link to that is:

http://www.care.com/r/childcare/nicoleb4746

So, if you know of anybody who's looking for a babysitter, please let them know I'm on here. I'm hoping to find something in the Joliet area so that way I'm not too far from home.

Well, Craig and I heard from the insurance company so hopefully we will be getting the check sometime this week so we can get a different car. Honestly, I do believe this was a blessing in disguise, us getting our car totaled. And thankfully nobody was hurt, so that's also a major blessing.

Well, every time I think I'm done with this stupid sickness, it gets worse. But thankfully I'm at the (hopefully) tale-end of the coughing stage. The cough has stuck with me thanks to my asthma. But I do believe I'm almost done with it! Yay!!

I will be posting a link to the website for the business Craig and I are doing. So if y'all wanna check it out, it will be up shortly :-) Thanks ahead of time! And please also tell your friends about it!! If you go through our partner stores as well, we also get credit. But you have to do it through our webpage. Thanks!!

One Happy Girl

Well, I am an extremely happy girl right now. Our internet is back up and running now. YAY! Now I have a home phone once again as well as can communicate with family and friends. I'm no longer known as Rapunzel!! :-) It will be nice to not have to worry about it going down anymore.

Yesterday was my six month anniversary with Craig. I can hardly believe we've been married for SIX months. It's CRAZY! I know this may sound cliche but it truly has been the best six months ever. I know that these people that have been dating or whatever are like "Oh yeah....sure" looking at this crazy young couple that have only been married for six months. But if you look at some of the couples that have been married for 10 years....15 years....and so on...those couples know exactly what I'm talking about. They say the first year is the hardest. You're really getting to know your partner - in more ways than you can imagine. You're learning what foods they don't like.....what foods they will NOT eat at all....what side of the bed they sleep on....how crazy they are when there's no one around....and you deal with them more than you were when you were first dating them. I know Craig and I have messed up in the past, but when you look at us now...I believe we made the right decision. We may not be the most perfect couple that does nothing wrong....but we are definitely trying to make steps in the right direction :-)

Well...Craig and I tried something new with the kitties the other day. We've been trying to leash train them. Hah. Yeah - it's not going so well as you can probably imagine *laugh*. But we know that JD had been trying to investigate the hallway outside of our apartment. So...we put the leash on him and opened the door, letting him explore as I held the other end of the leash. OH HE LOVED IT! He was all over that hallway. There were some men working on the elevator and he could hear banging and stuff even though the doors were shut on the elevator. He freaked out and RAN the other way. I was like "OH MY!" as I'm trying to keep up with him so he wouldn't strangle himself. JJ, of course, was a little bit freaked out since she's not quite as investigative as JD is. But, I believe she still enjoyed a little bit of freedom. Although, now, JD thinks that whenever we open the door he can investigate. So when Craig and I are coming or going, we have to block the door from him getting out. We really don't want a $25 first-time fee for our cat getting caught out in the hallway without a leash on or him in a pet taxi....although I don't think our neighbors would rat us out since they've let their cats run free in the hallway. There was a party going on down the hall one time and we were coming home and saw a cat just sitting out in the hallway looking at us and we're like "Well hello there" Hah. But the cat knew better and was just sitting there, looking at the apartment it lived in. Very well trained cat, if you ask me. JD would definitely not be so well-behaved. He'd be all over the hallway and sniffing out the other two doors in front of the apartments where we know there are cats living. And JJ would just be stuck to us like Velcro.

Well, it feels good to have my blog back and my internet, but now I have a phone call to make. So I'll catch y'all later! :-)

Long Break

Well....I am officially back. Sorry for not posting for almost a week. It really stunk not having internet or phone services. I really and seriously felt like Rapunzel off of Tangled....being locked up in a 7-floor apartment with absolutely no contact to the outside world. On top of it all, I didn't feel good at all. I had a horrible cough and stuffed nose. It was terrible. I got it from my....oh-so-loving husband. He's almost completely over it....as am I. I've got a little bit of my cough left and still blowing my nose a bit but I do feel better and I can actually breathe! So I guess I'll take the lesser of two evils ;)

Well I don't have too much to say....so I'll blog to ya later!!

Well....it just went from a good day to a bad day

Well, it has been EXTREMELY hot out lately. Today, it hit 106 degrees!! And, of course, not very much of a breeze either. It's a dry heat too and lots of humidity.


Craig and I went to see the Avengers today. It's been in theaters for 2 months now. This was only our second time seeing it. It was just as funny as the first time we saw it. We have definitely decided to get it right when it comes out :-) It's an amazing movie.


Tonight, it looks like we're just going to chill out at home with my mom. Maybe watch a few movies or something.


My phone is shut off for a week....so if you try to call me or text me, it's not going to come through. I'm NOT ignoring anybody....sorry guys :-(

Fourth of July

Happy fourth of July, everyone!!! It's that time of year again where people go and watch fireworks, have their cookouts, and also get completely drunk. So be careful out there when y'all are driving. There's bound to be some crazy reckless people driving. But while most people don't know the true meaning of "Fourth of July"....some of us do. And we need to remember the reason why we celebrate this holiday.


Why do we say the pledge of Allegiance? We say that because of the soldiers who fought and died for our country. Our country is FREE because of them.


"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic, for which it stands. One Nation, UNDER GOD, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."


And to think....some of the DEMOCRATS want us to take out "Under God" from our Pledge. We, as a nation...and as a people, need to remember what this nation was founded upon. It was founded upon the BIBLE. With GOD as our leader. Our forefathers knew why we were starting this nation...GOD was allowing it. GOD was in control. And they believed in GOD. Have any of you noticed that on our One Dollar coins, they're putting "In God We Trust" on the SIDES of the coin rather than on the front or back. The edges of the coins don't stay the way they are when they're first made. They get old looking and worn on the edges. Who idea was it to put the "In God We Trust" on the sides of the coins? I'll give you one guess: the DEMOCRATS. Our nation is REPUBLIC and we need to keep it like that. We can't just sit back and let democrats run our nation. We need to take a stand against the crap they're doing to our nation.


Here's a picture to hopefully help you be in the INDEPENDENT spirit today and to think about what our country stands for. Remember our soldiers in this time of celebration. They're the reason our country is free. So while you're eating your hamburgers and hot dogs and watermelon, think of our brave soldiers. The ones who deserve our tax dollars. The ones who deserve our support.

IN GOD WE TRUST

Busy weekend

Wowwee!! Sorry I haven't gotten to post anything recently. I've been really busy since I got down here on Thursday. I stayed the night at Melissa's house and then we had her party Then I came home and got hardly any sleep just to get up early on Saturday and went straight to the old house and started working. Then came home late Saturday night and got up early to go to church, just to turn around and go back to the house to finish up. Goodness it's been a busy busy weekend!! Last night, Kasi came over and spent the night and we just hung out today, didn't really do much. It was nice to just RELAX after the long stressful weekend. But we made great progress so it's okay I suppose.


Tomorrow night, my niece McKenzie will be coming over and staying the night into Wednesday. And on Wednesday, Craig will be coming down from Joliet. I get to go pick him up at the bus station in Peoria and then we have to take Kenzie home. I am so excited to see Craig!! I've missed him so much. He has a 5 day weekend for Fourth of July and we get to spend it here in Chillicothe with family and friends. We're going to have a cookout and then go see the fireworks as well. It'll be awesome!! I know Craig's pretty happy about getting a 5-day weekend to just relax and spend time with family. He definitely needs it/deserves it. It'll be nice for him to not have to watch the clock and get ready for work.


Well I found my old Super Nintendo this past weekend. I'm going to try again today to get it to work. Last night Kasi and I tried it...but failed to get it to work. So I'm thinking there's probably still some dust in it that needs blown out. Hopefully I can get it working!! It'd be nice to be able to play all my old Super Nintendo games like Mario and Space Invaders!


It has been extremely hot the last few days as I'm sure y'all have noticed. It's like you walk outside and it feels like you just walked into a sauna of some sorts. It's nuts!! Drink lots and lots of water!!! :-)

Whew!

Well, there's only one day before I go down to my mother's place. I am completely packed for the trip and very excited to see my mom!!


Today, I have done a couple loads of laundry. It has been forever since I've done laundry at the apartment. Usually I do it at my mother-in-law's house. It was really odd but at the same time it had to be done. I had some last minute packing to do.


Today, JJ hasn't really been bothering me to play with her like she normally does. It's kind of shocking. Normally she's by my side all day long constantly wanting me to throw her stupid toy across the room. :-P But it's kind of...somewhat nice to have peace and quiet around the house. But maybe she's got something wrong with her....hmm....I'll have to keep an eye on her I guess.


Well, today I don't have very much to say - which is not normal for me, or so I've been told. So I guess I'll be signing off here for the night.


I'll let y'all know when I'm in Chillicothe and I will try my best to still post every day while I'm down there. Have a good night, y'all!

2 Days!!

I'm pretty excited - I'm going down to my mother's on Thursday. That's only 2 days away!!! Last night I was just going to get certain things packed....and it turns out I am completely packed - except for last minute things. :-) Craig was pretty impressed as was I. I wanted to see how much would fit into my new 31 Large Utility Tote to go to my mom's. Everything fits!! :-) I am very, very happy that 10 days worth of stuff plus a little bit will fit into that tote and still allow the lid to go on. It's gonna be nice not having to carry a big, huge bag around. This is only about the size of a large duffel bag.


I'm going to be at my mother's until July 8th. Don't worry, I will still be able to post on the blog, although I'm not sure how much I'll be able to. I will definitely try my best to post every day, however I know I'll have a pretty busy visit. It's always great to go down to Chillicothe, but I rarely ever have any down-time. It's kind of ironic. When I'm here in Joliet, I have loads of free time...but when I go to Chillicothe, I have no free time. You'd think my trips to Chillicothe would be full of down-time. Oh well.


On the fourth of July, Craig will be going down to Chillicothe. We're having a bbq at my mom's with a few friends that will hopefully be able to come. After that, we're going to be going to the fireworks at the river park. I love going to the fireworks every year. It is an awesome time to just be outside as well as spend time with your friends and family.


Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I love it because you can spend time with your friends and family....but also because it's a huge memory for our country. Some people call it the "Birthday of our Nation" and that, in a sense, is true. I love it. And the fireworks are AWESOME!! I absolutely love watching fireworks and wish we did them more than just once a year, but that's alright.


Two years ago, I was with my friends at the river park watching the fireworks. We were taking pictures of them and laying down on a blanket I brought. Well, one of those fireworks was really, really big - like bigger than all the rest. Well, Melissa and I were freaking out taking as many pictures of that one as possible. Then, all of the sudden, one of the sparks came down and landed right behind us. If we hadn't moved, we would have been hit by the firework. It was scary but kind of cool at the same time....although not the part of us getting hit by a firework. We laughed about it afterwords saying we got a picture of the firework that almost killed us. How many people get to say that? :-)

My babies are 1!!

Hey everyone!! Well, the vet sent an email to my mom last night saying that JJ was now 1yr old - which obviously means that JD is 1 as well since they're litter-mates. So my babies are now 1yr old. Haven't matured a bit though :-P Today, JJ has been pretty clingy and wanting to play and then cuddle and then play (back and forth, back and forth!) She's so adorable though.


Well - Craig and I got the police report for our accident last night. We finished up the accident report we had to fill out and mailed it off. Fun stuff.


I saw this really disturbing picture today. This girl who is on Twitter is very, very racist and is saying she made her mother cry by saying that her mother's father deserved to die because he was *bleep!* ugly. What kind of a girl is she?!?! And saying that all the people with cancer deserve to die. I just don't understand how people can be that way. I pray for people who think they are SO MUCH BETTER than others because of their race, religion, or intelligence. Use it wisely. Be the best that you can be even if you are a different color than those around you. Don't say "I'm so much better because I have brown hair, hazel eyes, and I'm Jewish" No! Say, "Because I'm Jewish, I believe I can do this" (These are only examples, and I'm not trying to be racist or anti-religion. I'm simply stating a fact.)


I was hoping to go play volleyball today, however I completely forgot when Craig was going to work - so I don't have the car and cannot go play volleyball with the church. And I won't be able to next Monday either because I will be in Chillicothe with my mom!! I can't wait to see her!! :-)


I hope you all have a good week and if you have any suggestions on my blog, please either comment or send me an email and let me know! Your suggestions are more than welcome!! :-)

CRASH

Craig and I had an interesting day yesterday. We went to the train station so that I could get my train ticket to go to my mom's next week. We left there about 1:15pm and decided to just head to Craig's work even though we were leaving an hour early. We decided that we could just hang out for a while until he had to go into work. We were just driving down the road when all of the sudden BOOM!! We were hit.


The guy that hit us was trying to make a u-turn because he missed his turn. He apparently didn't see a HUGE BLACK VAN coming down the road and smacked right into the passenger side. It was a good thing we were in that tank because otherwise we would've had to go to the hospital. Well, the passenger side doors are now unable to be opened. We pulled into a parking lot and called the police. As the police were heading our way, Craig decided to yank open my door to make sure I was okay. Well then the door wouldn't re-close. So now we were stuck with a passenger door that wouldn't close. The police showed up and checked out the cars. The most that happened to Craig and I was our seatbelts scraped against our sunburns. That was the most damage - but it did hurt. Anyway, I rode to Lisa's house in her car while Craig drove the van. I didn't dare sit in the van since the passenger door was being held closed by a bungee cord and chain. We parked the van and took Craig to work in Lisa's car.


Long story short, we wound up staying the night at Lisa's house and this morning worked on bending the frame for the door so we could actually get the door sealed shut so we could lock it. It didn't take us long but we did it and then bungee corded the door handles of the front passenger door and the back door so that the door for sure stayed shut. But now we can at least drive the car without having to worry about the door flying open. However, now if I want to go with Craig somewhere, one of us has to climb through the driver's seat to the passenger side of the car. Needless to say, that's gotten old already. However, we can still drive our car - so that's a major blessing.


The Lord truly takes care of his children!!
"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee" - Deuteronomy 31:6


This Bible verse is definitely true. And it's really helped me get through this trial in our life.

Craig's Unexpected Day Off

Well, last night we had an unexpected delay of coming home. I picked Craig up from work and he noticed he had 2nd degree burn on his shoulders. Oh yippee. So we went to the hospital (my FAVORITE place - gag) to see if there was a medicated ointment, besides Aloe Vera, that we can put on it. Get this - he got steroids. My husband has now turned into a druggie ;-) It's suppose to help with the swelling and then there's also another pill that he's suppose to take. They just loaded him up with medication. It was hilarious, but it was kinda scary when he was driving home. He was drowsy from the Benadryl (spelling?) they gave him. It was somewhat scary because he's driving and he's like "I'm so sleepy" and I told him "Hang in there for 5 more minutes. We're almost home." THANK GOODNESS we made it home.


Craig took the day off today, which was a good thing because his shirt was rubbing against his shoulders and causing him pain. So we've just been relaxing. Well, sord of. This morning we went to get his medication and we also went and got gasoline for the car. Now I know some of you live where it's "cheap" but we only paid $3.53 a gallon!! So that was pretty fantastic :-) I love when gas prices are cheap like that up here. Now I know some of you are like "Well it's not that cheap" but to us it really is. So we got a great deal for our gas and now we have almost a full tank. It has been FOREVER since our car has had a full tank - or even close!! But gas prices have been horrendous so it was impossible.


Right now, we're just relaxing, watching television. It's been very nice to just have a day of relaxation with my husband. :-) Right now, we're watching Big Bang Theory. It's pretty funny. Sheldon just made a Scooby-Doo reference!!! YES!! :-) I officially love Big Bang Theory even more than I originally did!!

Another one of my drawings :-)

Sunburnt

Oh that dreadful time of year....the first sunburn!! Yes, yes, I know....most of you have already gotten your first burn and are working on your second right now. However, I have just gotten my first. And here's how it happened.


Yesterday, Craig and I went with a couple of friends to go boating before Craig went to work. I put on sunscreen because I know how my skin is. Horrendous pale skin. Anyway, I loaded it on and put it on the boat so that way I could put more on later. Craig, silly boy, opted out. As did the other guys. (Boys will be boys) Well, we were only out on the water, or in the water, for an hour and a half before we headed back to go to work and such. I was burnt, but not too too bad. I had to put on the Aloe Vera stuff to soothe the skin, however. And my thighs, which NEVER tan or burn and always look like they don't get any sun, got BURNT!! I'm pretty sure that's the part of me which hurts the worst with the burn.
Craig, however, was severely burnt. Not as bad as he's had before, but he was definitely burnt. We got home last night and he was getting ready for bed. His entire back was as red as a lobster. And apparently his coworkers were calling him "Lobster"!! Well, I put the gel on his back as well so his burn could heal. I almost cried due to him moaning and gasping when I touched his back with the gel. Now, for any of you that have had a sunburn and put on the medication ointment or Aloe Vera gel know full well that it is FREEZING cold when you put it on a burn. So, I squeezed some of the gel onto his back and he freaked out. "THAT'S COLD!" He objected. Well, there was nothing else I could do! The lotion his mother gave me to put on his back was just as cold!


This morning, my burn isn't bothering me quite as much - thank goodness. My thighs still hurt pretty bad so I wore basketball shorts today after getting ready. I decided I didn't care how I looked - I just wanted to be comfortable. Have any of you ever felt that way? Oh it is so nice to just calm down every once in a while and not care how you look. It's a wonderful feeling.


Well today I'm doing laundry (Ohh the joy) and relaxing at the same time. Taking care of my burn and not letting it defeat me!! And then later on tonight I will be at my mother-in-law's church for the Cola Clash - helping out in the kitchen. Last night was definitely fun helping out! It reminded me so much of Camp Joy listening to all of them cheer and seeing the red side and the blue side. It was so nice to watch the teens have fun. I only hope that tonight will be just as fun!

Drawings!

Aladdin

Eagle that I drew for Craig

Fox

Chipmunk

RJ from Over the Hedge (without the wagon)

Tramp

I doodled this on the way to Chicago. Title is: "The sun will come out tomorrow"

Garfield

Iago

Koala

Mike from Monster's Inc

Scooby Doo

Sully from Monster's Inc

White tiger

Wolf :-)

Rambling a Bit...

Well, yesterday I tried to upload the pictures on my blog site, but it didn't work correctly. If anybody has any suggestions, I would be very grateful. I'd like everyone to be able to enjoy the drawings, however, I cannot do that without some help. *blush* So if anyone can tell me how to get the slideshow to work, that'd be awesome!! :-)

Well, Craig is getting some MAJOR overtime this week. Which, yes will be a tremendous help to us right now, but it's going to be one long week. But at least he has the opportunity to work overtime. His work doesn't always offer overtime, so he's really snatching it up.

Last night, I went to volleyball all by myself since Craig was at work. Let me tell ya, it was the strangest thing going by myself. I'm used to going with Craig to the volleyball activities. It was still a great deal of fun, however. There were only three of us girls playing with 7 guys. The teams were less than we normally play with, but it was still pretty competitive. It was pretty intense, but all of us had fun.

Today, my mother-in-law was suppose to come over and hang out for a while. She was also suppose to bring her niece with her so she could play with my kitties. However, something came up and so we had to reschedule. Good thing I didn't tell the kitties they were having a play date, eh? Wouldn't want to crush their feelings.

Since my plans didn't really work out today, I've decided to watch the marathon of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. This has to be one of my favorite shows! It's sad, but it's pretty good as well. What is your favorite show? I'd like to read comments saying what your favorite show is and why.

I'll start :-) My favorite show is NCIS. The reason I like this show so much is because of the chemistry in the group. You have the jokester, Anthony Dinozzo. You have the geeky nerd (in a good way), Timothy McGee. You have the kick-butt girl who takes a lot of crap from her partner but can easily get back at him, Ziva David. And you have the awesome leader who can smack his team in the back of the head and get away with it, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Even though you have all different personalities in the group, they all work very well together and I look forward to watching them solve their cases. It is definitely one of the best shows out there right now, in my opinion.

Please comment below with your favorite show and why :-)

I Hate Mondays....

Normally, I hate Mondays. But, then again, who doesn't? This morning I was rudely woken up by JD (as per usual) by him trying to steal my pillow while meowing loudly in my ears. Rude little bugger. So, I got up, took my shower, and got ready for the day. Craig made tacos for lunch (YUMMY!!) and we watched some TV.


At 2pm, we headed out to go to Craig's work. I took him today since I have volleyball at church tonight and I really wanted to go. Tonight is going to be REALLY different going without him, however. This will be my first time going alone. That will run pretty much all night, just in time to go back to Craig's work and pick him up.


Well, I have some of my drawings on my computer now...I will try to load them up onto my blog....but please be patient with me. I need to figure out how to get it to work!! :-P


Sometime soon, my niece will be coming to stay with Craig and me. I haven't seen her since March - so I'm pretty excited she's going to be coming to stay with us. I just need to contact my sister and ask her when she'll be coming and work out times with her. I felt kind of bad, because my niece was begging and asking "When can I come stay?" So hopefully we can get this taken care of that way she can come stay with us. That would be really nice.


Alright - time to go figure out how to upload the pictures!! Blog to y'all later! :-)

Day-at-Home

Well, today has been pretty good. We've been hanging out at home watching movies. We had egg biscuits for brunch, and I made Italian Pork chops with rice for dinner.

Well, yesterday, my mother-in-law came over. Craig, her, and I all went to Ikea and looked around. That was my first time ever going there. It was definitely different but I got some pretty good ideas from going there. They had some really neat ideas, and I'd really like to use some when Craig and I get our first house.

Well, we've been trying to leash-train our kitties. Craig's mom gave us a good idea. We've been putting the leashes on the cats and then letting them run around so they get used to them. One of them will be walking or running around and the other races after the leash and attacks it like crazy. It is quite hilarious to watch them. JJ was racing after the laser pointer and then JD was racing after her leash. He would pounce on it and hold it to the ground so JJ couldn't move. She'd pull and pull and try to get him to let go but it didn't work. So then she'd get mad and growl at him and try even harder. A couple of times, she wound up pulling her collar off of herself.

Has anybody seen Robots? It's' been out for quite a while but it's hilarious. It's also a bit strange watching robots running around trying to save the world. The movies that Pixar, Disney, and other places come out with now a days are weird, but some of them are really good. I'm not sure what they'll come out with when my kids are around...but I guess we'll find out. But I will always have the movies I grew up on so they can watch those as well I suppose. It'd just be nice if we didn't have absolutely strange and weird movies out when I have children (and who knows when that will be).

Hopefully this week will be better than Friday and that Craig and I will get everything straightened out. We will need prayer though. I'd appreciate it if y'all would pray for us. Thanks guys!!

I've Got the Blues

Well, today was a crappy day....pretty much from the beginning to the end. I can't wait to crawl into bed and say goodbye to all the crap Craig and I have had to deal with today. I will save y'all the sob story, but I could really use some chocolate, maybe some coffee, a movie, and a very relaxing massage!! (but maybe not specifically in that order) Anybody want to take care of those for me?? You will be rewarded by a HUGE HUG!!! :-)

Well, I've been doing the worldventures for about 2-3 weeks now and still haven't gotten anybody interested. All I get is "I'm not a good sales person" or "Let me see your first paycheck and then we'll talk" Well...I'm not going to get a paycheck unless I get some people on my team!! And technically, you're not a sale's person. If you know people that LOVE to take trips...then all you have to do is direct them to your website and voila! Bonus points (and money) for you!! Isn't that simple enough??

I've also applied to numerous different places this week - all of which are looking for people to work for them. So far, nothing. But maybe it'll be meant to be and I'll score a job. That would be a major blessing right at this moment.

Also, on top of it all, now our car seems to be falling apart. It used to make horrendous noises, but it wasn't too awful bad...and now all of the sudden it's worse!! We have GOT to replace it....but we just don't have the finances. Hopefully the Lord will provide for us so we can get a new/used car. It doesn't matter whether it's new or used...just as long as it runs better than the one we have. That's also on the wish list right now - and hopefully the door to checking it off will open very soon.

I'm baaaaack!!!

Well, after a couple of days of not posting on my blog.....*Drumroll please* I'M BACK!!! *Takes a bow* Thank you, thank you very much. I will sign autographs later.

My best friend and her boyfriend came up for a couple days and it was REALLY nice to spend time with them!! We went to an antique store, R Place for dinner, Craig's work, Walmart (for fun), and we also played some games here at the house and just had a great time hanging out. I actually taught them how to play "Phase 10" and I got taught how to play Poker. So that was pretty interesting. We also played Dutch Blitz. We were going to play Monopoly, but we got so caught up in the other games that we just didn't feel like it. But the couple days they were here were a lot of fun.

Poor Craig had to work Tues, Wed, and Thurs of course, but he at least got to have fun with us when he got off or before he went to work. Other than that, he was at work.

We were going to see a movie this morning, but we went to bed super late so we just didn't want to go without sleep only to see a movie and then Craig have to go off to work. So we decided against the movie. And that was probably the wisest choice because we already got barely any sleep. But it was worth it!! :-)

BUSY!!!

Well, today has been quite an eventful day!! I got up earlier than I had planned, only getting about 7hrs of sleep. That's not too bad though. Craig had to work a 12hr shift today, going in at 11am in the morning. I only had about an hour with him before he left at 10am. Relaxing for a little bit and having a bite to eat, I watched a couple different channels on the TV. After that, I decided to do some tidying up. Doing dishes, putting away clean clothes, and gathering up some trash, etc. I still have stuff to do on my list!! AAH!! However, the house is a mess....so it really needs to be cleaned.

Tomorrow, I get to see my bestie and her boyfriend!! SUPER EXCITED!!! Melissa and Bob are coming up to my apartment and we are gonna have a splendiferous time! (Yes, I did just make up that word.) And I still don't know what we're going to be doing....*blush*

I keep seeing these commercials for Oreo Fudge Cremes. I love Oreos and I love fudge....but I don't know if I'd like these. Has anyone tried them? If so, what was your take on them. Their commercial is kind of weird though. "Try this" "GET OUT!" "I know right?" "Shut the front door" "Right?" Anyone else think this is weird?? Get out and shut the front door aren't exactly the normal responses to trying new foods. Well, at least not ones that I've heard ;-) While we're on the topic of weird commercials - isn't that ALL of them these days?? Today's shows are just not as good as what they used to be.

Does anyone remember "Lizzie McGuire" "Kim Possible" and "Boy Meets World"?? Now those were the shows that were great for kids. Those were the really good shows. Now they have these weird shows... "Phineas and Ferb" "A.N.T Farm" and "Fish Hooks".  At least, those are the ones I can think of that are really weird. What are they showing kids these days? It doesn't make sense. I can guarantee my kids will not be watching much of the TV shows if this continues. I don't want my kids' brains turning to mush....lol.

Well, I'm not sure how much I will be blogging over the next couple days - I have a busy week this week. But I will try my best to blog!! Have a good week!! :-)

Relaxation

Today was a very relaxing day at home with the hubby. We have just been watching the Law & Order: SVU marathon that was on television. After yesterday, it has been a nice change.

Yesterday, we went over to my mother-in-law's house. Craig mowed her lawn and then she asked him to trim a tree that was touching some electrical wires. So what does Craig do? He takes an AXE up on top of the garage roof and starts chopping up the branches!!! I was a bit freaked out, not gonna lie. Thankfully, he didn't hurt himself or fall off the roof. Right before this, he was getting his old dirt-bike up and running. He rode that around for around 10-15mins. Every time he came back up into the driveway and went to leave again, his mother would say "Don't be stupid!" or "Be very careful!" It was quite hilarious.

Apology

First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting yesterday. I was very busy and then with the internet being down, I wasn't able to get on. So - I'm making up for it today! :-)


Today, our internet is finally back on!! So this is why I am currently online making a post. It's something you really don't think about while you have internet...but when it goes out, and you have things to do online, that's when it really matters. Never take that for granted!!


Last night while Craig was at work, I went over to my mother-in-law's house and we had a Thirty-One party. Thirty-One is a company that sells all kinds of bags, purses, and luggage. They have lots of different prints and patterns. It was definitely a lot of fun. We all had a great time just relaxing and talking and just having a great fellowship with friends.


There's one movie that Craig and I really want to see again. That movie would be The Avengers. That is one movie that I believe everyone should see. It is a really good movie - and great quality! Some people may say it's boring...but I don't believe that. It's action-packed from beginning to end. There's also two other movies I'd like to see. "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "Mirror Mirror" Has anybody seen these? If so, how were they? I'd like to see them but I just haven't been able to yet. I'd like reviews so I know if I should just wait until they're out on DVD or if it's worth the money to see them in theaters. Thanks in advance!!


It's quite funny how clingy the cats have been. Over the past couple of days, both of the kitties have been following me around, hopping up on my lap, curling up into my side, meowing at me constantly, and anything else they can do to get my attention. This morning at 5:30am, apparently JD and JJ wanted the same toy. Craig woke up to them wrestling and fighting over it, hissing at each other in the process. He wound up waking me up when he got out of bed and says, "Hey! Knock it off!!" as he took the toy away from them and shut the door. Now, keep in mind we didn't actually go to bed till about 3am, so he had only been asleep for 2 1/2hrs. Needless to say, he was a bit upset they woke him up by fighting.

Payback??

Funny story....last night Craig locked his keys in his car when he got home from work. He calls me and asks "Can you come downstairs and let me into the building? I locked my keys in the car" So...being the good wife that I am...I grab my keys and head out to the elevator...in my PJ's!! I get to the elevator and am waiting for it to come to the floor. And when it does...there's Craig! Confused, I asked "How'd you get into the building?" He smiles "Some guy was getting home from work too and so I got in with him" Well, there went me helping him get his keys out of the car at 11:30pm. This afternoon, when he was getting ready to leave for work he looks at me and says "Hey um...you kinda need to walk downstairs with me" Well, of course, I was confused (having forgotten he locked his keys in the car). "Why?" I asked. He blushed and told me about his keys. "Oh yeah! Okay" So I went downstairs with him to unlock the car. This had to have been payback from...well, who knows what. I guess I'll figure it out later.

So last night, I was completely bored while watching a movie with Craig. I liked the movie, don't get me wrong, but I was so tired but wanted to stay up with Craig. So I was on Facebook and Twitter and totally blew up the news feed with finding funny pictures. So, apologies go out to everyone who saw it either last night or this morning!

Today, my best friend heads up Chicago with the National Guard for her test tomorrow. Honestly, I'm very, very happy for her but also very nervous!! I don't want my best friend to be gone for 6 months and not be able to text her for 8 1/2 weeks of that!!! But I'm very proud of her for choosing this route for her life. It's very brave - braver than I'd be able to do - that's for sure!! So Melissa...good luck!! And always know that your best friend is here for you whenever you need her and she will welcome you with open arms!! I love you, best friend!! <3

Different Day

Well today was a different day for sure....but not in a bad way. Craig went to 2nd shift today - so that has officially thrown off my time clock. Instead of being gone from 6am-3:30pm, now hes gone from 2pm-11:30pm. Super different. It was nice being able to spend the day with him though.


I think he's thrown off the kitties' time clock as well. They're used to his first shift schedule, so they had a great time hanging out with both of us. However, they both looked at me as if asking "Why is he leaving now?" When he left at 2pm. They were totally thrown off by that.


I'm also used to having dinner ready at 5:30pm. However, since he had to leave earlier today, I had to have it as a lunch at around 12pm. TOTALLY throwing me off. I'm used to having a small lunch: usually a sandwich or a salad, and then having a nice dinner with the hubby. Not anymore!!


Well, I'm still trying to get people to join me on my online business. But it seems like everyone I talk to is either "thinking about it" or "totally not interested". Hopefully soon, my friends/family will realize that this is really easy and you're not just going door-to-door selling underground fences to people with no dogs. If you know a few people that love to travel, this is the business for you!! It's really simple and I just wish people would realize that. Since I am new at this, people can easily talk to my coach - who just started working here before Christmas and is already raking in the dough - and she can answer every question you throw at her!! I was throwing questions at her left and right and she answered them as if they were just raindrops on the windshield. She didn't even hesitate.


I'm just really looking forward to getting somewhere with this business - and having my friends do it with me would be AWESOME!




ATTENTION: My internet is currently down right now, so I may not post very many blog posts over the next couple days. For this, I apologize tremendously!! I will try to post when I can, if I go to the library (which is where I'm at right now). Until then, I hope everyone has a good day!!

Quiet Around the House

Well, today has been pretty quiet so far. I woke up this morning but really didn't feel like getting out of bed. Forcing myself, I got up and walked out into the livingroom and immediately had JD wanting to be held and loved on. Silly kitty ;-) Instead of sitting at my desk to do my work/Facebook/twitter/email/blog, I grabbed the laptop and sat on the couch. As I'm getting comfortable, JJ comes racing over and hops up on the couch with one of the toys that she plays with. Picking it up, I tossed it for her to chase, but she just sat there and looked at me as if asking, "What am I suppose to do now?" Sighing, I knew she wasn't in the mood to play. As I continued to surf Facebook and Twitter, JJ decided she wanted attention. So, she hopped up on my lap and meowed as she stepped in front of my laptop, blocking my view.

The trains haven't been too loud today. Occasionally, I hear the whistle as they pass by our apartment, but other than that they've been awfully quiet today. It's been kind of nice having a peaceful, quiet day.

Surprisingly, I haven't heard any Fire/Ambulance/Police sirens yet today. (Now that I say that there will be one shortly) That has been rather nice as well because when those go by you can't hear anything going on. If you're watching a TV show, forget it for a while because those sirens aren't going to let you hear the show. Watching a movie? You're better off pausing it...because otherwise you won't be able to hear it.

The television hasn't been turned on yet today. I've been tempted to surf and see what's on but it's been kind of nice not having that on either.

It's nice just having a peaceful, relaxing day at home with the kitties and not having to worry about a ton of things going on.

Water Park and Shopping

Today was quite fun. We decided to go to the waterpark here in Joliet. It was great, except that once we really started to have fun, the clouds covered the sun and it was overcast. We barely got out of there before it started raining. And the water was also freezing cold. But other than that, it was great. Then, we tried to check out the Hobo store. We were walking in and got this really weird look from one of the cashiers. I was thinking "Okay, so our hair is still wet from the water park...that's not TOO weird, right?" Well we were checking out their cabinet displays when all of the sudden, "ATTENTION SHOPPERS!! It is now 6pm and Hobo's is now closed" Craig and I were like "Really?" So we had to leave. I then understood why we got the weird look from the cashier. We were trying to figure out where to go next when I thought of it. "Old Navy!" By the way, Old Navy is my favorite store. So, we headed over there. Craig decided he wanted to check out basketball shorts and see if he liked any. Walking through the guy's section, I found a pair of pajama pants that really stuck out. "Honey, look!" I said as I grabbed the pants off the rack. I handed him the Batman Pajama pants. And yes, Batman is my favorite superhero :-) Did he get them, you may ask? YES!! I asked him kindly, I did not force him - in case you were wondering.

Needless to say, today was pretty awesome!!

Adventure-packed evening

Last night was a bit interesting. The husband and I watched a few episodes of my favorite show - NCIS. :-) After that, we decided to go to bed since it was late and Craig had to work this morning. Since I couldn't fall asleep, I decided to play on my phone. Suddenly, I started feeling something sneaking up my back since I was laying on my stomach. Then, the weight just plopped right in the middle of my back. Trying to turn and see which cat it was, I hear a "Meow!" kind of like JD saying "Hey! Watch it!" Shaking my head, I went back to surfing Facebook on my phone. Then, JD decided to play with my hair and purr right in my ear, keeping me wide awake. Finally, later on in the night, I went to go to sleep and so I got more comfortable, disturbing His Royal Highness in the process. *Moves to get comfortable* "MEOW!" "Shh!!" *Craig wakes up* "Huh??" "Not you" "Okay..." *Craig goes back to sleep* *Adjusts more to get comfortable* "MEOW! MEOW!!" "JD shut up!!" *Craig rolls over* "What?" (now fully awake) "He's being a pain in the butt....he won't shut up" "JD shut up" LOL I love my husband.

Finally we all got to sleep, kitty included. This morning, RIGHT BEFORE the alarm goes off, Jd hops up on the bed and Craig grabs him, waking me up by talking to him. JD then decides he wants Mommy so he lays down on my side, purring in my ear. This was fine with me since I was very comfortable and almost back to sleep. Right as I was falling back to sleep "ME-OOWWW!!" The little rugrat was hungry...so what does Craig do? Picks him up and "tosses" him out of the bedroom, shutting the door and then laying back down. Falling back to sleep, the alarm goes off. "MEOW!!" coming from right outside the door, I gave up. It was officially time to get up. So Craig gets up to go feed the little furry monsters. Do they follow him? Ohh no...they gotta make sure Mommy's up too...so JD hops up on the bed along with JJ. JD then proceeds to "sneak up" on me and then looked me directly in the face, leans in and touches noses with me, then "MEOW!!" right in my face. That was it. I gently tackled him to the bed and JJ watched with wide eyes as if asking "Mommy what are you doing?" lol.

Needless to say....it was an adventure-filled night and morning and Craig and I got hardly any sleep because of JD. Now will JD be tired? Oh of course not....because he sleeps all day long...and then is up all night trying to keep me wide awake.

Well lookey here...

Today I officially started my business by calling some different people. I got it all set up on Tuesday, but wasn't allowed to officially start yet until I had watched some videos and read some information on it. Wow! It's all a bit overwhelming but it was also pretty nice to know that I'm accomplishing something even by calling a few people. It's going to be pretty awesome once this whole thing gets going though.

The weather has drastically changed just within the last couple of days. One day it's hot and humid with a temperature of 85-90 and then yesterday and today it dropped down to about 60 and cold and rainy with really high winds. At this rate...this summer is definitely going to be different!!

I hope to finish my drawing tonight or tomorrow. But with the business...who knows if I will get to it. I have a feeling that's what my days are going to be filled with for a while....calling people and getting them set up on my team...but that's alright. It's been fun so far!!

http://artistdomainnikki.worldventures.biz/