Rock climbing pleasure

Thanks first of all to all of those who wished us a happy anniversary. We both really apprecaite your thoughtful wishes! We had a BLAST! It really was so much fun! We had a personal class with a man named Pat. He actually ended up being the owner of the place. He climbed Devil's Tower around 100 times and is pretty amazing at climbing. Anyway, he taught us how to belay, how to tie the knots, and some technique to climbing. I was just lucky to climb and get to the top without worrying about what color of "rock" I was suppose to be using. It was a lot of fun though, and both Randy and I want to keep climbing. We enjoyed ourselves so much, and it really will be fun to keep at it. There is a place in Rochester that we are going to go to soon. However, renting the equipment is pretty silly especially if we are going to keep climbing. We decided to buy shoes and a harness, but we don't know when that will happen yet so renting will just have to do for now.

At the end of the day, our forearm muscles were SO sore that after three hours of climbing, we were fatigued. We then went to a hotel close to the gym and just hung out there the rest of the night. It was such a nice place, and they actually had ducks in the hotel. Randy was amazed by the ducks haha!! We tried to play with them, but they actually were not that habituated--haha!

The next day was Thanksgiving, and we both had a lot to be thankful for. We went to my parents house and had a great time. We enjoyed ourselves; however, that evening, I came down with the flu. It was horrible; I couldn't go shopping with Katie. I was SO disappointed about not being able to go, but it was pretty bad. I'm still getting over my sickness. Hopefully, I will get better soon. New favorite thing--Hallmark Christmas movies :)

3 years and counting

I am sitting here thinking while working (not a good sign, I should be paying attention) about the eve of my wedding three years ago. I have great, great memories! What a great day it was, and I will never have to do it again! Can I get an AMEN! Here are some of my very fond memories:

It was great to finally get to meet Rob, Ruth, and Amber of whom I heard so much about. I enjoyed taking counseling classes, even though they were with my father. There are a few things I still think about to this day about what we talked about in our three (yes, only three) marriage classes. One was how you should treat your spouse like elegant china instead of paper plates. I think he stole it from Joel Olsteen actually. Even if we weren't getting married, I'm sure he would have shared that analogy with us anyway. Another thing I took away was when he said that he can't really teach us what marriage is all about. We just have to live it. He said we are pretty much just jumping in the deep end of a pool not knowing how to swim; and to an extent, he is definitely right. He said I can give you tools and advice; but in the end, you are the ones that are going to do all the work. I remember Katie being preggo with Taylor and worried that she was going to have Taylor when I was on my honeymoon (she didn't). Matthew was actually nice to Tara and romantic for once (weird, I know). Charissa ironing my veil into the wee hours of the morning. I remember how much I LOVED my cake with the cake topper, totally African haha! Shopping with my mom for all the wedding stuff. Enjoying the last months of singlehood. Amanda Vogel spending the night for my bridal shower and reading a book that prepared me for the big day and just reading "certain" passages of it. Alyvia ringing those bells like her life depended on it. Matthew and his new video camera and taping the best video tape in the world. Taking Elisabeth to Color Me Mine and spending quality time with her (she is 9 now, it's sad). Noah being a complete babe and very hilarious about his flower....I could definitely go on; I'll stop though or else this post will be TOO long.

Honestly, marriage has been better than I thought. It hasn't been as hard as I thought either. I'm sure now that the "honeymood phase" is over (I think they give you 2-3 years), it will get harder. I have learned that marriage takes work, and you definitely have to be willing to work at it to make it last. I also have learned that the better walk you have personally with the Lord, the better your marriage is. Randy and I are definitely doing great. I pray that this will always be the case. Today, we went to go get wood for our woodstove to keep us warm this winter. An elderly man from church sold us some. He was just so happy to see us both working together getting the wood, etc. This is what Randy and I do though. We work together as a team, and this man was just grateful to see this. He was so encouraging to us, and I hope that we can have a strong marriage like he and his wife have. He has gone through a lot, but they both stuck together and put God first in their lives. I hope we can mirror them in some way.

Well, this is a long enough post and I am suppose to be working, haha! So off to rock climbing tomorrow. I am REALLY excited about this!!! We will have a great 3-year anniversary.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

If this post wasn't too long and you have nothing better to do, check out the following:
You tell her, Dr. Dobson. Where Katie and I will be at midnight on Friday. Craziest x-rays ever. Obama to approve stem-cell research. Something I agree with Obama on. Glad they caught him. Diagnosis of cancer declines in US. Go get 'em Palin. America headed for breakup? Don't mess with my Gov.

Border collies hate me

So most of you know that I was bitten by a Border Collie when I was around 3 years old. I remember that traumatic time very clearly. My dad was going to buy the dog from my grandpa, and I was pretty much scared of the dog. They had me go out and play with it so I kept telling the dog to shake. I probably told the dog to shake around 20 times, and he must have gottten pretty bored and attacked me and bit me in the face. Thank God that my oldest brother was there to get the dog off of me. Anyway, I remember having to get stitches in my face and remember my parents telling me I was beautiful, even though from pictures I see how horrible I actually looked.

Well, a few weeks ago I was going to my boss's house nonetheless to teach her children piano. They have a Border Collie and out of NO WHERE, the dog attacks my leg. I was in so much shock. I walk in the door, and here is this dog eating my leg! What did I do!? I'm a dog lover, I've never been mean to dogs (I have been mean to cats but that is besides the point). Well, I didn't have to have stitches, but I did get a HUGE bruise and a puncture wound. Randy was happy that it wasn't summer because he didn't want to look like a wife beater...haha! It looked horrible; and for a few days, I had problems walking, etc.

Thank goodness I have a little dog that can only bite ankles. He never would bite (he better not); but you know, I think small dogs are the way to go. I think I'm going to write a song about my experiences. It probably will be in a minor key!!!

Political heart-ache

Jindal to Iowa: I am not running for president. He, however, didn't say anything about VP; but he also did say he wants to govern two terms in Louisiana. Jindal 2020 then!!!



We still have Gov. Palin, and it appears that most people want her. Either her or Romney. I say they should tag team it


Anyway, I love Gov. Jindal; and hopefully he'll decide to run someday in the future. Gotta work :)

UPDATE:

This video is quite comical. I think it is anyway. Sarah Palin gave an interview in front of a turkey farm where behind her, turkeys were getting "executed" per the NYT. She was there to do her governing duty and pardoning a turkey for Thanksgiving. It really makes me laugh how much of a reaction this is getting. Made me think of the time when Jen and Randy told me the story of going to the market in India and Africa and getting chickens to eat. Good thing we don't live in a third world country where the animals that we eat are killed in front of you! I actually agree with Mark Steyn on this issue.

2nd best cookies ever and my view on the "bailout"

OK, so I just have to share a GREAT cookie recipe that has easily become my 2nd (or 3rd) favorite cookie ever. Of course, the best cookies are the pumpkin cookies, but these cookies are really just as good!!!

My opinion piece:
I seriously did not agree with the "bailout" that they approved back in Sept. so I really do not agree whatsoever with bailing out the "big 3." Here is why I don't agree with it.
1. Obviously, it isn't a crisis when the CEOs of the companies don't cut back their lifestyle, i.e. taking private jets to Washingtion to make their case as well as refusing to move to Detroit and using a private jet to get from Seattle to Detroit every other weekend.
2. As Mitt Romney puts it, “If General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye.” They need to get rid of the top management and retool the companies as well as redo the union contracts. Of note, however, I really like Mitt Romney, even though he is a mormon. He is a smart, smart man; and I really do believe he would have made a great president; and if he runs in the primaries and wins the primaries in 2012, I will support him. There are things I don't care for him about; but all in all, if we are still in a huge economic meltdown, he has my vote.
3. If you keep bailing out big companies, where do you stop? Sometimes bankrupcy is a good thing for these big companies. I say take responsibility. I find it quite hilarious that the CEOs of the big 3 said they would take a paycut for a dollar a day, however, couldn't find it in them to fly coach to Washington. They need to go.

I'm going to book our rock climbing excursion today. I'm really excited about this!! I seriously cannot wait :)!! I love it. It is going to be AWESOME.

Some stuff to read just for fun:
How Obama got elected. Buy it, read it. The world has never seen such freezing heat. Great reason to homeschool.

Obsession issues

So I decided that there are things I definitely need to work on. I definitely get obsessed with things. For example, I was completely "into" the summer Olympics; but then again, who couldn't be obsessed with seeing Michael Phelps blow everyone out of the water?

Then there was the election. Yes, I actually got into politics this year. The reason: Sarah Palin and the dislike of President-elect Barack Obama's policies. I find it quite hilarious how much I hated politics before, and now (other than the Bible) that is all that I read. Favorite website: hotair.com. I love talk radio now; and when I am working around the house and James Dobson isn't on, that is what I listen to. It is quite interesting how there are different takes on policies, and I actually have enjoyed learning more about the world, even though I tend to forget that I am not of the word and get too invested. Anyway, now that the election is over, that chapter in my life is "closed," but I still do follow politics but not as extensively as before.

So now, what am I going to do. I have decided that I'm going to try to do better with keeping in contact with people. It honestly is difficult for me since my mornings and afternoons are free and that is when everyone is working and my nights are pretty much booked with either work, teaching piano, church, spending time with my husband, and trying to find some time in there to see my family and friends. So that is goal No. 1....but I think I found something else that I could perhaps enjoy doing......

It is my year to plan our anniversary outting. I wanted to do something "fun." I was looking online, and I found information about rock climbing. I think to myself, "Hey, Randy loves doing that." SO, we're going rock climbing for our anniversary. There is an indoor place in St. Paul that looks pretty amazing. I found out too that there is a rock climbing gym here in Rochester too. Now, this might be my next obsession, I honestly don't know; but I can definitely see me enjoying this. I'm hoping this is a way that I can enjoy God's creation; and hopefully it is something that Randy and I will like doing together. So pray I don't break my neck and pray that we have a great time. (http://www.verticalendeavors.com/vestpaulnew/index.html)

I definitely believe we need to have children as I wouldn't have time for obsessions. LOL!!!