wings

Jason decided to try a new hair style.

just an ordinary tuesday

The things I did today.....

1. Went to my swim class at 9:00 in the morning.
2. Went to the post office to pick up my tripod that was supposed to be delivered about a week ago
3. Came home and made an omlet (while eating...studied for Physiology)
4. Went to Starbucks (we have no coffee in the house)
5. Went to class (got 9 out of 10 right on my quiz)
6. Talked with a chem TA about my chem project (due friday) (asking for help isn't as painful as initially perceived)
7. Went to the bank
8. Went to Starbucks again (we now have coffee in the house, peace is restored)
9. Was patient enough to wait for them to brew a new batch (received a free drink for later) (I need a lot of coffee to function in the day)
10. Talked the AFLAC lady into letting me just sign the waiver papers instead of sitting through a meeting I didn't want to be at.
11. Went to Target
12. Resisted the urge to look at purses, bathing suits...basically anything springish
13. Bought hair dye (to try and fix what I did two weeks ago) (it's very red) (and dark)
14. On the way out, smiled at the two cute ladies having coffee
15. Almost hit the man in the wheel chair coming towards me in my lane (I was going 40 miles and hour)
16. Went to the thrift shop (doesn't anyone donate short sleeved shirts or shorts?)
17. Left without anything
18. Said thank you to the gentleman who shovels our walk way, and chit chatted with him about Arizona and flying out of Marquette, and flying back into Marquette.
19. Finally re-dyed my hair.

weight loss

another 2 pounds. that brings the grand total up to 11.8! Whoo Hoo! My goal is to eventually become invisible...just kidding. I've still got a ways to go though. Thanks for the encouragment.

me and my ipod

currently listening to: frou frou, regina spektor, the killers, and tv on the radio



It's really strange not having the TV on all the time. I find that for once, the time goes slower and it's very quiet in our apartment. My ipod and I have been getting reacquainted now that we have more time to spend with each other.
Right before we moved to Marquette I accidentally for the SECOND time erased ALL of my music on my ipod (and of course i didn't realize this until i was about an hour into the 8 hour drive up here and had to rely on the radio for decent music the whole way up...(what was i thinking?)
So I had to start fresh and add all of my music on my ipod which meant "stealing" it from jason's ipod. Though, while I was doing this I managed to crash his computer due to lack of memory. Then Jason's Ipod which is only 2 years old (I think he bought it 2 days after we got married) decided that it was done cooperating and just plain old refused to play or turn on or acknowledge anything.
So, while he was having that repaired I lent him my ipod, which only recently did I get back. All of that to say that it is nice having him (by him i mean Charlie, my ipod) back and we can do everything together.
I have also been to Pandora which is a site that lets you plug in the type of music you like or artist you like and it plays random songs from random artists. You have to create a sign in name, but it is worth it if you are looking for new music or are just tired of what you have been listening to.

My thought for the day: I'm thankful that God gave me the love for music. I don't know who I would be without music in my life in some form or another.

no tv for 40 days

All day I've been trying to think of what the season of Lent means to me...I think I figured it out. (i think) By "giving up" TV for 40 days it means that during the times that I would normally watch TV, which is everyday, sometimes for hours at a time. (a HUGE chunk of my week...wasted) I usually tell myself that it's ok as long as I'm just on the internet or knitting or doing dishes or cleaning up the house...seriously it's on ALL the time. All that time I have it on is time that I could be doing something more productive, more apeasing and glorifying to God. So this Lenten season by "sacraficing" TV I am telling God that my time is His, and I refuse to fill it with idle nothingness. Lent for me means that I want to get closer to God, to get back to the root of things, to reflect and pray, and wait on the Lord.

For Valentines Day Jason didn't get me chocolates or flowers, or jewelry, but he did get me The Visual Edition of The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning which is way better than chocolates and will last longer than flowers. This is the shortened version with exerpts from his original book. Brennen states the obvious in that we are all ragamuffins, but it doesn't matter because we have God's love. And really that is what the Bible is all about...THE LOVE OF GOD THROUGH GRACE. And until we understand that we will never fully understand God or what it truly means to be a Christian. If I can gather my thoughts on this this, I will write more and in the mean time if you are looking for an honest "self awareness" book pick up either version of the Ragamuffin gospel.

As far as Lent goes I did not write this post to boast and brag about how big it is of me to give up TV, but I did it to put it in writing, to confirm the reasons why I observe Lent.

dog sled race

The thing about volunteering is that it never is what you expected, but Jason and I are so glad we did. We arrived at 6pm and stayed until around 11. We only saw 5 dog teams in those 5 hours but there was something so satisfying just to sit outdoors next to a warm fire in the middle of winter. We both brought books to read and our ipods to listen to.
The sleds weren't at all what we expected, most of the dogs were very small and they moved a lot slower than expected. But, when they passed by there was a feeling of such weird satisfaction and stillness, just the sense that these mushers have been in the cold with these dogs for almost 72 hours and that they are so close to being finished with this long cold journey. I know it seems a little melodramatic but you had to be there. I think that these are the times that Jason and I realize just how great the U.P. is.

my favorite things

Well as most of you know I turned 25 today. I can't beleive how old I am! I'm just kidding, I know I am still very young. Thank you to everyone who sent me birthday wishes. I am so blessed to have such an amazing support system. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I just wanted to share some of my new favorite things that I purchased with some of my birthday money.

I bought the fabric in groups of squares off of ebay. I've only gotton one set, so far and it is beautiful. I am so excited to make something for myself. That is of course after I finish all of my other projects. I am finishing a scarf, then I will start on the baby Quist quilt which I am so excited to make. Linda and I picked up amazing bright fun colors that would make any baby happy. After that I think I will split my time between making a quilt for me and scrapbooking. I'm taking some of my birthday money and printing out a ton of my digital pictures so that I can eventually put them down on a page.

The other thing that I bought are my new tripods. Why you ask, does someone need 2 tripods. Well, I will tell you. I need the big one for obvious reasons, and the small one...why not!? I really wanted it for hiking or uneven surfaces...basically just plain fun! I also got a ton of scrapbooking stuff for when the time comes. Yeah! I think I am just going to "craft" for the rest of my life. (not really.)

Thank you for all of the love!

$10.00 skiing

Wow Jason! (don't worry one of those is mine)

Jason and I (notice my goggles are upside down!) I am such a dork!

Warming up in the car.

The view of frozen Lake Superior from one of the hills.

What a goof ball



These pictures are not in the right order...we did not drink beer first. Jason and I went to Marquette Mountain on Thursday evening. They had a NMU ski day with $10 lift tickets. You can't beat that...even if it is FREEZING outside. Speaking of which, I didn't last very long. I felt like half my face was getting frostbite, plus all of the downhill racers were doing time trials on all of the hills and I felt like we were just getting in the way. So i did the logical thing and went to sit in my warm car. I don't think I warmed up all night after that. I'm glad we got to go though. It was still fun and I shouldn't be surprised we do live in the UP.

I don't like Valentines day but I like my brother and he was born on this day 23 years ago! I love you Ryan!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Valentines Day....ugh

Well, It is officially Valentines Day in the US of A and I couldn't care less. I'm not sure sure if it's because it's so close to my birthday or just because of the fact that Hallmark, flower shops, and Hershey are making a ton of money due to this "holiday." I have to agree with my friend Samara that this "holiday" should really be a reminder to love the ones that are close to you everyday instead of just ONE single day in February. So that being said I wish you all a Lovey Dovey Valentines Day.

before i forget....it was 2.6 lbs this week for a total of 9!

Lots of pictures

Debby

Jason

Amber

Jason and Denny playing the Wii with all their might.

Amber finishing Emily's scarf (finally)

Jason's foot prints in the snow

Lake Superior frozen as far as the eye could see.

Jason standing on Lake Superior (he still has the tags on his shirt)

Lake Michigan was frozen over too.

I don't know why I am not able write anything before I put the pictures in. It drives me crazy. Well the pictures are from this weekend in St. Ignace. It was so nice to be able to spend time with the family even if it was for such a short time. We all hung out together at the motel for a while and later in the evening we went the casino and I got to play black jack and I love black jack! (I more than doubled my money) It was so great to see Steve and Amber, and Debby and Denny. Thanks for coming up and meeting us! We'll do it anytime.

heat!

Finally! I have heat in my car, and not 30 minutes after it's been running...I'm talking about right away! Whoo Hoo. So worth the price.
Well this weekend we are going down meet jason's parents and steve and amber in St. Ignace. We are so excited. We don't have hardly any plans. We will probably go to the casino for a little while but mostly we're just going to hang out in the hotel room. and that means that i don't have to work ALL weekend.
oh and jason started a new blog. I have to show him the ropes of blogging, he's a little rusty, but just so you know this is his new blog address www.mybrokenclock.blogspot.com .
All you have to do is click on it or the link the side bar. Have good weekends!

internet seperation

well it's happened, Jason and I no longer claim to have a blog together. he decided that once I started to write about weight loss and cramps that it was time to stop calling it "Our blog." It is officially MY blog...don't worry I will still update about jason, same as always. He's going to start his own blog and as soon as he has one I will let you all know. Well that is it for the update.

101st post!!!

It's my 101st post and I am going to spend it writing (whining) about my horrendous cramps. Seriously...it's been all day long. ALL DAY. The heating pad, aspirin, and lying on the couch for hours hasn't helped. I can't stand how much these stupid cramps can ruin almost a whole day. AHHHH!!!!

Anyway, as I had written before we are getting a large tax return back and we had plans for it which is I'm sure why I had to drop my car off at the shop today to be looked at and we had to buy yet another battery for Jason's pick-up truck. (3rd one in 4 years) I think it is just inevitable but it's a good reminder that it's not OUR money. God has different plans for it even if it's getting our cars fixed.

Sooooo Cold!

I'm sure most of you are having the coldest weather ever. So are we, but still no snow. The worst part is that I have absolutely no heat in my car despite the fact that it over heats after 10 minutes of driving. Jason and I are going to bring it in on Wednesday to have it looked at. So hopefully I will have heat by this weekend. There is not much else going on up here. Just staying warm and studying our little fannies off. Oh the weight loss update......1.8 pounds. It's not a ton but I am still happy with it. And that means that I have lost over 6 pounds!! Whoo hoo!

I got a new vacuum!

I bet you never knew how excited someone could get over a vacuum...well I am so pumped. It was a little late when I got home from Wal-mart, but I did vacuum the living room. Wow. So gross. I'm glad we don't have any kids that are crawling around on the floor. Really I am so excited.

Since It's been a couple of days since I have posted a picuture, I thought I would bring you a little bit of spring. This was one of the roses jason got for me on our anniversary.

I can't sleep

Well currently it is 7:27am but I have been WIDE awake since 6am. Ahhhh I'm ready to pull my hair out. I was not ready to wake up 2 1/2 hours before I needed to be. It drives me crazy. For once though I will have some coffee in me before my swim class. And I ate breakfast. Still I just wish I was able to sleep longer. I do have really good news though. Jason's cousin Jacob and his wife Linda found out yesterday that they are having a baby girl!!! I am so excited for them. Now Emily will have a little friend to play with! Congratulations to the two of you. Now I just need to get started on the baby quilt. The other really great news is that Jason and I were able to deduct our tuition and with our refund money we will be able to pay off my car! Whoo hoo. I'm going to buy a vacuum too, a good one. Hopefully when our classes our over we are going to try and take a road trip. We want to go see our friends Josh and Kee in Wisconsin then maybe stop in Chicago and see some of the girlies, and then drive down to Kentucky to see Jason and Hannah on the way back stop in Indiana and then stop in GR to see the family. We are so excited about our tax return, we've never gotten this much back. So cool. Well I don't know much else, just that it is very very very cold out. Brrrrr.....