Thursday Latelies: Last of 2012

So glad this is the last Thursday of the year I need a new theme bad. WARNING: I look pretty rough in the video!!

Something New: Tom's Shoes

Something Old: TJMAX Pitcher- kindof Turquoise

Something Blue: MissMe Jeans

Hope u had a Good Christmas!

Thursday Latelies: Chris Mouse

So I changed my mind on all the linking I was going to do it is getting to late. Hope you are having an awesome Thursday!!!

Something Blue: TJ Max Blue Chair
Something New: Kohl's 70% off Ornaments
Something Old: Chris Mouse Hallmark Ornements

Thursday Latelies: Lemon and Orange Jello

Happy Thursday! Hope you have had a good week. Guess what?? Due to my awesome hubby and my new IPAD2.  I only have one video. I know what you are thinking, I am really stepping up my game  Downside, my video is a just a tad bit lengthy. Good thing that you have the choice to watch or not to watch :). I just had one to many things to tell you this week. Enjoy!

• Something New: IPAD 2, Buy your very own  Klip It To Go HERE
• Something Old: Read about my "old" fish tank and it's "new" members Orangejello HERE and LT HERE
• Something Blue: Clean & Clear Pimple Relief PASTE

Don't forget to check out my fellow bloggers and their Thursday Latelies below. Until next week Happy Christmas Shopping!

• BEX
• Laura
• Mego

Love My Doctor!!!

Today marks five months since our miscarriage in July. I will say it is still really hard. It is hard to find out people are pregnant all the time. It is hard to see babies everywhere. And it isnreally hard to think about all the children who do not have a family bc their parents did not want them or are to selfish. It is hard not to feel sorry for myself and think "why did I have to miscarry and all these other people don't have a problem". It is hard to look at the big picture because my big picture does not scan out farther then six months to a year haha. I have been on quite the roller coaster each month. Each month brings new sets of emotions and fears. I do know one thing this journey has taught me how precious the gift of children are. I have told many of my family and friends this but I have vowed that when God blesses us with a child I will not complain about being pregnant and be thankful for every single. I would rather be sick as a dog for nine months then never have a child. I am going to write that little reminder on every mirror in my house so I never forget the journey We are on right now. I give everyone who reads this permission to remind me of this!!! :)

On another note. I went to my doctor today and she is awesome. I was able to ask her every single question I had. I am sure she secretly laughed when I left because I had typed out 15 things I wanted to ask her and she answered them all. She is so understanding, does not panic and makes you really feel that she cares. It is to bad that more healthcare providers are not like my doctor.

I left feeling encouraged and we set up a plan for the next few months. I go back in Febuary for a follow up. I am secretly hoping that this visit is like the visits that happen when you have a cold. You know what I am talking about you get a cold and wait and wait to go see the doctor and then when you finally go you are all better. That is what I am praying for my Febuary appointment to go.

Please pray that I can trust God through this time and seek him when I am sad. Please pray that God blesses us with a child that is healthy. Please also pray that I can be a good wife through this season in our life.

2011 and 26 goals

I was sitting here tonight thinking about 2011 and all the things that have transpired this year, 2011 has brought a lot of blessings and a lot of challenges personally. In all the good and bad I believe I have become a stronger person. Here is a look back at the year.

January: Cruise with the family to the Carribian. Luke turns 27 and I turn the big 25.
Febuary:Erica gets into PA School
March:Visit Laura in Austin Texas
April: Mini vacation in Miami beach due to a Trip Luke earned at work.
May: 2nd Anniversary
June: Discover 4 Tigers buried I my back yard and Erica and Zak move to WI.
July: 4 th of July in Arkansas and we have a miscarriage.
August: Swimming starts and Meghan moves to Kankakee for school. Three audit's at work yippee.
September: Parents almost do not make it Carbon monoxide scare. They end up fine and so does Bentley.
October: Uhs girls swim team places 2nd at Sectionals and my parents 30th wedding anniversary. I give up pop can you believe it.
November: Swimming gets over after a successful season and Thanksgiving festivities were a plenty.
December: Still no baby yet for us but still hoping. Celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Here are my goals for 2012 I am going to try and update them at the end of each month. Since I am going to be 26 soon I decided I would come up with 26 goals.

#1: Have a baby
#2: Become more healthy
#3: Workout 2 to 3 times a week
#4: Stay away from pop and Starbucks hot chocolate
#5: Make dinner at least once a week
#6: Do Laundry twice a week so that it stays current
#7: Clean out my clothes closet and get rid of at least ten items a month
#8: Use all the food in my fridge so it does not go to waste
#9: Start or join a women's bible study
#10: Go on a date with my hubby once a week.
#11: Get something for my fish tank once a month.
#12: Send a encouraging note via mail once a month to one of my family or friends.
#13: Make my bed everyday
#14: Get up at 6:30 everyday so I have some down time.
#15: Go to bed by 11:00pm every night on the weekdays
#16: Write down one positive of the day
#17: Tell my husband at least one thing I appreciate or love about him every day.
#18: Eat breakfast every morning
#19: Do not nag my husband about his shoes or clothes being everywhere when he gets home
#20: Call my sisters at least once a week
#21: Go above and beyond at work at least once a week
#22: Not complain when I feel sad or bad
#23: Learn a new scripture once a week and memorize it
#24: Read a book once a month
#25: Start and finish projects within a two week period
#26: Blog at least twice a week

Some of my goals are silly and some not. It will be fun to see how I am doing and this hopefully will give me a opportunity to keep myself accountable on the important goals. Hope you are having a good Monday!

Thursday Latelies: I AM STARVING

Hi everyone! Hope you are having a good week and if you have not take a minute and think about three things you have enjoyed in the midst of your crazy day. It is crazy how we can let work, money problems and  busy days stress us out when in realty we were put on this earth for one purpose and that is to love God and love people. Here are my favorite things that I have been thankful for this week and yes food made the list :)

And now for the three thursday latelie video's:

 Don't Forget to check out my BFF laura  and the Thursday Latelie Queen herself BEX .

Something Old: Reeses Peanut Butter Bells
Something Blue: Pringles Salt & Vinegar YUMMIES
Something New: Loreal Vive Pro Smooth Gloss Shampoo & Conditioner

HOHO = Christmas ???

I am sure you have seen the website that shows the top 50 most funniest auto correct text message convos. They are a little raunchy but pretty funny. Last week I was at Prairie Gardens and I took a picture of this tree:

I then proceeded to text my friend Britany this tree because she loves purple and AUTO CORRECT got me to. This is how the convo went: 

Me:  I am going to win this tree for hoho
Brit: It is really pretty, Good Luck
Me: I meant for you not hoho
Brit: Haha! I just thought you meant Christmas. Hoho = Christmas = Santa = Christmas. Thought you wanted it for Christmas.

Oh how I love the Iphone :)

put it in the record book

Today Luke and I were able to enjoy a whole day at home. I honestly do not know the last time we were both home and had absolutely no plan at all. Originally Luke had planned to head up to Peoria at the crack of dawn to go deer hunting but decided this morning to just stay home. I will say today was glorious. I got up around 9:00 and my hubby went and got us breakfast(how thoughtful). Then we hung out downstairs watching tv and just hanging out. I then went and got a massage, went to the grocery store, tended to my saltwater tank and one lonely fish(poor sprink) , made dinner(can't remember the last time that happened), did 100 loads of laundry, wrapped a few presents, cleaned my bathrooms and basement, finished Christmas decorating and spent a solid hour on Pinterest. 

With both of us working full time and being way to over committed we needed today. It was just fun to be able to be together and get some stuff done. I just hope that we can have another day like this sometime in the near future. Hope you had a great day to!

Thursday Latelies: So Fresh and So Clean

Happy Thursday!!! Hope you are having a fabulous day and have a lot to be thankful for even if it is a silly little tree. Be sure to check out my BFF Laura and her Thursday Latelies HERE and also the gal who started it all BEX . 

Only two video's today instead of three getting better except I really seemed to blabber a bunch. Goal for week(3) 7 min post. :) 

Something New:
 - Sheet Music Tree from Hobby Lobby
 - Crate & Barrel Snowflake Soap

Something Blue:
 - Blue(should have been Grey) Guest Room (Valspar Drizzling Mist Paint in Satin)

Something Old & Blue:
 - Repainted Dresser (Valspar Voyage Paint in Eggshell)

** Leave me your favorite Christmas memory or tradition  I would love to hear from you!

The things I miss......

#1: Fake Baking: I miss tanning soooooooooo bad. You look so much better when you are tan. This picture is of me and Luke on our cruise last year after we had seen the sun for a few days. I used to be a avid tanner but in July I got a mole removed twice on my stomach that had came back the first time with unacceptable margins. Not exactly sure what that meant but basically it was not a good mole and so under the knife I went again. It was pretty awful really! The worst part was when the nurse was taking out my stitches and it took her 30 minutes plus to get them out. She just kept pulling and pulling. Terrible!!! Anyhow because of my stupid black now non-existent mole I can not fake bake anymore. My mom keeps telling me to put on fake tanning lotion but I honestly just am not that dedicated to doing it all the time.  And really it is just not the same thing. I mean there is nothing better then a warm tanning bed on a cold winter day. Maybe one day when I am older I will return but for now I am trying to keep all my moles on my body.

#2. Coke, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Cherry Pepsi - I have given up pop in efforts to try and make myself more healthy so I can grow a human sometime in the near future. I have been off pop for about 8 weeks now and feel pretty good. The first two weeks were hard I mean I have new respect for smokers and other addicts. I had headaches everyday for a couple of weeks and I was just plain grouchy. The next 4 weeks were pretty smooth but the last two have been terrible. I am to the point where I literally am salivating at the site of any and all pop, even Mt. Dew which I despise.  I was at my parents last night and I went to grab a water in the garage and right next to the bottle water was Pepsi. I literally had to confess my longing for it right then and there, sing a little ditty about how much I missed it and drink a lot of water fast just to not grab a can pop the lid and enter Pepsi heaven. Oh how I miss it but.......... this too shall pass.

Thursday Latelies: Inaugural Post YAY!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

So today I finally bit the bullet and have linked up with BEX for her thursday latelies. Super new at this and I struggled a lot but it will get better. If you want to watch my first ever Thursday Latelies click on the video's below. Due to unfortunate events there is three parts could not figure out how to smush these together.

On to the linkups:

• Laura's Thursday Latelies : Thanksgiving
• Something Blue: West Elm Blue Settee
• Something New: Pottery Barn Plaid Christmas Pillow's
• Something Old: Pink Scarf pictured below. (Remember 7th person who comments on my post wins this awesome forgotten scarf)

And just because who can't resist a cute puppy picture I am leaving you with this!! HAPPY Thursday and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I HEART Martha Stewart!

Tools and Material

Needle-nose pliers or wire cutters

16-gauge copper wire, or 22-gauge green floral wire, cut to 9-inch lengths

72 buttons for each wreath

Scissors

Satin ribbon, 1/8 inch wide and 6 inches long

Seam binding for decorative bow

Button Wreath Ornament How-To

1. Using pliers, make a small loop at one end of the wire.

2. Thread buttons onto the wire until you have enough to form the size of the wreath you want. Our wreaths are 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

3. Using pliers, bend the plain end of the wire around the looped end. This will form the wreath.

4. Use the satin ribbon to make a loop for hanging the wreath; tie the ribbon in a knot about 3 inches above the wreath.

5. Tie a bow of seam binding to decorate the wreath.

Resources

16-gauge copper wire and 22-gauge silver-plate wire available at local craft and hardware-supply stores. 22-gauge green floral wire available at local floral-supply stores.

IHSA State

The Good Life

We are headed to State today. I am taking two girl's Gabi(right) and Kirsten(left). This was at practice today. Today was a little bitter sweet. I am very ready for the season to be over so that I get to spend more time with my hubby. However this is Kirsten's senior year and I will no linger have her at practice anymore.

Kirsten was a freshman my very first year coaching and she had never swam on a swim team before. Since then I have been her only coach and she is going to State!!! Pretty proud moment as a coach.

Looking forward to a fun weekend of fast swimming, good food, fun girl time and maybe a little shopping. :)

bangs much???

Mom sent this picture to me the other day. This is me and Erica I think in Alabama when I was five or six and Erica was probably three. We really loved each other when we were little. It got me to thinking how funny our relationship has developed over the last 20 years.

There was a time believe it or not that me and my sister's were not each others biggest fan! I think it was probably about the time I got into high school and just did not want to share my friends. Then when I got out of high school their was a switch that flipped and my sisters all of a sudden were not really interested in hanging out with me. 

Thankfully now Erica, Meghan and myself are the best of friends and sisters. I miss them everyday and can not wait until Thanksgiving in just a few short days where we will all be together!

NOVEMBER SAY WHAT???

I will say the first week of November was pretty darn awesome. we had incredible weather and the time had not changed yet so it was still light out at 5:00pm. Then Saturday hits and there is this incredible hype over sleeping in an hour on Sunday. Welp Sunday came and yeah the hour was nice but let's be real peeps the second week of November has not been so much fun. By Sunday afternoon the sun started going down at 4:30pm and by 8:00pm I was so exhausted I could barely make it through dinner with friends. 

Monday rolls around promising to to be better but rain all day does not take the blues(or sleepies) go away. So early to bed again last night. Can you figure out what is about to happen now? Two nights in bed by 9:00pm and you wake up at 4:00am wide awake!!! Okay I did  have this incredibly splitting headache where I thought at one time "Could I have a brain anurism that is leaking (Thank you Grey's Anatomy) that I need to have emergency surgery for?"

No brain anurism here just a case of the weather changing and probably a little hormones. Can't believe it is November 8th already and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!! 

AWKWARD

So yesterday I walked into the office carrying a salad I brought for lunch. my dad and Chris were sitting at the table. Here is what happened next:

Dad: Are you on a diet?

Me: Why do you ask is it because I brought a salad?

Dad: yes

Me: Oh no I am just trying to eat so I do not get grouchy around noon.

Dad: Well gotta stay healthy so your are ovulating. Chris do you know about ovulation?

Me: Kind of awkward Dad!

I am pretty used to my dad and usually do not get embarrassed but I will admit this made me red. I mean yes everyone knows that I would like to ovulate b/c that = child but this defiantly made me laugh.

All I can say is AWKWARD!! :)

Lost Relationships

Tonight I have been sitting here so sad for some of my dear friends from high school. The last few days have been ones that no one our age should have to go through. I have had them on my heart wishing that I could do anything to ease their pain of the loss of their father.

I have also felt so sad about the relationships that I have let disappear. I would defiantly change the way I let things dissipate. Our lives have taken us different places and it is/was hard to stay in touch. Now I sit here with the ache of this friendship loss. I know that it seems like it should be easy to extend the olive branch But time is the enemy here and I have let that become my easy way out. I am sure I have hurt them for not trying years ago.

Oh dear friends I am so sorry you have to go through this awful time. I am sorry I have not tried to and been a bad friend! I think about you both often and miss your friendship. I am sorry I have let my insecurities get in the way of rectifying the wrong. I love you both and am praying for you daily!

Our purpose on this earth is to love God and love People. I want to do better at both!

3 Months

3 months ago today was my miscarriage. It is funny at the type of grieving you go through. I think the first month I was sad at the drop of a hat. Then I became scared to think about getting pregnant again. Now I am defiantly ready to be pregnant again.

 It has been super frustrating the last few months because I go through a emotional roller coaster of temping, charting, peeing on ovulation tests, having cyst that rupture, not getting my period  You name it when it comes to my overies and eggs I have been a mess. I know that God is trying to teach me patience it is just plain hard. This month I have been so stressed that I know it has not been good for my body so I am really hoping that October is our month or health eating, healthy stress, healthy overies and eggs.  

I have always wanted to be a mom and I know that hundreds of people struggle with infertility and pregnancy loss but for some reason you never think you will fall in that same boat. I mean  it seems like everyone I know has a baby. Okay retraction not everyone actually maybe only half but their really has been alot. The realty is I have a really great family, a awesome job, good friends and an incredible hubby. Just praying that God has a special little babe in our future soon because we could not be more excited for one!

THE Rag

This is not a Facebook link worthy post mostly because I am sure it would make some dudes uncomfortable. :)

I can't remember when I first heard about "The Rag" I think it may have been from Laura in our old church bathroom. I remember thinking that it sounded so much groser then the word period. Honestly it really was. 

The phrase " on the rag" originated sometime during the late 19th to early 20th century. When a women was menstruating she was "on the rag" a phrase that literally described the way women of the day protected themselves from leaking down their legs. (Gross) Basically women had a supply of not only "that time of the month underwear" but  supply of rags they would layer together depending on the protection needed then use clothes pens to attach these pens to their undies. 

 I mean can you even imagine? I would hate having to wear pads let alone layers of rags. It is bad enough to have to be "on the rag" then to actually have to sit on rags haha.. Sometimes I think that our society has become way to advanced but in this area I think we are right where we need to be!! All I can say is thank you Playtex!!!

O is for....

• October: I pretty much dig this month because the leaves are changing. The weather is cooler. Apple cider and doughnuts are in high demand and Christmas shopping is oh so near.
• Optimistic: Funny how I tell myself that I will choose this approach to life but.... lets be honest I struggle.
• Over It: Kind of cheating I know but I am 100% OVER preparing for our sales tax audit at work.
• Ovulation: This single word is what my brain obsesses about all the time! 
• Obsess: Over Ovulation (Do I get bonus points for having a triple "O"?) :)
• Oblong: One of those words that is in my top ten most weird words. Say it 10 times fast and then 10 times slow if you do not agree. 
• Ocean: My rents just got back from Hawaii and all I have been able to do after looking at their pictures is dream about the Big Blue Waters.
• OLD: My birthday is coming up in the next few months and that is what I am starting to feel. For those of you who are going to say well wait till you are ____. I am sure I will feel more then old I am sure I will feel ANCIENT! HAHA
• Oyster: Never tried one and never will. YUCK
• Oasis: 10:45am service at First Christian Church in Champaign on Sunday. 
• OWL: Defiantly the new trend. I love love love anything with Owls!
• ODOR: I have a very sensitive sniffer and being married to a dude causes my sensor to be on overload most of the time. 

Happy Monday!

Insomnia

Last night I went to bed around 12:30am only to wake up wide awake at 3:45am. I guess my mind was racing and could not shut off but who knows. I tried counting backwords from 100 by 3's. I tried going and getting a glass of water. I turned down the air in the house. I woke Luke up three times telling him I could not sleep(not sure if I thought he was going to wake up and have a convo with me or what). I watched the latest episode of Castle. I went downstairs and folded a load of laundry. Nothing helped at all. By 5:15am I gave up and got up for good. I took a shower, blow dryed my hair and did a little research on the cause of insomnia. True to my WEBMD addiction here is what WEBMD said: 

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep. People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms:

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep
• Waking up too early in the morning
• Feeling tired upon waking

Causes of Insomnia

Causes of acute insomnia can include:

• Significant life stress (job loss or change, death of a loved one, divorce, moving). <Parents On VaCA?
• Illness.
• Emotional or physical discomfort.
• Environmental factors like noise, light, or extreme temperatures (hot or cold) that interfere with sleep.
• Some medications (for example those used to treat colds, allergies, depression,high blood pressure, and asthma) may interfere with sleep.
• Interferences in normal sleep schedule (jet lag or switching from a day to night shift, for example).

Causes of chronic insomnia include:

• Depression and/or anxiety. <YES I AM ANXIOUS SALES TAX AUDIT ON TUESDAY>
• Chronic stress. <SEE ABOVE>
• Pain or discomfort at night. <Back, Neck & Sciatic>

Symptoms of Insomnia

Symptoms of insomnia can include:

• Sleepiness during the day. <YES>
• General tiredness. <YES>
• Irritability.<YES>
• Problems with concentration or memory

Spoiled

Bentley is super spoiled. But that is what happens when your family does not have any babies around your dog becomes your baby. Since Bent is on vacation at Luke and I's house while my rents are gone, I decided he needed a new toy so he would not be sad.  This is the ultimate dog toy ever made. It does not contain any stuffing, it is approx. 10 inches long and contains 19 squeakers. Bentley loves Squeak toys so you can imagine what he thought of this toy. Just in case you were wondering if he liked the toy or not you can judge for your self. 

Home Alone

I hate being home alone all night long by myself!! I mean really hate it. Usually if Luke is out of town I go and stay at my parents. Or I have my best friend Laura stay with me or one of my sisters. Well this week I had to stay by myself two nights in a row while Luke was away on "business".  Mom and Dad are in Hawaii, Laura moved to Texas, Erica moved to Wisconsin, and Meg moved to College at ONU so that left me and Bentley. To prepare for my nights at home alone here was my list of to-dos before retiring for the night:

1. Make sure all the windows were locked tight
2. Close all the blinds before sundown
3. Take Bent on a walk(During Daylight) and make him do his thing so he only has to go out for 5 minutes or less before bedtime. 
4. Cover the window to the porch
5. Cover up the egress window downstairs
6. Leave porch light on
7. Lock bedroom door at night
8. Take Tylenol PM(So I do not have a hard time falling asleep)
9. Turn on a hour long tv show on the computer
10. Turn fan on
11. Vow that I will never again watch Criminal Minds EVER!!

I am glad to say I made it through the last two nights and  I am sitting here patiently waiting for my hubby to get home. :)

Hi my name is Stephanie and...

I LOVE fall television,  I am completely 100% addicted to my couch/television come the third week of September each year. Here is a little recap on how busy my night was last night. Talk about stressful and emotional.

Thursday's

Survivor(CBS) - Week 2 and you are already engrossed and irritated at different players. I will say that Russell Hanson's nephew must really have a sex addition of some sort b/c he was freaking out all night about some chick that he thinks is hot and will not come within 5ft of her. Granted if this was my hubby I would be thrilled and I applaud him on making sure to set boundaries but my word he must really struggle. 

Grey's(ABC) - Seriously terrible show and 100% completely against everything I believe in but, those writers are pretty good they hook you quick every single episode. Quick recap: Meredith got fired  from her job but got rehired by the end of the episode. I mean come on she only tampered with the clinical trial to save her mother's lover's wife who has Alzheimer's. Of course Meredith & Derek are in a fight and got their child they were trying to adopt taken away from them. Christina got a abortion with her husband by her side because she just could not be a mom(seriously ABC could you just have let us thought she had already got the abortion at the end of last season and not brought this up yet again. I mean really?  Don't you know there are millions of people aching for a baby including myself and this was just painful to have to watch and downright wrong). And man the funniest part of the show is when Christina almost killed Alex by stabbing him with a epi needle or whatever that was causing him to go unconscious and having to use the paddles on him to bring him back. 

Bone's(FOX) - Has not started yet but man on man am I excited. Bone's is pregnant and Booth is the father. Seriously make it official already. I mean if a baby can't stop the cycle of one likes the other when the other is involved not sure what will. Come on "Fox" we have high hopes for you.

Funny you would think I would realize that I have enough stress and drama in my life to devote anymore time. Maybe I will give up Monday night TV and see how that goes but Thursday's unfortunately are here to stay till summer. :)

Like a speeding train.....

That is how I feel like the last month of my life has gone. Between work, coaching, my sister Meghan moving to college, my parents almost fatal day, swim meets, cross country meets, musicals, small groups and the daily grind I do not know where this month has gone.

Last Thursday after getting home and realizing that I had nine( yes nine) loads if laundry to do I sat on the verge of a breakdown. However, my awesome hubby Agreed to go to the laundry mat with me. I have a washer and dryer but the laundry mat may be my new favorite place. You can load every single piece of laundry washers at the same time. In 2.5 hours we had conquered a huge huge chore. Sadly it is only Monday and I am afraid that we may be back at the laundry mat next week.

Here's to you speeding train, hope I can hang on for the ride.

Not Just Another Day...

Sunday morning started off as not just another day. Luke had to be up early because he was playing at church that day. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed as usual and was feeling a little more irritated than normal. Luke mentions that he sees a ambulance go by and is worried that our diabetic neighbor was having trouble again. Still in bed I close me eyes again and then decide I better get up and see if our neighbor was okay. Luke had already gone back out the door and as I got to the door I hear him say " I am a little worried that the ambulance is over at your parents house". 


Yes it was the neighbors just not the ones that I had thought at first. I flew out the front door and sprinted as fast I could over to my parents. They were caring my mom to the ambulance and I found my dad unconscious on the front walkway. I started freaking because I heard the fireman say it was a gas leak. I decided that I needed to run back to my house and put shoes, bra and my glasses on. I called my Nanny and Papa and they headed over right away. 

I thought that I had lost my dad, dog and was not sure if my mom was going to be okay. After eight hours on oxygen and extremely high levels of CO2 in their body my parents are home and okay. The firefighters found Bentley and he wet to the dogie ER and spent the day in a oxygen chamber and he is now home and okay. 


The fire fighters said my mom was a hero because even though she passed out three times she had the will power to somehow call 911. The Nurses kept saying they were lucky and should not be alive. However no matter what anyone says we have realized is that yesterday was nothing short of a miracle. There was no CO2 detector so only God's Angels could have kept directing my mom to wake up and call 911. And it was only because God is greater than all things that we could wake up today to sunshine and a new day. 


I have been taught many lessons the last 8 weeks between my miscarriage and the terror of losing my parents. I feel humbled, thankful, stronger and so totally in awe of the God I serve. 

**My parents now have (4) Natural Gas detectors hooked up and so do we. Please go and get some today if you do not have them and check your batteries in the ones you have. 

Big League Chew

I was at Target the other day and as I was walking through the $1.00 item lanes I came across this.

 Do you remember chewing this all the time. HAHA I bought some right away and seriously it was gone within a day and a half. I am not sure what it is about this gum that is soooo good. I mean really it is just the like the gum in the tape roll but it is shredded. I did share some with Brit the other day  at work and when I pulled it out of my purse she busted out laughing. She used to chew this gum in high school during softball. I did not play softball but I think this gum brings me back to when I was the Statistician for Judah's baseball team freshman  year.  So if you need a walk down memory lane head on over to Target you may just be able to snag a pack if I have not already bought out the store :)

SPRINK

So on Monday I was writing a set on the board for practice. I usually write the set on the whiteboard and then explain it to everyone. What I thought I wrote was:

8 x 50 Sprint Kick on 1:00 

As the girl's were finishing up the previous set they started to look at the board and one of the girls asked they asked "What does Sprink mean?". Puzzled I replied it means Sprint Kick silly. Then one by one more girl's asked the same thing "What is Sprink?". Thinking this was really odd I looked over at the whiteboard and what I had really wrote was:

8 x 50 SprinK on the 1:00

Yep I think I have totally lost it. The funnier part to the story is that after replying to each one that the board said Sprint Kick they all thought that Sprink = Sprint Kick. So now I am running with my error and not going to let on that I was being dippy and will defiantly be using SprinK from here on out. 

**SprinK may just  now become a new term in the swimming community. Maybe I should patton!

Not A Change Person!

Most of you who know me really well know that I am NOT a change person. Here are some examples:

• When I lived at my parents house I stayed in the same room for 20 years. When I got married my mom and dad left my room the same for about a year and then decided it was time to get rid of the bed and put a couch in there. The last time Luke was out of town and I stayed there I stayed in my room on the couch. 
• I love to eat at TGI Fridays but I get the same old thing every time I go. Chicken & Cheese on a skillet.
• When Laura and I get together we usually eat, talk and shop.
• Every time someone new starts working for us I usually do not like them for a few weeks b/c I am not used to their routine
• We still do Christmas at my Nan & Paps on Dec 23rd and spend the night

Anyhow, the last few months have brought on a ton of change. My BFF Laura moved to Texas.  Erica & Zak moved to WI. I got two new assistant coaches for swimming. And then last week Meghan moved to ONU for college. Seriously the changes have been big ones and I am handling it pretty well I think. But let me tell you if I had my choice I would have all the people I loved doing the same thing I was doing in the same place! :) 

Pay If Forward!

Yesterday before I headed into work I decided that I had to have the 400 calorie hot chocolate from Starbucks. Yes, I obviously have fallen off the wagon and really need to get back on. But you know how it is, it is hard to eat healthy all the time especially when you are super busy. Speaking of busy I have officially started swim season again and that has equaled complete and utter exhaustion.

Anyway I pulled up to the drive thru window and put in my order. As I waited in line I was really so focused on what my day had in store that I was lost in thought when I pulled up to the window. The gal handed me my hot chocolate and preceded to tell me that the man in front of me had already paid for my drink. I think I told the lady at the window thank you like four times because I was shocked. Seriously it was a awesome way to start the day and really makes you realize that there are people that are kind and thoughtful.

My goal is to pay it forward x3 over the next week in three different ways. It is time that I start living out my faith and being selfless and generous without expecting anything in return. Thank you Good Samaritan you brightened my day and also reminded me of what God calls us to do while we are here on this earth.

BFF

I know it is corny but seriously I have a BFF. Let me tell you a little about my Best Friend Forever. Laura and I met in third grade. Laura always tells the story of how we met like this. She had just moved to town with her family and they started going to our church. I went up to her one day and said "Hi my name is Stephanie do you want to be my friend?". Even though we live so far away from each other our friendship will continue and she will always be my BFF.

Doing our makeup before  my wedding.

TOP 5 REASONS WHY LAURA IS MY BFF

• She is a awesome listener and is always makes me feel good.
•   She loves Jesus – to be able to share the same values in a BFF is awesome
• She encourages me to be a better person
•  She knows my life story b/c she has been apart of most of it
•  She does not judge me and knows me so well I can always be myself even when being myself is not always nice.

I am one lucky and blessed girl to have such a good friend. 

Missing: John Doe

At Christmas my parents gave me a 55 gallon fish tank and stand. This is something that i have always wanted but never pursued. I spent the next few months researching everything I could about saltwater tanks. By February I decided it was time to take the plunge and begin the setup. Now let me tell you this is quite a process and pretty expensive so you need to go slow. We moved the tank down to our basement, bought a canister filter and 55 pounds of live rock.

Interesting Fact #1:  

Live rock is a calcareous (limestone) structure that is formed by the deposition of many species of living (stony) corals and other invertebrates, forming either deep ocean or shallow coastal reefs. Some coastal reefs grow toward the surface of the water and form a barrier to the island or continent (Great Barrier Reef of Australia) that may cause ship wrecks

Fast forward a few months we are now into August and I have been taking the moto "Go very slow" to heart. We have purchased two fish both nemos. They were little babies and really seemed to like each other till last week.

Interesting Fact #2: 

Did you know that clown-fish aka nemo's all start out as males. Over time one of them becomes a little more dominate and becomes a female. The female then grows slightly larger then then male. 

Well I came home from work to check on Jane and John Doe and I could not find one. I searched the tank for some 15 minutes until I had the thought to look behind the fish tank. Low and behold I see what I think is a dead clown fish. Yes you are reading this correctly. John Doe was a jumper. He somehow managed to jump out of the fish tank through a hole no bigger then 3 x 2 inches wide. I mean seriously I had no idea that John Doe was having such emotional problems that he felt the need to jump. I mean he had a whole 55 gallon tank to himself and Jane Doe what more could you want.

So now I am less one fish and I check on Jane Doe four or five times a day because I know she is really depressed. Maybe she should have been nicer to her mate.

Picture Wall

 So after what has been forever I have finally started to decorate my porch. I have been collecting pictures or wall art to hang on the back brick wall. I was having a hard time decided how to lay out my pictures so I ended up using painters tape and that worked super well.  

See the little blue clock picture. This is my favorite thing that I picked out. There are close pins for the numbers and in the very middle is a old fashion washer. When we bought the house their was a old washer and dryer that was left and it looks just like this one. One day I am going to either get the washer and dryer all cleaned up and sell it or find a cool way to re purpose it somehow. 

Here is the finished product. I need to take a better picture of the wall because it looks way cooler then this picture. 

Lazy Song

I am defiantly not a morning person. It takes me a good thirty minutes just to become civilized to anyone. Poor Luke is usually the brunt of my grouchies when I wake up. Months ago when the “Lazy Song” by Bruno Mars came out Luke started singing this to me in the mornings.

Today I don’t feel like doing anything
I just wanna lay in my bed
Don’t feel like picking up my phone, so leave a message at the tone
‘Cause today I swear I’m not doing anything
Nothing at all, nothing at all

I have since then adopted this song as my theme song. **Retraction: I have not adopted the whole song as my theme just the chorus and maybe verse one. However I did make a small modification to verse one.

I’m gonna kick my feet up then stare at the fan
Turn the TV on, throw my hand in my pants (Cheeto’s Bag)
Nobody’s gon’ tell me I can’t

I am not really the hand in my pants type of person. Guys are so weird!! To be honest I am not really a cheeto fan either but it was the only thing I could think of that I eat sometimes that rhymed. Does anybody else have a theme song?