Since We Last Spoke...

There is just so much that I have to say that I have to do the thing I always do and put them into numbered paragraphs. There's just no way to make this flow as a narrative so it has to be in list format.

I feel like I need to apologize to all of you for the lack of creativity that has been going on around here. I'm sorry. I'm working on it. But, for now, you get numbered paragraphs.

1. Thursday night Grant came home with a present for me. A Sprint Evo 4G. It is leaps and bounds beyond my blackberry and I'm so happy. And addicted. And I can't put it down. Grant is so sweet and I squealed like a 9 year old girl getting to meet Justin Bieber.

2. Friday we went out to my parent's house for burgers. It was so much fun. Lindsee came out for a visit. When she left, my niece Grace shut the door behind her and said "She was very very nice". I agree. Lindsee is very very nice.

I had to take a picture of this moment. Grant (in the beautiful hunting hat) was giving fishing tips to Grace. Grace is using a pink fishing pole. In my parent's swimming pool. Wearing a party dress. And heels.


3. Saturday I slept in (holla!) and then drove up to church for the "Band and Singers" retreat. We ate yummy bagels from Panera, worshipped, workshopped, played "Minute to Win It" games, ate Mission Buritto for lunch, and then played this crazy game that my partner and I WON. And what did we win? WE WON A $25 GIFT CARD TO TARGET THANK YOU VERY MUCH. The options. The choices. The decisions. I've decided on Christmas decor for my home. Bless.

4. Saturday afternoon I slept for a long long time and watched "The Millionaire Matchmaker" which is a train wreck that you can't look away from. It's shocking and horrible and I have so many opinions for all of these people that I can't even begin to write them all out. I could start an entire new blog and fill it up for three years full of opinions I have for the entire cast of characters of that show. At the end of each post I would have a 5 second video clip of me sitting on my couch, shaking my head and saying "What is wrong with people?".

5. My ankle is not as healed as I originally thought and I may or may not have taken a step backwards with the cute boots I wore Saturday night. Oops.

6. Saturday night was date night. Sadly, we were both a little bit snappy and didn't really enjoy our evening till about 3/4 way through when we both decided to start over and smile at one another. We saw "Due Date" which I don't really recommend. It had funny moments but definitely was not my favorite.

7. AND THEN WE DID SOMETHING CALLED DAYLIGHT SAVINGS FALL BACK DAY AND THAT MEANS WE GET AN EXTRA HOUR OF SLEEP AND JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW.

8. Church was so nice this morning. We got to class early and visited with a new couple. We had an excellent teacher who taught us all about being patient. I am sooooo good at being patient. Then we went to church where Pastor Gregg taught a sermon titled "He Must Become Greater, I Must Become Less" which I totally don't need to hear because I am super good at humility and submitting to His will. Or, truthfully speaking, the sermon (nail) was very timely for me (hit me on the ever-loving head).

9. Immediately after church I had a parent meeting for the Kids' Choir. Just in case you haven't been here to read in awhile and are thinking "Holy Moly, did Jen the Newlywed have a baby that is now in the 1st-5th grade that she is going to parent meetings for and I totally missed it?!?". No, no you didn't miss it. I have no babies. I am, however, a co-director of the kids choir and we had a parent meeting today. In a room that was freezing cold. And the people in the hallway had pizza that smelled so good that I almost ate my notes.

10. Grant and I decided to go home for lunch and see what we could whip up. Grant grilled hot dogs. We had no hotdog buns. So I toasted some bread and we had a hot dog sandwich. With Fritos. PURE CLASS.

11. We went to the gym and I worked out my abs and they are now abs of steel. A really loose, cushy steel.

12. Grocery shopping trip to Randall's. (Your Remarkable Store). We got lots of fruits and veggies. When we went down the macaroni and cheese aisle I touched all of the beautiful boxes and told my babies that I missed them and that I think of them every day.

13. Grant made us dinner. Whole Wheat Penne pasta with grilled chicken, broccoli, carrots, garlic, and olive oil. And I made Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, because, as previously stated, I AM A CLASSY GAL.

14. I did two loads of laundry. Well, 3 loads of laundry if you count the sheets. We love sleeping in freshly washed sheets. They smell so good.

15. We took the puppy dog on a long walk because it could not be more beautiful outside.

This blog post must end now before I start telling you all the meals I will be eating this week and how they compare to all the meals I wish I was going to be eating this week.

Long live carbohydrates.

Green Scarf

I'm wearing a green scarf today.


But this isn't how I started out.


I first put on a pale pink scarf and after looking in the mirror, I felt that I needed a bit more pizazz.

Then I put on a new scarf that I haven't worn before that a co-worker brought me after a trip overseas. After putting on that scarf, I realized that it was a) beautiful and b) quite possibly intended to be a table runner.

Then I put on my periwinkle scarf, which is a classic favorite but I still felt like I needed a bit more pop.

My decision became final with the bright green scarf that my dad brought me from Ireland. It has just enough pop. And it looks super cute with my white, button down, collared shirt, brown pants and denim jacket.

The perfect fall outfit. On the most beautiful fall day.

Please keep in mind that the scarf deliberation happened as I was already 30 minutes late for work.

Some decisions are important. The scarf decision is one of them.

Sometimes I Need To Say Some Words

1. The swelling on the ankle is definitely going down. It no longer looks like a lemon. We have down-graded to a golf ball. A bruised golf ball. I am still wearing the ankle brace, but am beginning to walk like a normal human being. Because we all know how normal I am.

2. I really enjoy the word "gubernatorial". I've been watching election coverage and "gubernatorial" makes me giggle every time. All these governors. They're such goobers. Or gubers.

3. I make it a point to avoid politics on the blog because WE LIKE TO HAVE FUN HERE but I do want to take this time to say that I am so glad and proud that we have the right to vote and make changes in our country. I know that it wasn't all that long ago (in the grand scheme of things) that women weren't allowed to vote and I am so glad that I, being a woman, am able to vote, because let's face it, I LIKE TO SPEAK MY MIND.

4. My polling location was in a Bus Barn. It don't get more American than that.

5. I am bothered that CNN is projecting winners based on 1% of the vote being in. ONE EVER LOVING PERCENT. Let's just calm down.

6. For dinner tonight I made breaded chicken wings, steamed broccoli (covered in olive oil) and homemade mashed red potatoes. My plate was 20% broccoli, 20% chicken wings, and 60% mashed potatoes. As God intended.

7. The chilly, rainy weather has propelled me into a dimension of happy that we haven't seen in quite some time. Sweaters are my love language.

8. The cast of characters on CNN right now makes me think that this is a SNL sketch waiting to happen. A woman just said "I'm not getting much love tonight. I'm not getting much love".

9. I NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE which is why I am THRILLED that the Starbuck's RED cups are back. So much happiness.

10. I am a fan of the one-hour Biggest Loser episode. Sometimes two hours is just too much.

11. Daylight savings is this weekend. We fall backwards. Which means an extra hour of sleep for us all. GOD BLESS AMERICA.

12. I have to go do dishes now. And eat more mashed potatoes. I fully intend on cancelling out my crunches.

And You Shall Call Her Lemon Ankle

This weekend was beautiful.

Fabulous.

Fun.

Easy.

It started with tortilla soup and a slumber party at Liz's house. Her husband was away hunting so the girls came over and cuddled on the couch watching movies and chatting. Liz had never seen "When Harry Met Sally" so I made sure to correct that. Such a classic.

I woke up the next morning to find Liz in her kitchen at 7:15am with what seemed like 5 crockpots full of spaghetti. She was making lunch for her little sister's soccer team. Adorable. We ate coffee cake and drank coffee and chatted until I decided to go home and cuddle with my husband a little bit.

Then we headed out to College Station for the A&M/Texas Tech game. Our friends Matt & Katie were our host and hostess in their awesome season ticket seats. We sat in the shade, in the breeze, AND WE WON. Grant and I have not been to an Aggie game in an embarassingly long time but we had so much fun with them and left there thinking that we need to go alot more often.

And also, I sprained my ankle on the way out.

I am ever so graceful.

The game was over, we were walking out of the stands, I got to the last step on the stairs and I came down on my foot wrong. My ankle rolled, I fell down (I felt SO cool) and then a random stranger girl ran and got security who informed me that some medics were coming to cart me down the stadium.

Um, no.

I wasn't even crying. It can't be that bad. I told everyone to give me about 30 seconds. And then I could walk.

And I did. And I was fine.

And then we got in the car and I pulled off my shoes and saw that my ankle had a tumor the size of a lemon growing out of the side of it.

AWESOME.

So today I am gimpy.

I am doing the whole R.I.C.E. thing.

R - Rest - been laying on the couch for FOREVER

I - Ice -- Grant is an Ice NAZI.

C- Compression - my dear husband bought me an ankle brace at the CVS and now I am looking super cool.

E - Elevation - keep the ankle above your heart! I am currently blogging with my foot a good foot and a half higher than the rest of my body.

However, I think we should change that acronym to V.R.I.C.E.

The V stands for Vicodin.


I am irritated and annoyed with myself. But hey, what are you gonna do.

I plan on putting a chair on the front porch and sitting there all night to greet trick-or-treaters. I can't keep getting up to go to the door.

And if I leave the candy-giving responsibility to Grant, he will not do it right. He'll probably just hand out candy and not comment on the costumes or tell all the Ballerinas and Cinderellas and Princesses that they have beautiful shoes and a beautiful tiara.

I may eat some Kit Kat's while I'm out there.