Bits & Pieces

I've been super busy at work. I feel like I've been working my fingers to the bone and getting no where. So, I'm slowing down and taking some time to relax. I took a picture of my desk to show the state of chaos, but then thought "What if there is some whacko uot there that comes across this blog and magnifies and nagnifies and then de-blurs things and is able to read this personal information?", so I decided against posting the picture. But trust me, it was nuts! When I would type out a notice, I couldn't even rest my elbows on my desk because it was covered in paper, so I had weird floating arms.

Tomorrow is the day that Annie and I run the Gingerbread 5k. We're both getting excited about it. We ran part of the course last night, and it seemed to boost our confidence a little bit. SO, bright ad early in the morning, we'll be dropping Jax off at a friends house (the temps will be in the 30s so Jax won't be watching), pick up my packet, Jon will register to run with me / us and make sure we don't quit, and then we'll wait until the 8:30 start time.

Then, tomorrow night, the hubs and I are going on a date! He's taking me to one of my favorite places for my birthday celebration... the Melting Pot! I LOVE IT! I love the casual pace that things progress there. I love the yummy foods. I love the yummy fondue.

Later... I'm going to go read up on some celebrity gossip!

ekkardia

i'm asking for a favor.
our friends, who are also our worship band for the church service we attend, are in the top 50 bands in a contest hosted by the Gospel Music Channel's Indie artist department (for lack of better terms).
these guys are great. they have such a heart for the Lord. they are pretty awesome musicians.
and of the 5, 4 of them are married with young children (2.5 and under) and the remaining unmarried one is in college. they work full time jobs and volunteer every weekend to play.

again, they are in the top 50, and need some votes to carry on in the contest.
some of the benefits they could win are new instruments and money towards recording.
so, could you do me a friendly favor and take a few minutes of your time and register and vote for them? maybe once a day until december 7th?
here's how...

go to http://indie.gospelmusicchannel.com/signup_fan.php

create a fan account (it's the only way to vote and it's minimal information needed... and i haven't gotten any spam from them)

then check your email address for a confirmation email.

once you confirm your email, log in and search for ekkardia or just click the following link http://indie.gospelmusicchannel.com/contest.php?sid=176&aid=54939&mid=42312&mtype=1
 click VOTE FOR THIS ARTIST

easy peasy.
be sure to turn up your speakers and listen to the song they have recorded. it's a beautiful song. Wholeheartedly (which happens to be the english translation of the band's name).

thanks for your support on this!

the 32nd year

wow. i've entered into the 32nd year of my life. and though i don't feel much different or older, a sneaking though is creeping into my mind.
the thought being... maybe i dress too young for my age.

am i finally at that point where i can't dress fashionably? where i have to resort to wearing crew necks, or maybe some scoop neck tees with my jeans? or not wear my slouchy boots (which i LOVE)? or not wear my stripper heels on my birthday? do i need to resort to a neutral shade purse?
am i suddenly that lady who people see and think "she needs to dress a little bit more appropriate for her age"? do i need to stop with the fun haircolors and go with a more natural look... or maybe one solid color with highlights a single shade lighter?

i believe that age is just a number. it is not a reflection on a person. i know people my age who act like old fuddy duddies. but i know those people that dress like they are twenty, when they aren't. they don't even look close to anything in the twenties. am i turning into one of those people? eek!

*i'm pretty sure i'm not. but it's crept into my head and won't leave.

it keeps getting better!!!!

i've gotten much love on FB form my friends. numerous texts. a few phone calls.

hubs brought me lunch with a cobblestone from bread co.

boss brought in a cookie cake.

girls bought me a grape slush from sonic.

boss left promptly after bringing in said cake (which is great, b/c i can work without him interupting me to ask a question in which the answer lies in front of him)

jon is picking up jax from daycare.

i get to go to the store to buy laundry detergent so we can do laundry. (really, not so great, but we have mountains of laundry to do since not doing any over the holiday and hosting 12 additional people and a dog, so i'm counting it as good)

my mom ordered me running gear for Christmas (Asics Thermopolis pants and shirt... the feel like buttah!)

the gifts i ordered for nieces and nephews has been shipped already.

i was able to be rude to a city attorney. it was great fun.

jon shared his pickle spear that came with his lunch. (I love pickles... seriously. yum)

{i love it}

wonderful day

i've been up for maybe two hours and it is already a wonderful day.
maybe i can keep the streak alive for the rest of the day.
you see, today is my birthday, and my hubs is making me feel like a princess.

last night, he had me open my gift (which is what we do, we are both not very good at waiting). the gift that wasn't supposed to be, because the only thing i really wanted was for him to take me out (planning the whole thing, making reservations, scheduling the baby-sitter without my prompting - which sort of fell through and became a joint effort). i got an amazing digital frame thing for my desk at work. it holds 1000 pictures internally (which is super great because our family picutres are ready... you can check them out HERE). and plays music (which is fantabulous!). i was super surprised... so surprised that i probably gave a less than enthusiastic reaction because i didn't know how to respond.

this morning, i decided to hit snooze. a lot. while i'm snoozing, the hubs is in the kitchen baking muffins and making a pot of fresh ground joy. he brings me my fresh ground joy to the bedroom and says he'll take jax to daycare. once the muffins are done, he scopps them out while i go wake my sleeping boy (one of the best times for cuddles). then, candle in the muffin and i get serenaded by my handsome and loving guys; the happy birthday song with cheesy grins.

it was wonderful.
it is wonderful.
and i am thankful to have these guys make me feel so special.

*thanks for making my day so special, big daddy. i love you.

back to normal

The Thanksgiving holiday is over.
it went pretty well.
food was delicious.
family was great.
7 people headed out on saturday.
the remaining 5 left on sunday.
jax was too tired to be broken hearted and put genuine tears into his cry when the last bunch left. he ended up taking a three hour nap on sunday.
saturday, he feel asleep in the car. so, when we got home, i left him in the van to finish his nap. climbed into the back seat and took a nap beside him. it was great.
we've consumed enough desserts to suffice for the rest of the year (but it won't... we'll still have dessert for my birthday and at Christmas, and at our Christmas party).
as much as i love our family, it feels good to be back to normal.
jon and i slept in our bed last night wthout jax... the first time since wednesday. meaning, that was the first good night of sleep we've had since wednesday (jax is a kicker, roll all over the place kind of sleeper).
needless to say, it made waking up difficult.
5 days until our 5k. (yikes)

10 Years Ago

Ten years ago, today, I married Big Daddy.
Then he was Jonathan and I was baby.
We've graduated to Bid Daddy and Boobs.
Then we were young 'uns (22 and 21) with rose tinted glasses, head over heels in love, ready to conquer the world and everything life had to throw at us.
Today, we are adults (that hurt to type that word), wiser to the world, head over heels in love, ready to conquer the world and everything life has to throw at us.
We've conquered TDYs, deployments, family deaths, cross country moves, infertility, adoption, friends going through divorce, friends developing drug problems, job changes, health issues, mortgages, numerous burnt dinners, an abundance of yummy creations, arguments and making up, presiential elections (can't win 'em all), bubble gum pop taking over the airways, bubble gum pop sort of leaving the air ways (when will grunge come back?), gray hairs, 40-50 pounds of shared weight gain, rearranging the furniture 659 times, 11,859,674 tear drops and even more laughter.
You know... normal life.
We've had some incredible highs in our marriage and some horribly deep lows.
And looking back, I'm thankful for all of it because it has brought our marriage, our love and our appreciation for each other where it is today.
Who would have thought a horrible cheesy pick up line would have led to this?

I love you Big Daddy. Thank you for being my husband. And for being Jax's daddy.