Good things!

Just finished watching an old Office episode on Hulu.

The one where Jim and Pam go to Michael and Jan's dinner party.

Laughed my butt off.

Sometimes I miss TV.

I've been really stinking busy this week.

Got my car insurance, title, and cell phone transfered from my mom's stuff to mine.

That was a hassle.

Homework.

and I had to clean my house.

It needed it.

and it does again, now. ugh.

Our camping trip was awesome, though, and it was so worth it.

When we got back, we FINALLY conquered the green room!!

This was the only room in the house that i wasn't happy with.

In fact, I hated it.

Because we hated it, it became a catch-all for stuff we didn't know what to do with.

So...we painted it!

It was glorious.

It is now officially the music room.

We cleaned out a bunch of the junk, and only took Jamie's guitars and accessories, and the piano back.

It looks a little bare right now, but it will be better once we get stuff on the walls.

I love it.

While we were painting, a door-to-door salesman.

Strike #1: He strongly resembled someone that I don't trust.

Strike #2: He asks "Are you the woman of the house?"

I answer "yes."

He says ".....really? you look really young."

Strike #3: He made dirty jokes about the product he was selling.

Really??

It was ridiculous.

I get really irritated when people see or find out my age, and then make a big deal about the fact that I am married.

So? You don't know anything about me other than my age.

Stay out of my business.

On a fabulous and awesome note...

JAMIE IS NO LONGER ON SWING SHIFT STARTING NEXT WEEK!!

This is SO many answered prayers.

We were both so tired of him having to rotate from days to nights every week.

It was awful.

But...now he will only work Monday through Friday, and during set hours!

I am so happy.

♥

Camping

Just got off of work.

Super, super tired.

But..

I wanted to talk about our camping trip!

Jamie and I went on an impromptu camping trip last night to Turkey Run.

It was a really fun experience, just to drop everything and go hang out for a night around the campfire.

We stopped at Dairy Bar on the way, and Jamie decided to get a small cone.

While driving a stick shift.

In 100 degree heat.

The result was a hilarious attempt by him to keep the ice cream from melting all over him, while I laughed.

And of course I had to take "Road trip" pictures.

When we got there, it was still a little wet and soggy.

Here is a before...

And an after...

of our campsite.

Jamie was of course not without his girlfriend, Ashley.

We went and got firewood down the road from our favorite place.

The guy who sells it is Romanian, and has an awesome accent, and always has sweet stories and things to say.

On of the first things we realized after we got there, is that Minnie is NOT cut out for camping.

For dinner, we had grilled corn on the cob, baked potatoes (wrapped in foil in and the embers,) and brats. Yum!

Minnie was worn out, and was super ready for bed.

This morning when we got up, we had our coffee and tea, as usual.

And eggs and brats for breakfast,

Cooked by our wonderful chef!

Jamie and Minnie read their magazine... =)

But when we packed up, Minnie was ready to go, and was the first in the car!

It was a wonderful break from reality.

We had a great time.

Okay, so going to bed now.

Big changes in our house, hopefully pictures tomorrow.

♥

Awake

Can't sleep.

I worked 4-12.

My feet feel like death.

My job takes a major toll on my bod.

That's probably why I can't sleep.

Or maybe it was the 1/2 an hour nap that ended up being 2 hours.

Oops.

I guess I could do homework.

Ha.

I think I will start doing some research for my garden.

I am determined to start a vegetable garden next summer.

I want to eat healthy, organic, home grown fruits and veggies so bad.

I plan to start small.

Just one or two stalks of sweet corn, a tomato plant, a few green bean plants, and a few strawberry plants.

I will also probably plant asparagus, as you are not actually supposed to eat any until the third year of harvest.

Eventually, however, i would like to have carrots, potatoes, and lettuce as well.

But, I think I will save that for the following year, I don't want to get ahead of myself.

I know it will be a lot of work, but I am excited, and ready to face up to the challenge.

Tonight is Jamie's last night.

We get to spend most of this coming week together.

Our schedules just worked out perfectly.

I love it when things like that happen.

I feel very blessed, despite not being able to sleep.

God is Good.

♥

New tunes

I miss my momma.

We had a cookout over at their house tonight, and it was so great.

All of the Heidlebaugh side was there,

and my brother and sister-in-law,

and my sister and her boyfriend.

It was awesome.

I took Minnie to meet Dex.

That was not so awesome.

Then I had to leave there and come to an empty house, because Jamie is on nights.

It was awful.

It just made me realize that I need to spend more time with her.

She's an amazing woman, and I don't know what I would do without her.

At least I have Minnie and Emma to come home to.

I love them.

I got new clothes yesterday.

That was sweet.

I said they were for Chicago,

but lets face it.

I will use anything as an excuse to go shopping.

It was awesome, though because Old Navy was having a student discount this weekend only.

Students got 25% off!

I was so pumped.

I got an awesome deal on skinny jeans, a dress, two shirts, two camis, and two pairs of flip-flops.

I found a sweet new blog.

It is aura j o o n.

http://aurajoon.blogspot.com/

She is awesome.

Her photos are amazing, and she gardens, which is what i want to do.

I like it a lot.

I need new music.

I'm bored with all 2,253 songs of mine.

♥

changes!

Old hair....

And...

New Hair!!!

I told Jamie my head feels naked.

=)

But I love it!

♥

MmmBop..

Had to close Sunday night, and this is what I came home too.

I love it. I laughed so hard when I walked in.

Afterwards, we sat up and tried to plan a little bit of our mini vacation to Chicago.

We checked out the House of Blues, to see who will be playing there that weekend.

Yeah.

It is definitely Hanson.

Yeah. that Hanson.

At the House of Blues.

Jamie asked "Are they a blues band now, or what?"

So...

We sat and watched recent Hanson videos on Youtube for a half an hour.

It was weird.

Hahaha, at one point, I told Jamie "You are the only person I could do this with and not be horrified."

I love him. =)

Our final verdict: Not blues, but not horrible. maybe a 6.5 out of 10.

However, we will not be going to see them.

I am in love with my parent's new puppy Dexter.

He is so perfect. Super cuddly, and very smart. He was potty-trained within the first three days.

And he's precious.

Minnie is going over there to meet him on Saturday.

I'm hoping that goes well!

We have a new houseplant!

(That may seem really dumb to be excited about, but I have wanted one since I moved in, and haven't been able to afford it.)

It was sent for Nan's funeral, and Jamie's family gave it to us.

We went and bought a pot and potting soil for it, and re-planted it ourselves.

Now we just have to keep it alive.

Had a good day off with my husband yesterday.

Even though we spent most of the day at the SS office and bank for his brother (which is still a complicated mess), grocery shopping, and doing homework, we still got to have dinner together, and watched Shutter Island. (Crazy creepy, but good.)

School clothes shopping w/ Nat today, date night tomorrow, and haircut thursday.

Sweet.

♥

God saw you getting tired,

and a cure was not to be.

So he put his arms around you and

whispered "Come to ME."

With tearful eyes we watched you,

and saw you pass away.

Although we loved you dearly,

We could not make you stay.

a golden heart stopped beating,

hard working hands at rest.

God broke our hearts

to prove to us,

He only takes the best.

This was on the inside of Nan's funeral announcement.

I thought it was the most appropriate and beautiful thing I have ever seen.

♥

happy feelings

Feeling good this morning.

Had a really good night's sleep.

My house is spotless.

I cleaned from 2 to 8 yesterday, without stopping.

Scrubbed the bathrooms top to bottom, picked up, dusted, and swept every room, and cleaned the kitchen like there was no tomorrow.

I was exhausted afterwards, but felt really accomplished.

Oh, and I also got all of the dishes, and all of the laundry in the whole house done.

Turns out it was a really good thing I did. Jamie's brother and sister-in-law called this morning and said that they are staying here tonight so they don't have to drive home between the visitation and funeral for Nan.

I feel that he is very critical of me as a wife, and was just making comments the other day about how he "hoped that I was keeping the house fixed up."

Well, ha.

It's clean.

On a funny note, it stormed during my cleaning. Minnie is super afraid of storms, and typically stays right under my feet the whole time. While i was hanging clothes up, I realized she wasn't with me anymore. I started looking for her, and this is where I found her.

hahaha, i guess she missed her dad.

I Love her.

We have a busy week ahead of us.

Taking Jamie's other brother to the SS office to become his registered payee.

Don't ask.

It's a long and complicated story.

I am also going to be Natalie's official payee.

That I am happy about, because we both really want to start spending more time with her, and helping her out.

She needs all of the positive role models she can get.

I am getting my hair cut too.

Excited and a little nervous.

It's going to be a big change, but I am feeling the need to do something different.

I will probably just grow it back out over winter, though.

=)

I changed my mind on the cookbook.

I am getting this one instead.

It looks like the recipe's are much simpler, and will take less time, which is what I need.

Can't wait until it gets here!

For real this time.

=)

Excited.

Still haven't done any homework.

Not good.

♥

Haven't had much time or desire to blog the last few days.

Jamie's Nan died around midnight on tuesday night.

We have the visitation tomorrow and the funeral on Saturday.

I had to fix my work schedule, because i was scheduled to work during both.

but luckily, two of my co-workers stepped up and agreed to help me out.

She was truly the rock in his family. Everyone always went to her, and she was always able to say or do something to fix it, even if it wasn't what the person wanted to hear.

She was incredibly wise, and i will always be grateful to her for putting my mind at ease about whether my dad is in heaven. She will be so very missed.

She is also the sole reason that Jamie's family has such a deep faith in God.

She was an amazing woman.

Jamie hasn't really let it sink in. I'm kind of worried about him, but he just keeps not thinking about it. I am afraid it is just going to hit him at the funeral.

At least I'll be there for him.

It's a little easier knowing that she is in heaven. She was truly one of God's gifts, and I know he is happy to have her back in his arms.

I am having a much needed lunch with my momma today.

I love her.

I am also trying to clean the house up, and do dishes and laundry, because I have neglected all of that for about the past week.

I have homework that was due tuesday, and that is due today, and i haven't done any of it.

That is really, really bad.

Jamie is going to be ticked, but i have just had zero motivation, and I have had bigger things to worry about.

I guess I will just email the professor, and hope that she understands.

I can't stress about that now.

Oh well.

I will be glad when this weekend is over. Hopefully things will get easier after that.

♥

Lookin' up

Things are looking up.

I've been doing a lot of praying lately.

Feeling better about things.

Had a great morning this morning.

Jamie and I actually got to spend some time together this morning,

before he fell asleep.

I have missed him SO much.

This swing shift stuff is getting old. Really, really old.

We normally try to have a date night once night a week.

But, our schedules have clashed really badly,

and we haven't had a date night in over 3 weeks.

Dang it.

But...

We are planning on spending a weekend in Chicago before school starts.

So excited!!

I booked our hotel today, and our train ride there, and bus ride home.

It is so unbelievably needed, and I am looking forward to some good quality time with my husband.

I love him.

Still praying for Nan.

She's still hanging on, but she is basically unconscious all the time now.

Luckily, all of the family have put their issues to the side to come together for her.

I'm proud of them.

We are all still just watching and waiting.

Finally changed my background. The other one was just too dark.

Off to finish planning our Chicago trip now!

♥

Bristol the Devil Dog

We are babysitting Holly's Dog Bristol today and tomorrow.

It's a good thing she's cute.

Because she's rotten.

I tried to go back to sleep after she got here this morning.

Ha.

She and Minnie love each other.

This is a 30 second excerpt of what happened the entire first 2 hours she was here.

By the way, this is where i was trying to sleep.

15 minutes after this video, she ran out the front door when I opened it, and ran around the front yard barking at the neighbor kids. I chased her in my pajamas for 10 minutes before I caught her.

Awesome.

Things have been crazy around here.

We were called yesterday after we got home from the hospital. I had dinner halfway made on the stove.

They took Jamie's Nan off her IV, because it was essentially a life-support device, and they are just trying to ease her pain before she goes.

We literally turned the stove off and ran out the door, to go back to the hospital to be with his family.

By the time we got home, it was 10:00. Jamie was supposed to work, but he had gotten to sleep late the day before, and got up early yesterday, and has been super sick. The combination of being sick and no sleep made him so weak last night, that he could hardly stand. I was freaking out, and just told him to go to bed. He collapsed into bed, and slept for 13 hours. And now he is napping. I am so sick of him working nights. This transfer had better happen soon. I don't know how much longer either of us can do this.

That on top of the knowledge that his grandma is going anytime has made this a really rough couple of days.

We just want her to stop suffering.

But, I need to end this with something positive.

I finished making chicken enchiladas after we got home at 10 last night.

They turned out awesome, even if they were a little too spicy.

I am just going to have to keep looking forward.

I am excited for Jamie to be off nights.

I am happy that when she goes, Jamie's Nan is going to be meeting Jesus.

I think she's ready.

My parents are getting their dog this weekend. A Schnoodle named Dexter.

I am so excited to meet him!

I am ready for some good things to happen again.

It's been rough.

♥

Boo you, homework.

I should be doing homework.

But...I'm not.

I leave for class in an hour.

I am so sick of school.

Dang it.

Minnie is in heat.

It sucks, we have to put a diaper on her.

She hates our stinkin' guts.

We are going to have her spayed as soon as she is done, because this sucks.

She does look a little cute though.

I made this last night for my husband and I

Beef stir-fry, and it was delicious.

I am failing miserably at only eating meat twice a week. I just need some better recipes, or it will never work. I think I am going to buy a new recipe book next week.

Can't help but be a little excited about that.

I'm drinking Pomegranate Raspberry Iced Green Tea.

Amazing!

Thank you, Misty, for teaching me to make good iced tea at home.

I love it.

Jamie is working 7 straight nights in a row. I have been off for 2 days, and I am bored to tears. I have cleaned everything.

I am so excited for him to have a normal schedule, which is supposed to be starting in August!

Yay!

Okay, but now back to homework.

Dang it.

♥

I ♥ Les Mis

This is what I saw while cuddling this morning.

Wonderful.

Makes me happy.

Minus Minnie's crazy eye. lol

I am reading Les Miserables, and I came across this passage last night.

"It can not be denied that one of virtue's phases ends in pride. Therein is a bridge by the Evil One. Jean Valjean was perhaps, without knowing it, near that very phase of virtue, and that very bridge... So long as he compared himself to only the bishop, he found himself unworthy and remained humble; but, for some time past, he had been comparing himself with the rest of men, and pride was springing up on him."

I have been thinking about this a lot. That while attempting to be more virtuous than the common man, the Devil creates a bridge that leads you into pride. But, as long as Valjean compares himself to the bishop (who performed the most Godly act toward Valjean that he had ever experienced,) or for us, comparing ourselves only to God, he remains humble, and therefore virtuous.

I love this. I plan on considering this more.

Jamie had a rough day, so we went to Hirosake, a japanese steakhouse in Avon. They have a special Sun-Thurs, two dinners for $20.

I think he felt better after. =)

But now he is at work, so I am going to make air-popped popcorn and watch Sense and Sensibility. What a lame life I lead.

♥

The 4th

Well, My 4th of July sucked big time.

I got 4 hours of sleep, and then went to church for rehearsal at 7:30.

Heard some stuff at church that makes me both really sad and angry.

I will just be praying over it, and for everyone involved, because it is just sad that the whole thing occurred.

Got into a fight with Jamie over a bookshelf.

We had agreed to put it into the music room where the couch is, and yesterday he decided he didn't want to put it in there, which made me feel like he didn't want me to invade "his" space. Then he complained about the clutter, which made me feel worse, because I feel like it's my stuff he's talking about. All he would say was "I can't change how you feel, but that's not what i mean."

It was ugly.

Had to go to work instead of any 4th celebrations.

As soon as I got to work, was told I had to change both sides of the marquee in 98 degree weather.

Thanks, boss.

Was called a bitch by a customer.

Yes, this one was pleasant. She walked up, handed me a movie, and says "it's late, and i want the fee waved." I asked her why. She says "because money is tight, and I don't want to pay it." I tell her, "It's only $2.59, and you don't have to pay anything on it today, you can wait until whenever." She says "well, I want it waved, or I'm leaving." And I say "Well, I'm not waving it just because you don't want to pay it. I have customers come in every day, who gladly pay their fees because they understand that it's their responsibility. If you car had died, or something had happened that you couldn't get it here on time, I would gladly wave it. But I will not wave it just because you order me to." At which point, she leaves, and when her 6 year old kid cries for his movie, she says "Well, you can't have it because that lady is a bitch."

I will say that I cannot stand that sense of entitlement, and if she had been polite, and nice and ASKED about the fee, I would have waved it. But I am not her slave, and I will not wave a fee, especially one of only $2.59, for someone who wants to treat me like that. I'd rather her not come back.

My boss is probably still going to be mad when she finds out though, that i didn't kiss her butt.

Oh well.

Then, at midnight when i finally got home, I thought the day was finally over, and then as I was going to bed, I realized that my phone was missing. I ended up having to drive back to work at 1 AM and get it.

OKAY. enough venting.

I made myself find some positives in the day last night. Here's what i came up with:

Singing with Misty, and making some awesome harmonies at church.

My nap before work.

My lovely husband having a fire and smores waiting for me when i got of work. That wasawesome.

I also made vegetarian baked ziti for myself! I used broccoli instead of beef.

It tasted wonderful.

Well, today is another day, and I am really hoping that it is a better one.

Sorry about the long vent session, but I feel better now.

♥

It Came!!!!

I LOVE this show!!!! And our steal of the day the other day at work was the entire 35 episode first season on sale for only $11!!!!! and it finally came!!! I am SO pumped!!

It may be totally dorky, but i laugh hysterically every time i watch it. =)

And for someone who doesn't have any TV at all, it is glorious.

♥

garage (not)sale

Agreed to help Jamie work the garage sale.

The garage sale that he didn't give me any time to prepare for, and just told me we were having it this weekend. And then he had to work.

awesome.

I have had a whopping 2 people all morning. One person bought an ancient star wars puzzle, and another took something out of the free box.

I think we are going to have another one, with plenty of time for me to prep and advertise.

That would probably be better.

oh well, I can't help but love him.

I have also learned that Minnie is not a good garage sale dog. She thinks she has to protect mommy from the people. =)

On a more positive note, I had a great time last night at the Indians game with my family, even though they lost, which they do every single time I go to one of their games. We stayed for the sweet fireworks show that they had afterwards, and it was really nice to get to spend some time with my family.

I was also really excited about the fireworks, because I have to close at work for the second year in a row on the 4th of July tomorrow, and that really, really sucks. Especially since Jamie has it off for the first time in two years, and will most likely be playing blues at the old union celebration. I would really like to be able to be there and see that.

lame.

I also work a 9 hour close today, so I will probably be pretty tired of work by the time the week comes along.

I guess I need to look on the positive side, and that is the awesome paycheck that will include holiday pay.

Interested to see what happens at work. Both of my managers (store and district) announced that they were relocating to southern Indiana, where we are doing a lot of growing. So, we will only have an assistant and a regional for a while. They have a guy who they are starting to train for the District job, and then once he's in place, we will get another store manager. Plus we are getting three new hires in the same week. Absolute madness. Oh well, I am just going to try and stick it out and see what happens!

On a completely random note, I am bored with my background, but I can't find another one that I like as much, or that the red words stand out on as much. I guess i should explain that the reason I put certain words in red is so that when I am down, I can skim through this, and see all of the positives in my life. It may be dorky, but it makes me smile. It's a great pick-me-up when things aren't going so well.

Made an appointment to get a haircut. Probably going to cut it shorter than it has been in a really long time. I am excited and nervous, but it will be a nice change, and then I will probably just grow it back out long over winter. I will definitely post pics.

Well, going to go cook dinner for Jamie and I (his for home and mine for work). Baked ziti. yay! I love this dish. I am excited for church in the AM, and getting to sing with Misty! I just have to get through a long work shift first.

♥

Happy!

I have had a beautiful week!

Wednesday I had a great time with Misty, we went for a walk in the park and drank iced tea.

It was wonderful.

I meant to take a picture, but forgot.

Then I worked hard on a surprise fondue dessert for Jamie! Fondue is kind of our special date thing, so it was great! And I was really proud of myself for the way it turned out!

Thursday, I had a lovely day, despite having class (which got out an hour early)!

Then Jamie and I went to Rehearsal, ended up having a long, nice chat with Bill and Jacob, and then I had to go to a midnight meeting at work.

Crazy, crazy changes are going on at work.

I don't really know what to expect. I guess I will just stick it out and wait.

It could get wild.

And then I had to open this morning after our midnight meeting. Sweet.

I am so, so, so excited to get to go to the Indian's Game with my family tonight!! Andy and Carie won't get to be there (sad) but my sister and parents will, and I am pumped to get to spend the evening with them. Pictures to come later!

♥