Currently Listening Joy By Avalon see related OUCH! So last night, I made krumkake (with Jamie's help) for him to bring to school today. They split everyone alphabetically into two days at his school where they have a treat smorgasboard - since he's the back half of the alphabet, today was his day. So I thought "I'll make krumkake! I haven't used my new krumkake iron that I got from my parents last year for Christmas!". We weren't sure how it would work, since our stove has a smooth top, and the iron is the kind that is supposed to sit on the burner coil. Well, it worked out just fine, until I was flipping one of the cookies and noticed a little crumb had fallen onto the burner, and was on fire! So I started to freak out, and without thinking (clearly without thinking, in hindsight) went to move the whole iron away from the burner. The one problem? The handle is metal as well, and I hadn't thought to put a hot pad thingy on the handle. So I burned my thumb and pointer finger pretty bad, and got just a little part of my middle finger. Now, at least it was my left hand, although I'm now realizing how much I use BOTH hands, and at least I didn't grab it with my palm as well. That would have been WAY worse. At any rate, it was interesting making the rest of the cookies, since I was pretty much one handed. Jamie became way more involved in the process than we had intended! What a good egg. Oh, and it wasn't like it was a fire to burn the house down, just a tiny little flame. So the house is still standing too. No new baby news - things are still going well, and I am feeling very blessed and fortunate to be in good health. The ultrasound is scheduled for January 9, so that is very exciting! But we are still not going to find out if it's a boy or girl. I'm still anxiously waiting to "pop" instead of looking like I'm just putting on a little extra weight... Since we are hosting my family for Christmas Eve (dinner for 13, anyone?!), I probably won't be online until after Christmas, when we get back from visiting Jamie's family in Duluth. So blessings to everyone during the CHRISTmas season!

Currently Listening Wintersong By Sarah McLachlan see related

Sometimes I catch myself doing the strangest things...for example, I counted 206 steps to get from the building to my car in the ramp at work today. ?!?

Currently Listening Joy By Avalon see related Where does time go these days?! I cannot believe it's already Wednesday night. We've had a busy week so far: Monday night: Jamie had a math league meet (yes, he coaches the mathletes ), and I was getting caught up on work stuff until about 9pm from being gone last week Tuesday: I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon (everything looks good so far!), then we went to a Christmas concert at our church with my parents which was great. It's really different to go to a church that has a whole orchestra, a big band, over 100 person choir, just all of those resources. Plus Steve Green was the special guest. Now, I'm not exactly a huge Steve Green fan, but he was actually really good in concert. Tonight: Bible study - our second to last Revelation class for this semester. Tomorrow night we have a breather, then Friday night it's over to hang out with some friends. Saturday - no plans as of yet! VERY exciting. I have to call to schedule the ultrasound for the first week or two in January. The doctor said yesterday that I could probably try to sneak it in within the next couple of weeks, but since we're not going to find out the sex of the baby, it's not as big of a deal. It is still exciting, though! Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm pregnant - it's all very strange to me. When I see babies, I get so excited to meet MY baby. In the meantime, I'm going to follow all of the advice that I've been getting about sleep, enjoying my flexible time/schedule, and doing what I want...

Currently Listening iWorship Christmas Offering Offering (Christmas Version) - Paul Baloche see related I'm so excited - I'm going out of town for the weekend. I will not think about work (after I get offline) until Monday! The cabin is in the Brainerd area, and totally outfitted for scrapbooking...we'll see how productive I can be. I went last year and worked on a project not even for myself, so I'm hoping this year I can get my Africa album done and then some! I'm bummed that Deby's not going this year, but my mom is actually coming with, so I'm looking forward to spending some time with her. As of right now, we don't have any plans for next Saturday, which I'm kind of excited about, because I love lazy days. But we'll see - things always seem to pop up. At least we have 95% of our Christmas shopping done! And the gifts we have yet to pick up don't require setting foot in the mall, which is nice. It's actually allowing me to focus on Christ a little earlier than usual. What's your favorite Christmas song or CD? Mine (CD) is a toss-up - either Go Fish's More Than a Story, or this great CD I got at Target one year, Christmas with the Stars. Song - it changes almost daily.

Currently Listening WOW Christmas By Various Artists see related Well, I don't have any pictures from the sweater party last night, but it was a blast! My cheeks hurt from smiling (genuinely) so much, and my stomach from laughing so much. I should really maybe take a photo of the sweaters, just to remember how bad they were! What a nice weekend - it was a great blend of being relaxing, productive and restful all in one. We picked up our Christmas cards today, now I just have to get at addressing and mailing them all...we'll see how long that takes. Here's our photo for this year's card (if you've been to our house before, you can see the new green paint color in the family room!): So, after the sweater party, which was a 2nd annual, it got me thinking. What other type of themed parties would there be to have as annual occurrences? Such as the apple tasting party, which I believe we will continue on with every fall. Or what is the best themed party you've been to?

Currently Listening My Kind Of Christmas see related So...thought I'd expand on my last post. I'm having a baby! My due date is May 17. We will not be finding out what the baby is, nor will we be sharing the name before the baby is born (not that we have made a decision by any means!). So just a little heads up to those who want to know...you'll have to wait in suspense just like us! Work has been crazy, but if you've been watching the news I'm sure you've seen that Best Buy had a pretty successful weekend, which is nice. All of the planning and hard work over the past several months are paying off. But there's still a lot of craziness to come! That's the beauty of working in the online world - you can always keep making changes. I think that's the blessing and the curse. I really like the change of pace from the advertising world, where once you send something to the printer, it's done. I guess it just shifts the rush from a couple of weeks out to more current time. Jamie and I have a sweater party that we're attending on Saturday night. Everyone must wear a holiday sweater - the uglier and gaudier, the better. So we got some real 'winners' at Jamie's mom's thrift store on Saturday! It should be pretty fun. And funny!

Currently Listening Child of the Promise By Original Cast Recording see related I have a lot to be thankful for! Just some examples (in no particular order): That our Blazer (Jamie's old car) hadn't sold yet so we can keep that and get rid of my Mazda. That means we don't have to add a second car payment...yet, anyway! I have a job I like - despite this being a really stressful time of year at work, I am really liking what I do. My wonderful husband, who puts up with me despite my countless flaws - and still loves me more than I could have ever asked for. The Tuck-monster. That dog brings me so much joy, and I love him so much! I know I'm shallow, but I just really love when he wags his tail at me. For a wonderful, crazy, put the fun in dys-fun-ctional family. In all seriousness, I am so blessed to have grown up in a strong Christian family. (and Jamie's family, too!) For the Christmas season that is now upon us - and all the awesome music that comes with the season! - and the reason for the season. Friends that are so caring, giving, and amazing; I hope that I provide those qualities in return... A beautiful house that provides so much more than just shelter, and is now home. That Jamie will be home this summer to help me while I'm on maternity leave....

Currently Reading First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently By Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman see related So the apple party last Saturday was fun - here's a little description for those that have had questions. It's kind of like wine tasting - checking out the flavors, texture, etc. of different varieties of apples. Also, helping people realize what they're good for, such as Cortland being good in salads, and they don't brown right away after cutting them. Usually everyone has their favorite - a popular one the past few years has been Honeycrisp. So it's trying to help people branch out and see what else is out there in the apple world. We didn't have as much variety as I had hoped, but we had the following: Honeycrisp, Haralson, MN1606 (the U of MN does the numbering technique until one becomes perfected and popular, such as Honeycrisp), Sponselli #2 (a local orchard's blend), Cameo and Cortland. It was really just a front to get everyone together, but I did think it was fun to have a themed party. Maybe we'll continue on that path for future soiree planning... Thank goodness it's the weekend! Looking forward to not doing much of anything - and slightly warmer temperatures outside.

Currently Reading First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently By Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman see related So the apple party last Saturday was fun - here's a little description for those that have had questions. It's kind of like wine tasting - checking out the flavors, texture, etc. of different varieties of apples. Also, helping people realize what they're good for, such as Cortland being good in salads, and they don't brown right away after cutting them. Usually everyone has their favorite - a popular one the past few years has been Honeycrisp. So it's trying to help people branch out and see what else is out there in the apple world. We didn't have as much variety as I had hoped, but we had the following: Honeycrisp, Haralson, MN1606 (the U of MN does the numbering technique until one becomes perfected and popular, such as Honeycrisp), Sponselli #2 (a local orchard's blend), Cameo and Cortland. It was really just a front to get everyone together, but I did think it was fun to have a themed party. Maybe we'll continue on that path for future soiree planning... Thank goodness it's the weekend! Looking forward to not doing much of anything - and slightly warmer temperatures outside.

	Currently Listening Arriving By Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman see related So...how does one forget to turn the clocks back for daylight savings, especially when gaining an hour of sleep?!? Guess it was too many apples from our apple tasting party on Saturday night.

Currently Listening Blame It on Me By Alana Davis see related Tired - very tired. Meetings all day leave no time to get work done. And with neighborhood Bible study tonight, and another day of all meetings tomorrow, I had to wrap up a bunch of stuff tonight. Oh well - at least I was able to watch Ugly Betty while working! We bought the Rendezvous - it's SO nice. Mostly just because Jamie and I haven't ever bought such a new car before. It's a used 2006, with about 14,000 miles. I'll post a photo soon... Looking forward to the weekend. Don't have too much planned, except for a party at one of Jamie's co-workers on Saturday night, which should be fun. I can't wait to sleep in on Saturday morning!

Currently Reading Emily Ever After By Anne Dayton, May Vanderbilt see related

I've decided to pull myself out of the funk. I mean, there are some things in my life that are a little complicated right now, but jeez. It's not that bad - mind over matter, right?

This weekend was nice - Saturday was 80 degrees outside! But super windy - enough to blow our whole patio table over (and luckily not break the glass top). We went to test drive a couple of cars, and will probably make a purchase in the next couple of days. Buick Rendezvous is the winner. We thought that's what we wanted, but definitely decided that was the one after test driving it. It's built on a minivan chassis, so it rides really smooth, and has big ol' mirrors on the side, which is nice too. Although it won't be my car - I drive too many miles to work (~25 one way) for it to be my car. And my car is doing just fine, thank you very much! But really, Jamie is SO excited about getting a new car. It's cute.

So...did anyone else watch Lost on Wednesday?! Such good TV, but so many more questions...

Currently Listening Tidal By Fiona Apple Sleep to Dream see related So...I've kind of been in a funk lately. The thing is, I feel like I'm not able to be good at much of anything lately - wife, friend, Christian, employee, housekeeper - because I'm spreading myself too thin. I'm hoping it's just a phase, and I hope those around me either understand or are patient with me until I get through this phase/funk...

Currently Listening The Look of Love By Diana Krall, Diana Krall see related

So...my friends have had quite a whirlwind week. They met with a birth mother last week who asked them to be the adoptive parents, and the baby was born on Wednesday! They're being discharged from the hospital today, and will be bringing home their beautiful baby girl - Miriam Faith:

Not much else is new - just working a LOT. Attempting to hang in there...

Currently Watching Lost - The Complete Second Season By Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace, Josh Holloway, Malcolm David Kelley, Daniel Dae Kim, Yoon-jin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O'Quinn, Harold Perrineau, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Watros, Ian Somerhalder see related So Diana's wedding reception was last night. It was a really nice night for a boat ride, and everything was very nice. I think she said that everything went pretty smooth for the day, which is always a good thing. And so begins married life... Last week while Dena was on her way home from Duluth (she's going to school at Lake Superior College), she was going through some construction and flipped her car. She is a walking miracle, because after looking at the pictures of her car, there were definitely guardian angels watching and protecting her that day. She is still dealing with some back and neck pain, but will be going to physical therapy at school which she can take advantage of at no cost because they offer a PT program. Which ironically is the program she is enrolled in (even though she's not that far yet). Anyway, we are obviously so thankful for God's hand in this situation. And things even worked out in terms of the vehicle, since hers was totaled. God is good! Things with me continue to be busy, although I am going to make sure to make time to enjoy fall, since it's my favorite season. We'll probably try to get out and hike and/or bike some trails in the next few weeks. Our Revelation Bible study starts this week, and we also are going to participate in a neighborhood Bible study too, which should be good to connect with our neighbors/friends. Well, I'm off to watch the rest of The Amazing Race - LOVE that show!

Currently Reading Your Big Break By Johanna Edwards see related

Happy Birthday Andrea!!

I actually got to hang out with Andrea today at a Stampin' Up! event - it was pretty fun. And interesting...many women with digital cameras taking pictures of cards, cards and more cards...

We installed a storm door over the past few days; Jamie finally finished up the last part today. It's one of those that looks like all glass, but has a screen when you let the top part of the glass down. I really like it. And Jamie and I only got into one fight the whole time...

Currently Listening Arise - A Celebration Of Worship By Various see related

Lots going on...

Work has been crazy, but good. Due to a maternity leave and other staffing situations, I will be taking on a larger role in preparation for holiday (Translation: it's basically the time frame from mid-October through mid-January when people are doing their Christmas shopping - and then using their gift cards after Christmas). So in addition to all of the holiday planning and execution for my normal job, I'm going to step up and do parts of this other role, which is actually one level above my current position. Plus, my boss is getting ready for her maternity leave in another two weeks, which means that I'll be taking on some of her responsibilities as well. It will be busy, but I think I'm up for the challenge. It will definitely be a learning opportunity, that's for sure. Plus, I really like my job overall, so it doesn't feel like a burden. (yet... )

Training for the 5K has begun, and has actually accelerated as Jamie's convinced me to run one that is a fundraiser for his school. The race is in October, and I was originally planning to train for a November race. However, depending on how things go, I may just run them both (think positive, right?!) I guess I didn't really realize how little I've worked out over the past few weeks...this week has been a little tough. But I definitely subscribe to the 'no pain, no gain' theory, because when I am sore afterwards, I know I've been kickin' it.

Diana's wedding is next weekend...please pray for my family, and for reconciliation. There is still much tension and many hurt feelings on multiple fronts. Don't want to get into any more details, but thanks in advance for your prayers.

Our Revelation Bible study starts again at church two weeks from tonight. Semester 3 begins! I know it seems long, but we only joined in semester 2, and I LOVE how in depth the class is. Our teacher is awesome, and is such a study of the Word. We just really like our church...the Arise CD I am listening to was actually recorded at our church (even though we weren't at the concert - bummer!). So cool|!

Ok, that's probably enough of an update for now... CHALLENGE: if you read my xanga but haven't ever left a comment, just say hi.

Currently Listening Big Yellow Taxi By Counting Crows, Vanessa Carlton Big Yellow Taxi see related So, although he doesn't peruse Xanga... Happy Birthday Jamie!! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband! Even though he hated me at first, clearly he was able to come to his senses. He's so supportive, caring, funny, smart, and patient - my perfect match! Who knew that when we met 16 years ago that we'd get married?! Well, I kind of had a weird inkling, but clearly God had a plan. Lucky for me - I'm a blessed girl!

	Some friends of ours that we go to church with, friends from Best Buy (yes, both of them work at Best Buy), are relocating to San Francisco. Timing is still a little up in the air, but they know that it will probably be early October at the latest. I'm super excited for them, as it's an amazing career opportunity for him, but so sad they will be leaving...

Currently Reading The Alphabet Sisters: A Novel By Monica Mcinerney see related So, when we were in Duluth last weekend, we went 4-wheeling! Now, for most people, that might not be a big deal, but I've only been a rider on a 4-wheeler once before then, and that was in high school. I was slightly nervous about driving, but it was actually pretty easy. Jamie led me to the baseball field that's by their house while Jim and Kim got ready with Kaitlyn. He helped me take it slow at first so I could figure out how it rides. And then when we were down on the field, he was going SUPER fast! I was jealous, so I started going as fast as I could too. Probably 20 mph or so, which seemed really fast on the 4-wheeler. Jamie's so funny - he was just laughing at me cause I'm sort of dare devil at some things, I guess. We rode for about hour or so on some trails right around Jim & Kim's, but it seemed like we were a million miles away. There was this one trail that was like a canopy of trees that went forever. I can see how people get addicted to stuff like that, and want 'toys'. We just will be friends with people that have those toys so we don't have to own them.

Currently Reading Size 12 Is Not Fat By Meg Cabot see related

I've been meaning to post these for a while...here's a couple of photos from our vacation!

Vancouver at night:

At the Capilano Suspension Bridge:

We're clearly big fans of the self-portrait.

Currently Reading Consider Lily: A Novel By Anne Dayton, May Vanderbilt see related It's been a busy couple of weeks! Jamie and I went on the Northbrook canoe trip a couple weeks ago, which was really fun. The weather was almost a little too cool, but still nice. And the water was so low since we've had hardly any rain, but it was ok. Then I had a business trip for work, so I was gone for a couple of days last week. (Luckily it was before all of the madness that happened with bringing liquids onto the plane via carry-on. I don't know if I would have made it without my bottle of water and lotion! )This past weekend we were in Duluth, as Jamie's sister had her baby! Alyssa Arlene was born on Wednesday, so we headed up north Friday afternoon. It was a good weekend spent with the Paulsons. This week is shaping up to be very busy at work, so I'm hoping that it goes quickly! However, since the summer is slipping away, my goal is to make the evenings count. And I think I found a 5K in November that I'm going to sign up for - so that I have a goal to work towards. I ran a 5K last spring, and, well...I finished, but let's just say there's definitely room for improvement on my time! And I really did run almost the whole way. Anyway, training for that will give me something to do outside, and enjoy the weather. And hopefully get me off of this weight-loss plateau I've been on for a couple of months... On a separate note, please pray for my family...there's some sort of difficult stuff going on right now. Thanks.... If anyone is looking for a good, light-hearted read, Consider Lily is a great book I just finished! Now I need to read the other book by the authors - Emily Ever After. I really hope I can wrangle up enough of my neighbors to start a book club this fall! Anyone who has any tips or tricks for organizing - or book recommendations - let me know!