....my pillow

Dear Mr Pillow,
It's been a few weeks now since we've spent quality time together. I know your "5 love languages" test concluded that you desire to express/receive love by spending quality time together. I'm so sorry that time has been neglected. It's not that I don't love you- I have just been busy doing other things. Don't worry though- I'll try to hang out with you alot this weekend.

Colorado

Today I'm dreaming of Colorado. My family goes to the same place, the same week of July. Even though I am guranteed to see my family at either Thanksgiving or Christmas- it's just not the same. When you're with family during a holiday, there is an implied added stress- because it's the holiday. But when you go on vacation just to go, you get to truly kickback, relax and enjoy. I think a few pictures could capture everything I enjoy about Colorado- but I'd say this pic of my niece and nephew does it the best. Yes, the mountains are great. The alpine slide at winter park is a blast. The cool air feels amazing. But when I look at this picture- all I see is true enjoyment. That feeling of enjoyment is what our summer vacation is all about, and that is why today, I'm dreaming of Colorado.

Traffic, Naples style

This is one of my favorite pictures from my Italy/Ireland trip. Chris and i were standing on a bridge and I was able to catch the Naples traffic. Naples was a crazy place b/c I think we only saw one stop sign/light in the whole city- yet people did not get into wrecks. And here's what I find interesting about this picture in particular- if you enlarge the picture take a look at the couple in front of the bus. They are sharing this extremely intimate moment together in the midst of all the craziness around them. I think that is hard to do. It is so easy to get caught up in the activities around us that we forget about the little moments in life that count. If it weren't for these little moments, wouldn't life be boring?

worn out

I'm worn out, not because of these 2 little faces- but because of everything else. Thank goodness for a wonderfully supportive husband and little puppies who love us unconditionally.

I just had a semi-revelation while sitting in class tonight- I'M SICK OF SCHOOL! Ha. What are we, a month into the semester? oh no! Here's the deal- one of my classes, Advanced Reservoir, is just meaningless. I feel like I could write a few verses and throw them into Ecclesiastes. What would "Teacher", the author of the book, have to say about this situation. We've been doing a series at church called "good news, even when life stinks" and we are covering Ecclesiastes. The series is almost over and I think I've just been coasting through the study- feeling like my life is pretty good. Which- my life is REALLY good, but I just hit a pretty big bump today. Oh..what to do, what to do. For tonight, I've just decided the answer is to have a glass of wine and watch some good reality TV. I'll save the deep thinking for later.

The Biggest Loser: families started tonight, I love this show. I love how empowered the contestants feel when they learn about nutrition and finally see weight loss success. Plus- you can get some great nutrition and exercise tips from the show.

Hope everyone is having a good morning/noon/night, whenever you happen to be reading this.

Au revoir.

The Office

Thank goodness for DVR's and DVD's. I cannot wait for the new season of the Office to start. And let's hope that there are no strikes this fall to shorten the season!

Our New Kids

Meet our new kids, Frank and Sally. They are border collie/ blue heeler mixes that we got from a shelter in Bartlesville. They are about 4 months old. I'm not sure how much they weigh, but they weigh more now than they did when we got them. Sally is in the background of the pictures- she is a little more reserved than her brother. Frank- as you can tell by the picture- is showing a little bit more personality at this point.

So here's how we came up with their names: Chris went to a men's retreat a few weekends ago and there was a blue heeler there by the name of Sally (as in Mustang Sally). The shelter gave Frank his name b/c of his blue eyes. So we've got Mustang Sally and ole' Blue Eyes Frank Sinatra. They have been really fun so far.

Seems to be that many females we know have been drinking this certain fluid that seems to make them get really bloated- and 9 months later- have a baby! I am trying to stay away from that certain fluid- water!- and I'm sticking to diet coke. So, now we can kind of fit in since we have our new kids.

The only problems I see right now include: They like to dig. Sally is territorial and growls at her brother. I'd rather play with them than study. They are outside doggies and I feel bad for them when it rains.

Oh dear- what will be like someday when I finally decide to drink that crazy fluid called water.

Dreaming of Italy

I am absolutely loving the weather. It's the same temperature now as it was in Naples & Rome June 2006. Just an FYI: if you go to Rome, and visit the Trevi fountain, remember to throw the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder! It ensures a safe return to Rome. Also go and visit the Spanish Steps. #1- they offer a really neat photo op. #2- that's where Chris proposed to me. Just watch out for the little men who want to sell roses for 5 euros a stemp. That's about $7-8! Crazy men.

Anyway, I tend to find myself thinking about Italy and Ireland whenever things get stressful around here. I wish there was a magic cure for feeling overwhelmed. The only thing I can think of is to quit work and just go to school part, or full-time. That wouldn't be too bad, right? Although, I might miss the $0.25 waters/sodas at work. And free oatmeal.

But in all seriousness- sometimes it just feels like there are too many things going on in life- to simply enjoy life. I think God wants us to have our hands in varied activites to open our eyes to all the ways he can work- but do we sometimes get ourselves involved in too much? When I can't read my Bible because I feel like I need to be studying- and vice versa- what then? I figure this is just one of those things you learn as you go- and I'm certain there are lessons to be learned along the way. But I would rather skip the lessons and go straight to the end! Give me that pot of gold at the end of my rainbow!!!!

Anyway- going to watch Duets. Goodnight.

Equation Derivations...really?

This will be short and sweet tonight. When I enrolled for my first semester of grad school (which was last fall)- I'm not really sure I knew what I was getting myself into. The first year wasn't too bad because I was taking deficiency courses- so they were just the normal undergrad class. I am currently enrolled in my first REAL grad level class and it's kicking me in the rear. Oh well. If anyone out there is a pro at petroleum engineering equation derivations- can you help? :)

goodnight and sweet dreams.

Shopping & Crawling

This was a great 3 day weekend- 3 1/2 really. At work, we have the option to work 9 hrs Monday-Thursday and a 4 hour Friday- it is great. So my weekend really started at 11:00 on Friday. My mom came down to visit on Thursday night and she stayed until 3pm today. It was great. I summoned her to visit so that she could help me decorate my house. I'm just not talented when it comes to decorating. We shopped each day, Friday-Monday. My favorite purchase was the curtains for the formal living/dining. It makes the room feel complete. Plus, it has the thermal back lining so it helps with the window heat (west window). We also found a painting to use as a "headboard" in the guest room, a few neat crosses from Hobby Lobby, nightstands for our master bedroom, and many more little things.


We were also watching my 6 1/2 month old nephew, Hays and we took him everywhere we went. He's a great shopper. We did try to time our trips out so that he could be back at our house for meals and naps. He loved our carpet (he's used to wood floors) and he is SOOOO close to crawling. He could definitely get from point A to point B but it was half crawling and half army crawl. His favorite thing in our house was the air vent behind the chair in the picture above.

Here's a pic of him playing w/ the cold air: