Eek! My blog was mentioned in the newsletter

I guess I better write something.

Today is a super stressful day. I have sooooo much to do. Kevin's birthday is tomorrow and I am doing all the preparations for it today--since I typically don't get to have the car all day. To top it off, I started writing this post and my computer shut down on me... I guess I let the battery die.

So... here's my list:

Get groceries for breakfast and birthday cake (I went to Fred Meyer twice, Trader Joes, and New Seasons. I forgot a couple things so I need to go back still) DONE! Actually... I got home then remembered about the 2 things I needed, so I turned right around got 'em done. Thankfully I live right across the street from the store
Make 5 layer ice cream cake (I decided on 3 layers and 2 of them are in the freezer right now. Gotta wait another hour for the 3rd layer) Cake is ready for layer 3. I should be ready for that soon
Buy Kevin's present(s) (I went to one place out in Aloha this morning that isn't open until noon... I have to go back there and to REI. I plan on doing that real soon) DONE! I ended up spending more than planned at REI, so I didn't end up going to the other place. I got him a nice pair of running shoes and a Camelbak water bottle
Find a bike for Kevin to ride tomorrow (I think I found someone who wants to loan it. I just haven't gotten a hold of him yet. But I just left him a message, hopefully he'll call back soon) DONE! I've got a bike in the back of the truck. Thanks Daniel!
Pump tires on my bike, probably Kevin's too (Haven't started that. Probably will wait til I find a bike for Kev)I think we'll just do this tomorrow before we head out
Clean kitchen (in progress... the dishwasher is running, but the place still looks like a tornado ran through it... that's just the way I am when I bake/cook... I have to wait for dishwasher load #2)Not even close
Wrap Kevin's present(s) (do I even have wrapping paper?... errr, let me see...Yep!) Got the present. Will wrap soon
Take a shower and...ahem... groom This may have to happen later tonight after I pick Kevin up from work

Things unrelated to Kevin's birthday, but I have to do them anyway:

Call Salon to schedule for my Grandma's birthday gift (got things ironed out with my mom... just need to make the call) DONE!
Call Aunt about asking cousins to contribute to Grandma's gift (She works nights so I have to call her later in the day... actually I could do that soon. Maybe I'll do it on the road) Not yet. I'll probably do this later tonight or even tomorrow
Finish undisclosed amount of work orders for my job (I did 2 last night, I finished 1 this morning and as of now, I have 1 left to complete. They just coming though. I think I may have over 10 more to do by tonight. YIKES! As soon as the one I'm working on is completed, I'll head out for REI and maybe the place in Aloha, depending on how much $$ I spend at REI) I didn't get it done before I left, and apparently I didn't even finish the one I thought I did this morning. So 2 to go. And apparently I'll be receiving 14 of them to work on tonight. SWEET!

Ok... I'm sure there is more.... cuz I'm still feeling pressured... I thought this would help me feel better. I must be missing something. I will update as I go along Felling a little less pressure now (4:23 PM)

wow... it's been a while

Well, biggest news. I am without job. After 5 years at Red Robin, they finally got rid of me. I'm totally bummed because I loved my job. And now I'm really not sure what to do. I'm taking a few days off... and then I'll hit the streets to find a job. I've applied to a few places from my computer, but I think I need to actually go from door to door.... not looking forward to this.

I wish it wasn't January (tomorrow). It's the slowest time of year for restaurants.

And then there were two.... or more?

It's mice, not mouse. The other night we heard one of the traps snap, and I got up to look. There was a mouse laying next to a trap that had flipped up--got another one! I got back in bed assuming we'd just clean up in the morning. BUT... the stupid mouse was not dead. He must have just been stunned. When I looked in the morning, he wasn't laying there anymore. I moved around a couple things that were nearby (this is all in the cupboard under our sink), and the little guy was hiding back there. He ran up the hose from our faucet and behind the wall through the tiny hole left from where the pipe goes through. We haven't caught him yet. Maybe we scared him away. But I doubt it. Our home is apparently a nice place to hang... barring the getting knocked out by a flying trap.

We got him!

Poor little guy didn't stand a chance

I've never enjoyed the sound of a man's snore before tonight

I just finished the book "A History of Love." I wish it wasn't over. I really loved it.

I'm laying here in bed with my laptop on my lap because I was too restless to sleep. Thankfully, my sick husband has finally fallen asleep. I hope I don't wake him with my typing. Maybe the Nyquil will help him with that. Anyway... As I was laying here, I heard him start to snore. He doesn't usually snore so it was a new sound for me. I liked it. I liked that he had finally fallen asleep. I liked that I was laying next to the person I cared most about in the world. I liked that I had someone to care about.

The thought occurred to me that this joy, that was caused by a man snoring, was unusual. I only find joy in it because of the love I feel for him. Or is it that I only find joy in it because it's new and not yet annoying? I don't want this feeling to end. It seems others I talk to are so cynical about love in marriage. They roll their eyes at me and say, "Newlyweds." And I know, they're rolling their eyes at the "mushy" parts. But those are the parts to me that make it real. Those are the parts I enjoy the most... the ones that I don't want to fade. I hear people say, "wait a year or two and then you won't be so happy," and I just don't understand.

I fear it. I fear the day when I will look at Kevin and not feel something. Even now, I hear him breathing in the other room (I moved so I wouldn't wake that man I care so much about). I love the sound of his breathing; it makes me warm. Is it because I'm a newlywed? I really hope not. I genuinely want to feel this way the rest of my life.

Maybe it's just because I've just finished a book about love that I'm so enamored with it right now. But I wonder how others can let it get like that. I mean, distant. I would not go as far as to say these people are not in love with their spouse anymore. It's just it seems they've lost the romantic love. Have they forgotten what it was which made them fall in love with their spouse? Or is it really that they've become so self-seeking that because they don't see love in the other, they refuse to deal it out.

I can't pretend to be an expert. I've only been married for just over 10 months. I suppose it's my fear that is making me consider all this. I just want to be able to keep my marriage as fresh as it is today when we've been married for 5 or 10 years--not to mention 30 or 40 (God willing and we live). My fear is not how my husband will act towards me. I will say right now that I believe I married the most wonderful man in the world. He is the most unselfish person I have ever met. He has incredible patience. He loves with his whole heart.

My fear is how I will act toward him in the years to come. Will I let the love grow distant or cold? I'm sure I wouldn't not do it intentionally. It could happen from getting too involved with work, church, school, or even our own children. It could happen because I just stop nurturing it.

That's it. Nurture. I know enough about love to know that it must be nurtured.

(I love being an exteral thinker sometimes... I mean, you all just saw my whole thought process. Really. That was the whole thing. What I thought, I wrote. I didn't think (at least not much), "what should I write?" I just wrote it. Kevin is the complete opposite.... he CAN'T think externally. I ask him all the time to tell me what he his thinking, but he says he doesn't know what he's thinking... When he's trying to solve a problem, in order to help him I tell him to work it out out-loud so that I can work on it to. He says he can't. I don't understand it... but I am trying to accept it)

Where was I? oh yes. Nurture.

I don't know. I think it's time for bed. Perhaps more to come...

Stupid freakin' Pests!!!

Ok... It's mostly my fault because I'm a horrible housekeeper. But really.

A couple weeks ago we discovered we had a moth problem. I was picturing loads of caterpillars eating all of my clothes; oh! I was not happy. After some research, we discovered they were meal moths. Which means they weren't eating my clothes, they were eating my food. Ok... I thought. At least it not an expensive pest. Apparently all we have to do is get rid of the food that's infested... We found the main culprits in a bag of pasta and a bag of rice. Now our freezer is stored with all our dried goods. We even have a couple boxes of cereal in there.... We're not taking any chances. However, the problem will still be a problem until I can take everything out of the pantry and vacuum vacuum vacuum. I need to find a vacuum tho. Colleen graciously let me borrow (or have... can't remember) hers a while back, but I need some hose attachments. If anyone wants to let me borrow their vacuum with hose attachments, I'd be grateful. Make sure it has a bag I can throw away so I don't pass along my infestation to you.

Ok... We're dealing with the moths, for now.


NOW! We have a mouse, perhaps more than one... I don't know. We have put traps up to catch it. Sorry if you feel this is inhuman, but I found POOP IN MY SILVERWARE DRAWER. gross. The little bugger is a smart little mouse. We found out after the first night that he wasn't into processed cheese. So we put out some parmesan. He liked that.... a lot. He took it right off the trap... twice. So Kevin came up with a plan: put all the traps in a row. No way he can crawl over one to get the other. Hopefully he's more greedy than he is clever.
I'll let you know how it turns out. I promise, no gruesome pictures.

Curlew Lake

Here's some photos from our vacation this summer