Furniture update

So.......... the furniture people called Ab back Monday night and told him that they were sending a person out to get us new rails for the bed. On Wednesday. The guy came tonite, had no idea that Ab was thinking we would be getting new rails. He is just a "repair guy". He rigged the bed so that it is FUNCTIONAL and is calling in the order tomorrow that the bed needs new rails and possibly a new headboard. So.. seeing as how readily available the furniture was in the first place (10 weeks of waiting) I suspect that by our 3rd wedding anniversary we will have functional furniture in our bedroom.

Loo, I just might need that phone call from you. I think I might have to beat some heads in.

OH.. and to top it off. Ab and I have been looking at the bed, and we're pretty sure the sales guy ordered the wrong one. I mean... it's the same number as the one on the sheet, and it LOOKS kinda like the one we wanted, but i'm almost CERTAIN that it is not the one I specifically SAT on and told the guy.. "THIS ONE"

Argh...

Pissed doesn't even begin to describe it....

So. For my birthday Ab and I decided to get new furniture for the bedroom. You know, a dresser, some nightstands, a real bed etc. Well... (and this should have been a sign of things to come) when we originally bought the stuff the sales guy told us it would arrive between the 17th and 22nd of October. He called a couple of days later and said "No.. it'll be more like the 25th"
On the 26th of October when our stuff hadn't come in we called, they said it would be Nov. 1st. On Nov 3rd, we called and they said stuff was late blah blah.. it would be Nov 15th. Tuesday after Thanksgiving.. we called b/c we again had no furniture. They assured me that there were a few pieces arriving that week and they would waive the delivery fee and send them to us when they got them. Fantastic!! We go our dresser and a nightstand roughly the first of December. The rest of our items were to arrive the second week of December. Well... they called Ab last week, told him our furniture was in(FINALLY) and set up for delivery today.

To my surprise.. the furniture was sitting in our house when I arrived home from a fantastic cookie party.

Oh but it gets better. After the delivery guys left. Ab and I began assembling our bed. We put the mattress etc on. Then... we heard a crack!! Yup.. you guessed it. It broke. The side post that holds the headboard to the footboard split.

Ab called, reported the problem and they said they would have someone from customer service call us. Are they kidding? First of all they deliver us a product over 2 months after we order it..> THEN... it freak'n breaks on arrival. What do they want us to do at this point. Sleep on the couches?? That bed takes up the whole room. It's not like we can put the mattress back on the ground where it had been for the last 3 months. If we wanted crappy furniture we would have just gone to the monstrosity of a furniture place that is RIGHT by our apt.




I've included pics. Just as evidence.
My advice. Don't buy furniture from Furniture Warehouse on Road Redwood. They might cost less, but we'd be willing to have paid double in order to have furniture that arrived on time, and had a product that didn't break. We should have learned the first time when it took them 2 months to get us our couches. ARGH!!!!

So, Since Sarah's a Nag :)

Apparently, I have not been updating fast enough for some of our readers. For that I apologize. I will try to do better. A lot has happened since the last post so... i'll just ramble until I get tired.

The cleanse went well. As exhausting as the first few days were I eventually got over it. I had more energy and felt great when the whole thing was over. For those of you who like numbers here they are.

I lost a total of 10.5 pounds and 13.25 inches.
Ab lost 10 pounds and 16 inches!!

The great part is that it wasn't one of those "dehydration" or "poop" cleanses. We stayed incredibly hydrated throughout the process and it didn't cause mad dashes for the restroom either. AND.... we've both managed to keep it all off so far. Sooooo. I HIGHLY recommend this cleanse, especially if you've plateau'd in your current plan and need a kickstart to get things going.

On another health note... Sarah and I (sometimes Alison) have been meeting up and working out a lot lately too. We recently entered the world of "classes" at the gym. They offer a ton of classes. I've only been to two diff classes so far, but they both kicked my butt and I'm still looking forward to trying more. I kind of get addicted to stuff like that and now I can't stop. I think Sarah and I have this in common so it works out well for us.

On another health note... my grandmother had her cancer surgery last week. They removed all of the cancer and the blood tests show no more signs of the cancer either. Thanks to everyone who helped pray for her and my family. It was greatly appreciated.

I'm going to be going to Tulsa this week to visit family and be with my friend Amanda who is having her second little girl. As of earlier this week they weren't sure if her husband would be able to be there for the birth. He is currently at his mobilization site before he leaves for Iraq and they weren't sure if they were going to let guys go home for births. I haven't talked to her yet, but I hope and pray that he can be there. I'll post pics when I get them. (they aren't releasing the name either... booo so I'll post that too)

Ok. I'm out of thoughts.

Coma NO!!

I think my inner fat kid just slipped into a coma. Yup. I'm sure she has. Ab and I started a cleanse program on Wednesday. It's a really great way to rid your body of bad toxins, etc and replenish with the proper nutrients etc. (Honestly.. I don't know too much about it.) My friends did it.. .lost weight and so I jumped in. I trust my friends... esp when it involves fitting into those jeans that have just been hanging in my closet looking at me with an evil glare for the better part of a year.

Today is Day 1 or 3. There are to pre-cleanse days before two of your "cleanse" days. I'm starving, I have a headache, my eye has been twitching NON-STOP for more than 24 hours, and I have no energy. Yet. I still hold out hope that these "nutrients" will slide into my body and give me life. In the meantime, the fat kid is sleeping. She gave up. Poor thing has been running my world from the inside for a long time. I will wake her back up when this is all over, but she will now know her limits. Maybe she was my source of energy??

Hmm. Anywho. Nothing too exciting to post. Just hungry and I thought i'd gripe about it on here since Ab won't let me. ha!

He's a much stronger man than I...

BOOO YOU!!

Ok. I know you people read our blog. You constantly "talk" to us about it, and you know events in our lives.. so.. COMMENT ALREADY!!

It is so depressing to blog, knowing full well that you have readers, and never recieve comments.

Those of you waiting on Ab to make some profound and interesting blog.. keep waiting. His personal blog has not been updated in almost a year. I have tormented him about it and still.. NO BLOG. I apologize. Also, I have a personal blog. That cute little link on the right that says Brandi. I know you read that too. COMMENT!!

Sorry for the rant.

Good news. Today is my last day of work!!!!! How exciting. Yes, i'll go back at some point. No idea to what yet, but i'll go back. I'm not made to stay at home all day. Especially since the hubby already does that. We love each other, but that much time.. Hello. We are human.

Jamie lands in 18 hours. I'm pumped.

All about us...

So I totally swiped this from someone else's blog, but.. it was cute so I decided to take it as my own.

Who is your man? Ab
How long have you been together? Married 6 months...
How long dated? 4 years in Feb
How old is your man? 27
Who eats more? Probably him
Who said "I love you" first? Ab did...
Who is taller? Me!! and I LOVE pointing that out to him.. he hates it
Who sings better? Ab.. I can NOT carry a tune
Who is smarter? Depends on what aspect... books- him. Day-to-day stuff.. ME
Whose temper is worse? Mine.. by far. It's scary!
Who does the laundry? We both do, but him mostly these days
Who takes out the garbage? I do. I'm the only one that manages to smell the stink and notice that it is OVERFLOWING
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Depends on which way you are looking at it
Who pays the bills? Him, I just write a check
Who is better with the computer? Ab. I dont even know how to defrag or reformat stuff (Shhhh don't tell the boss though)
Who mows the lawn? Neither one of us. That is the beauty of apt living
Who cooks dinner? I do most of the time
Who drives when you are together? Him. Always
Who pays when you go out? Doesn't really matter. It's all the same money
Who is most stubborn? Again. This is def me. Hands down
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Tough one
Whose parents do you see the most? Neither. They are both 1200 miles away
Who kissed who first? I kissed him.. he wussed out
Who asked who out? Again.. this was ALL Me
Who proposed? He did. Almost a year ago now
Who is more sensitive? Depends on the topic
Who has more friends? It think we have an equal amount of friends and we share them.
Who has more siblings? Well it's the same if you count step-siblings, but after next summer Ab will have me beat by a sister
Who wears the pants in the family? Ab for sure, he just likes to let me think I wear the pants... what a nice guy

Yea.. you know you wanna go

If most of you are like me, the thought of going to the gym and working out makes you cringe. Probably more than cringe. I HATE WORKING OUT. I always have. You have to get ready, drive down there, find a machine (this is a true task in most gyms.. especially if you observe that whole personal space rule), and then actually do something. You have to start making those muscles that you have neglected for so long burn and ache with every second you are there. Well....

In an effort to get into better shape... or as we like to say "back to our fighting weights", Ab and I have joined a gym. Now. This is not just any ol' gym. You know we don't roll like that. This gym is something special, something spectacular, it has the ability to make us actually LOOK FORWARD to going. Yep, the girl who hates the gym actually looks forward to her next visit. Why you ask? No, no.. it has nothing to do with the crack in the water... The gym has everything, and I really do mean everything. If you don't believe me check it out
www.lifetimefitness.com


I have to say sorry to my readers in OK.. or should I say nee ner nee ner nee ner.. you dont have one!! HA!

Jealous?? I think you should be

It's all Lori's fault...

Last Saturday was the first "official" Saturday of college football. My husband has been pumped about this day for a while. Why... I am not sure. Last I checked OSU pretty much sucked, but he is loyal. You can NOT fault a boy for that. Seeing as how I have NOOOOOO interest in watching most football games (yes.. there are exceptions) Lori, Nici, and I decided that shopping was a MUCH better choice for us. With that said we loaded up the car and drove to Park City. Now, usually I am not a sucker for expensive items... especially items that you can PROBABLY find in other stores, but..... Lori made me.


Welcome.... the new member of the family. Yes. I welcomed a purse into the family. I mean crap. The thing cost more than the little white yapper at my front door right now. But.. not only did I buy a new member of the family.
I bought it's baby. How cute huh?

Now. I know what you're thinking. Lime green?? Yes. I love it. If you don't, you can go stick it somewhere.



Ab was really enthusiastic about my new purse. Can you tell??
Sometimes a girl must pamper herself.. and if anyone asks... Lori made me do it. HA!!

Just for fun...

Only b/c I love the Family Guy so much! :)

What a slap in the face...

So as I sat in my office this morning feeling sorry for myself b/c of my circumstances at work, I had to ask myself a question: Why did I take this job in the first place??

Great question. I'll be honest. Before I ever even interviewed for this job, I had every intention of not taking it. Ab and I had discoved that it was bit more of a commute than we liked, and the offering salary was.. decent at best. I left the interview feeling content that I was making the right decision to just pass and continue with all of the interviews I had planned. Within 30 minutes of leaving the interview I received a phone call with the job offer. I told them I would be in touch and headed off to my next interview. Before I pulled into the parking lot, I received a call from my interviewer saying he was sick-- stomach flu and we'd have to re-schedule.

The next day, Saturday, I received an email from the church people. They knew I had health benefits through Ab's job, so they swapped out health benefits for a HUGE jump in salary. Sweet! Ab and I decided this would be great.(I turned down roughly 6 other employers for this chance) I mean.. money does talk, regardless of what some people say. We talked Monday and worked out the details.

All of that to say... I believe that God had his hand in my job search. My heart and head may not have been in the right place, but God is the puppet-master. I don't mean that disresectfully either. He helps guide us to the decisions he knows we will make, but helps us come to them.

After deciding how I came across this job and what lead me to work here, God and I had this conversation. It began with his question in his Oh So Loving and Fatherly tone:

God: But WHY did you take this job?
Me: I guess I wanted to serve..
God: So... Aren't you doing that?
Me: Yes, but..
God: What?
Me: It's hard, there are a few people that suck, and I hate the drive, and ..
God: *yawn*
Me: Hey! That's valid!! (pathetic huh?) And THAT is when I felt as though I had been slapped in the face.

It's not always about what we can gain from our surroundings. I'm serving. I love the feeling of knowing that I helped. In every situation in life there are going to be people who make us want to strangle them. In some instances more than a few, but it is SOOO rewarding and SOO worth it to know that you helped someone. And believe it or not.. There is SOMETHING here I'm supposed to learn, and someone here I am going to help. God will not prepare me to move forward until I have accomplished the "right now" task he has for me. Crazy huh?

It's funny looking back. It was that way in OK too. I let a couple of people SOUR my feelings for my job, for my work. I couldn't look past how miserable they made me. The day I wrote my resignation letter (the first time.. in Nov) I had it printed. I was soo pumped to turn it in and walk away... then I was called into a meeting. They wanted me to be P Mark's new assistant. Really?!? Wow. I shredded the letter. I knew that there was somethign I was SUPPOSED to learn, to accomplish, help with. Working for Mark was one of the MOST FUN jobs I've ever had. Any of you that know him... know this is a true statement. He LOVES people. He lives, breathes, and walks in faith and love. Working for him helped me realize what true service is. Someday, I wanna be like Mark. I hope to be.. maybe not in the pastoral sense, but I want that drive, that passion. I want to influence people in a positive way.

So with that slap in the face came surrender. I'm going to do my job. Do it as best I can, and when my "right now" task is finished here God will open a door for me elsewhere.

Holy Holiday??

In honor of the Mormon's Holy Holiday- Pioneer Day. I present you with a video. I heard this song on the radio this morning. I found it fitting. Enjoy.

It's the unsaid "I'm sorry's" that tear us apart...

Now. I know that Ab and I have only been married for three months, but I do realize that he and I have a few things that a lot of failed marriages are missing:
1) A relationship with Christ- It's amazing the peace that can come over you and how much more intense your love can be by having this influence and guide in your life.
2) Communication skills- Since day one, Ab and I have been very open and honest with each other about our feelings. Mad, sad, excited, scared, etc. We have both vocally communicated that it is our desire to know and share these things with each other.
3) The words "I'm Sorry"- It is AMAZING how these two little words can change you. Either by hearing them, not hearing them, or by saying them. People should never EXPECT you to know that they are sorry. If you feel it.. say it. By never resolving stupid little fights, or hurtful words, or even big fights, you never heal. Without healing, you continue to put up a tiny wall between you and your spouse.. lets call them bricks. To start with they don't seem too bad. Just a tiny stone on your heart that you or your partner might forget is there. Over time though, these bricks get built taller and and wider and with each argument are cemented into place. After too long, the wall is so built up with anger and frustration that people begin to resent, despise, and "stop loving" one another.

My husband just sent me the sweetest text ever, and it was an apology over a spat we had before work. I love that man to death, and I want to do the best I can to make sure there are no walls built up between us and on our hearts. I'm sorry can mean the world to someone. My advice (and then I'll end my "sermon" for the day) say I'm sorry. Mean it, and move on to love and cherish the person you chose to spend you life with. Time isn't worth wasting being mad with each other.

Now.. for all of you out there who are marriage veterans it might be easy to say "Awww cute, you can tell she's a newlywed" I'm sorry. NO. It infuriates me to hear that. You should ALWAYS love and care for your spouse with the same if not more, respect and admiration as the first day you were married. Otherwise... what are you doing???

Just a quick update...

So it's almost 7am and I've been sitting at my desk at work for well over an hour. My morning started by waking up at 4am to make sure that Terry got to the airport by 5. Terry's leaving to go home and do his annual 4 weeks of training with the Guard. Sometime in the next few weeks he'll be receiving orders for when he's going to Iraq. I'm hoping it's later.. later than the end of November.

Terry and his wife are expecting another little girl in November, and I really hope he can be here for her birth. He deserves that.

So.. Terry arrived at the airport in plenty of time, and I decided to go ahead and come in to work. By the time I drove home i'd probably get an hour of sleep before I had to get back up and spend another hour in the car... sooo. Work it is. Thank GOD for Starbucks being open at 5:30!! Hopefully I'll be getting out of here around 2 or 3 today. We'll see.

Ab's dad's in town for a few days. He's here for the Investools 3 Day Live event. It's good to see family. I know Ab enjoyed time with him last night more than he thought he would. (not that he doesnt LOVE time with his dad.. if you know Ab... you KNOW he loves his dad), but I think he realized being around his dad that he missed it more than he thought. It's easy to get into our flow of life here and block out the fact that we miss our families and friends (which we do like crazy), but when people come and visit it makes us realize that much more how lonely it can be here. Anywhoo... Al will be here until Sunday, and I'm looking forward to it. Last night he took us to Rodizio (?) that place is AMAZING!! For those of you who don't know. It's a Brazilian steakhouse where the servers walk aroudn with HUGE skewers of meat and serve it to you right off the skewer. Usually they have around... 17-20 different meats, and apparently on weekends they have exotic meat like rattlesnake. Crazy..

Anywho. Nothing to really update on. I'm trying to think of some fun things to do in this city. It's pretty hot here.. even minus the humidity, but it'd be nice to say that I did something "outdoorsy" in Utah.

Man.. I can't wait for ski season.

Antifreeze?

So the guy below us.. or his family.. or whoever are moving out this week. Which thrills me, b/c I have always suspected him of being the kiddie porn guy (see a previous post on my blog for that story), and he and his wife made a nasty comment aboout me about a week ago and they didn't think I heard it.. so ..... GOOOD RIDDENCE.

The eerie part of this move came today when I was parking my car. I saw him and some guys carrying out stuff. As I approached the stairs, I heard one of the guys say... so this is all Anti-freeze? He responds with a casual.. yea. Ok. What?? These guys were carrying a good 10-15, 2-5 gallons each, of anti-freeze? What the crap?? Seriously.... creepy. I know that I now live in a state in which that will be an important fluid to keep filled in my car, but that guy had enough anti-freeze for the whole complex.

SO my questions is this... is he a future or previous terrorist? Child molester? Is he poisoning off his disabled wife (whom I haven't seen since the nasty comment) for the insurance money? Who knows. All I know, is that this guy is moving out, and I am thankful.

Eesh. You'd think we lived in the ghetto... like Midvale... or something. (haha jk Carter family) I don't think there is a real ghetto here.

Quick glimpse at our life in May..

Since, our readers seem to be getting anxious about a new post and I have to put a gun to Ab's head to make him post.. here goes.
You're right Lori, a ton has happened since the last post, but where do I start.

I got the pleasure of going back to Tulsa for the weekend at the first of May for my sister's graduation. I'm so proud of her. College was hard, I think for all of us, and finally being able to say that you're done is such a relief. Congrats Mindi. Now you can go out and get a "big kid" job like the rest of us. Blah. Makes me want to go back to college. Afternoon naps, skipping class if I just didn't feel like it, no "real" responsibility. Ahh. Those were the days. (Yes Mindi, I know this wasn't you the last year.. you put in more hours than almost anyone I know)

Later in May... Adam came to visit. He was OFFICIALLY our first guest. Terry's been here for a while and Amanda was here in March, but nope. Adam was official. It was sooo good to have a visitor, especially for Ab. He has seen so few people since he moved out here, and I really don't think seeing people at the wedding counts since that day was all one big whirlwind anyway. We had a lot of fun. Ab showed him around, they talked a LOT of business, andn we had a great meal that Adam prepared along with some amazing wine from Napa Valley. Good times were had, and I can't wait until he can come back. Adam's a trooper though. Adam arrived the weekend before our couches did and I can't imagine that that would be comfortable or tolerable at all. So... sorry. The couches finally arrived and after 2 days of moving them around we found a place that they fit and actually look nice. So now if you decide to visit us there is a nice place for you to sleep or even sit for that matter. The bright yellow Walgreen's chair has been retired to the patio.

A week or so ago. I got to experience Sushi. I have always steered clear of sushi for the fact that I don't eat fish, but Lori being the persuasive person she is, that whole group being so fun, and Ab and I having nothing to do... ha.. I caved and we went. I'll always try something once (for the most part anyway), but I really should have done like Brandon and eaten before I went. Why on earth would I think that I would like partially cooked or raw fish, when I GAG eating cooked fish!! HAHA!! I swear. If I ever need a good diet. It'll be a fish or sushi diet. blech. We've had some good food in Utah, but .. from now on i'll be ordering cooked food when it's sushi time for everyone else. Haha.

Besides the sushi incident Ab and I have had some pretty good food over the last month. Thai, grilled, German, Mexican (kinda), and BBQ this weekend (which I am looking sooooo forward to) I look also look forward to: Chinese, Italian, etc.

Ok.. I know there's more, but that's all for now. I'd love to post them, but wont. There are some great pics of Nathan and his first beer at Ichiban. 6 months old and LOVES him some beer. ha! (ok NO he didn't drink it.. don't report Lori to child services)

For info on how the job is going.. you can check that out on my blog.

Jesus Eats at Uno's

Brandi has been all over me to post this, but I have been delaying as long as I could in hopes of instigating our first huge fight. But, since it has nothing to do with drugs, money, or infidelity, I haven't had much luck getting her pissed off so I might as well just do the damn post (I guess I'll have to cross "delayed posts" off of her red button list).

A couple of weekends ago, we went to Denver. It was just a simple weekend trip, but man it was great. In fact, it was so great that I find myself filled with the desire to not pay bills so that we can afford to do it at least once a month (just kidding sweetie... maybe).

The flight to Denver was short and sweet, but not short enough. You see, the first thing on the action item list was to eat lunch at Uno's. From my perspective I did not merely have to wait for an hour long plane ride. I had waited for years. There used to be one in Tulsa, but Brandi decided to get all noble and she outed one of the managers for sexually harassing one of her co-workers. So instead of simply finding another manager, the owners decided that the best course of action was to close shop*. Therefor, it is only on trips to distant lands that I can grace the halls of Uno's. Fortunately for me, this happened to be one such trip. (Oh yeah, Brandi likes Uno's too... and Jesus eats there from time to time as well)

We got off of the plane and made it to the car rental lot where we were given a full size Yukon for the price of an Aveo... high five (in my best Borat voice)! Next stop: Uno's. I, of course, had the Chicago Classic, which happens to be the only choice. Brandi had this chicken thing that she gets every time. I'm not sure why she gets it, because her version of it is ten times better when she cooks.

After we finished eating, we went to a rats nest that some people call a hotel. Actually, I don't think it would have been too bad if there hadn't been 50 kids on our floor. I think they were on some type of church youth group trip. In fact, it had to be that, because only kids on a youth group trip are that loud and annoying at two in the morning. And nothing against youth group kids... they can't do anything about their hormones... its not their fault. Jimmy likes Suzy, who has a crush on Jimmy's best friend Mike. But the thing is, Mike likes Veronica because, lets face it, Suzy is ugly. Veronica likes everyone because all she wants is her first kiss, but the problem there is that none of the guys will talk to her because she is the hottest chick in church... I mean none of them have a chance! "But how do you know this Ab?" Because, dear reader, they were yelling and screaming that crap up and down the halls all night long... and because Mike is a metaphor for me when I was in youth group. Damn.

After checking in, we made our way to Coors Field to catch the visiting Braves take on the Rockies. Coors is one of the nicest ballparks I have visited to date. We got our hats at the pro shop and then made our way to the concession stand praying that they wouldn't have that "coliseum dog" crap like Oakland. Huzzah! They had good old fashioned hot dogs (Brandi was happy like a fat kid. But what can I say? What my baby wants, my baby gets.)

The game was a lot of fun. We had great seats behind home plate which granted us quick access to concessions and restrooms. John Smoltz was on the bump for Atlanta and he performed very Smoltz-like. He pretty much shut them down for 7 and 2/3. But lets face it, Brandon and Lori's infant son could shut down the Rockies... but that's neither here nor there. The game was great. In fact (and Brandi agrees with this), I would say that this was the best trip that we have taken so far in our 3+ years together.

In closing: Uno's heavenly. Youth group raging hormones. Hot dogs American style. Great seats. Nathan is better than an MLB team.



*Brandi has reportedly regretted the direction of her moral compass ever since. I mean, who cares if some girl is "a little uncomfortable"... they have great food!

EVICTION NOTICE NO MORE!!

After a grueling 3 days of applications, resumes, and applications across town I was offered a job Friday. I am the future office administrator for a Lutheran Church here in town. Pretty cool huh? I was really happy when they gave me the job, because the interview was really extensive... but I decided that an open line of communication was the way to go.

Now. Some of you may be concerned with the denomination of this church. An AWESOME thing we talked about in the interview. They prefer non-members on staff. AMAZING!! This is a total 360 from my previous church j-o-b.

* entering random rant*

It amazes me the close-minded-ness of many churches in today's society. People believe that their way is the only way to Heaven or the only "correct" way to live your life. You have GOT to be kidding me.

I have a HUGE passion for God's work and I am daily reminded of the wonderful things Christ did for my life, but to believe that my interpretation of God's word is the ONLY way to see it is unfathomable to me.

Bottom line: Jesus Christ was the Son of God who came to this world, led a blameless life, DIED for my sins, and rose again on the 3rd day.

That being said: I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to help serve God (in whichever way I might) and help these people do their work for God even though it may not be the way that I worship and acknowledge God.

I loved my previous job, but I really think this area was a tremendous struggle for them. Only in that it was EXPECTED that staff be fully active members and volunteers in the church. I loved that church and their vision, but I LOVED the church I attended and learned so much on a weekly basis from that church. I never felt comfortable feeling "pressure" to convert to their belief system or interpretation on some things in the word. Also, the pressure from being the only staff member to come on board that WASN'T a member was felt the entirety of my employment (but that's a totally diff story)

The pastor I will be working for has already expressed to me his vision for his church and how excited he is to have fresh "outside" eyes to help with their ministry. I love it. I am so excited for it, and now Ab can take the eviction notice off of my door.

Some things aren't MEANT to be shared...

So I love being married. My husband is great, the apartment is great, the view is great, the job search is going great... one small problem.

My wonderful, sweet, charming husband shared something with me this last week that I am NOT so excited about. What did he share you ask??

His gross infected red eyes. Over the last 3+ years of knowing Ab he has always had these blood shot gross looking eyes at times. Disturbing yes, but contagious... nah. These fun eyes have gotten progressively worse for him over the course of the last 2 or 3 weeks. I felt bad for him wondering what could make his eyes like that at random. I mean.. it couldn't be pink-eye, he's had these eyes for 3 years.

Or is it?? I woke up yesterday morning with a particular pain in my left eye. It's not gooey like some gross eyes are. Just VERY dry and VERY painful.

If any of you know me very well... you know that I FREAK out when stuff comes near my eyes. Kristen had a fun time doing my makeup because of this. Eyedrops are another story. I'm reminded of an episode of FRIENDS (that Ab has yet to watch: Sorry dear). You know.... that one where Rachel has pink-eye. They have to LITERALLY hold her down to get the drops in. Pretty much the scene between Ab and I at lunch today. I HATE PEOPLE MESSING WITH MY EYES!!

Anywhooo... All that to say a public "Thank you" to my dear husband for being too stubborn to go to the doctor for your eyes and now infecting us both.
HAHA!!

Sorry Kristen...

Ok. So as many of you know. I am VERY ADD when it comes to my hair. I'm always looking for something new and fun to do with it. Well. Last Saturday Ab and I were out and about and he needed a haircut. I was planning on going with him and waiting. Well, I decided I wanted a trim, no wait.. a little off... no wait.. umm 8-10 inches off? I planned on waiting until I came back to Tulsa to get it all chopped off, but I got impatient. Ha! Sorry Kristen. I'll let you color it or something. So anywhoo..these are the pics of my new hair.

New life, new husband, new hometown... why not new hair?

Ahh the honeymoon...

Now, seeing as how many things that happen on a honeymoon are not to be shared (even though my fabulous husband might think so), I have decided to give you all a rundown of all the beautiful things we did in California *outside the hotel ;)

5am Sun April 8th: Ab and I were rudely awoken by the alarm clock. Our flight to Cali was at 7am. I will still never understand this, but ok. Adam being the gracious soul that he is drove us to the airport. One great perk of being at the airport on Easter morning at 6am is that you can GUARANTEE upgrades. We got to upgrade our seats from Dallas to San Francisco to First Class.

Our first dinner as a married couple was at a restaurant called "Spinnaker". The food was FANTASTIC, but due to the fact we were sitting out on the water, my body decided to get "sea sick" and I never finished eating.

Our first full day in San Francisco was indeed a FULL day. I got to walk on a beach and see the ocean for the first time; eat at the Cheesecake Factory (on top of a 7 story Macy's!) in downtown San Francisco; and see the A's play their opening game in McAfee Coliseum. The A's wound up losing and I froze my ace off, but I got a really cute sweatshirt out of the deal so all was well in my world.

The next day is kind of a blur, we drove down and walked through Muir Woods and began our adventure in Napa Valley.

Napa Valley is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Who knew that a bunch of grapes on sticks could make such beautiful scenery. :) Our last day was spent touring various wineries that we selected based on their unavailability in other areas of the country. Frank Family, V. Sattui, and August Briggs to name a few. We had lots of great wine, took tons of great pics, and managed to (illegally) get our selections back to this great state we now call home.

Good Friday... Who Knew?

I figured that we would start with the wedding weekend, this being the first post and all. Subsequent posts will be penned by either myself or Brandi, and the topics will most likely lack continuity. Let us begin...

After it was all said and done, I asked Brandi if the wedding weekend went the way she wanted it to. She said that it did, and for that I was extremely thankful. My experience was a little different than hers, so the last thing I needed while being mentally tormented was "bridezilla" making an appearance.

I will begin by saying that I am NOT superstitious. I may wear rally caps in the ninth and avoid stepping on cracks, but I would hardly consider that driven by superstition. Forget that I wear my socks inside out on odd calendar days and please ignore me if I throw a fit because there is a red sky in the morning. Since I am clearly not superstitious, I don't need to explain to you that "bad omens" are easy to ignore... or are they?

I got up on Friday cocked, locked, and ready to rock. It was about 4 in the morning, so of course I had plenty of time to make my 6 o'clock flight. But wait. What's this? Oh nothing... its just a line at the security checkpoint that is literally 4.23 football fields long (really... I measured). Without agonizing over details, I almost missed the flight to my wedding. I boarded at 5:57. Wheels were down at 12:15 in Tulsa and it was snowing. Just to be clear, it was about 67 degrees in Utah and it was snowing in Tulsa. Brandi picked me up at the airport and off we went to the Tulsa County Courthouse to get a marriage license. You know? Those little pieces of paper that make a marriage legal. The courthouse was "Closed in observance of Good Friday." I made my best efforts not to make eye contact with Brandi because I was sure that she would be a ball of fire, but there she was as calm as ever. Meanwhile, I was going out of my damn mind! First the line at the airport, then the snow, and now this. Great! We can get married, but we can't. She did her best to calm me, but the dam had been breached. I was unbelievably pissed. Then, we decided to go to Taco Bueno since there aren't any in Utah. The beverage machine was out of Diet Coke. How many omens can one man take?!? The phone rings... "Ab, its Dad, Aaron is sick and he might not be able to sing at the wedding." CLICK. As I made my way to the table with a few little cups of salsa, Brandi hit my elbow and knocked the salsa to the floor. Good Friday my ass! I was getting ready to throw up my hands and wave the white flag when Brandi's phone rang. Thank God for Diahanna George. She had investigated through her various channels to find us a courthouse that was open on Good Friday. We made it to Sapulpa with about 15 minutes to spare and got our marriage license! Things were starting to turn around.

We had a great rehearsal and the dinner was fantastic. The details of the bachelor party are on a strict need to know basis, and frankly, none of you need to know. The day of the wedding was wonderful, even though my ass was doing hula hoops around my stomach. Brandi was stunning in her dress and Mitch did a great job with the ceremony. I also gained a new respect for the bride and groom at receptions. It is easier to pass a kidney stone than to make it around to every single guest and talk to them. All in all, it was a perfect weekend. I warded off all of the bad omens that were attacking my non-superstitious ass, and made it to the altar. I couldn't have asked for anything more. The only thing, in my opinion, that was better than the wedding was the honeymoon...