Christmas eve started with both of us going to work. Jason got off work at 1pm and I got off at 2pm. We headed home to change - I wore jeans to work and had to dress up, Jason wore khakis to work and changed into jeans. Choir practice started at 3pm and the first service at the Dayton campus was at 4pm. The church was full, but it seemed like most were visitors. The choir sang our 6 songs (as the sun came through the stained glass windows) and Doug Roe did the sermon. It was over a little after 5pm and we headed off to O'Charleys with Pat and Becky Caudill - always a great time with those two!
The 2nd service started at 7pm and we got back just in time. (We kinda got lost with the new exits on 75 and ended up way east of downtown.) Ken, Melissa, the kids, and Jim all came to the service. I had to sit in the front with the choir, but snuck back while we were sitting down to say hi to the kids. The church wasn't as full, but it seemed to be mostly people I recognized. Seemed a little more like our normal Sunday service. We had communion and Kevin Hoffman did the sermon this time. It really felt like Christmas with family.
After hugging everyone in the choir and everyone left at the church we headed to the Cheesecake Factory with Ken, Melissa, kids, Jim, Michael and Shirley (Ken's dad and girlfriend). Jason and I had dessert while everyone else ate dinner. Kenton was so funny, dipping french fries into everything - including the caramel and whipped cream on my plate. We had to leave before everyone was done so we could make it to the last (late) service at the Beavercreek campus.
At the Beavercreek campus we ran into so many of our old friends that we haven't seen for awhile. I said hi to the choir and caught up with some of them. We sat in the back so we could sneak out after we heard a few songs (it had been a long day and we had already heard the sermon twice). Our awesome small group leaders, Ralph & Anita Ludwig, happen to sit behind us, so we got to say hi to them too. We snuck out and ran into Eric Wright and Sarah and Tim Zechini. Jason had a great time goofing with the guys, as usual, and then we finally got out of there. It was just so awesome seeing everyone Christmas eve!
Christmas morning we slept in and then got up to open presents. Jason got me a beautiful snowflake set by Brighton. Appropriately named Snow Diva. I wrestled Jason's ipod Touch from him to wrap it, Cyndi style. Actually, I just put some ribbons on it and hid it. Then I had a trail of clues for where he could find it. (David, Amy, Stacy and I used to do this a lot as kids.) I think he enjoyed it, though he did seem a bit annoyed about running up and down the stairs. :)
We headed to Dad and Claire's house around 1pm and had appetizers along with Grandma Doris and Grandpa Bob (Claire's mother and step-father). Both Amy and Stacy called while we were opening gifts and I got to catch up with both of them. After opening gifts we had a delicious ham dinner with the return of the ice cream in chocolate cups. (Claire had to try to the chocolate drizzle again.) It was a low-key Christmas day with great company and before we knew it, it was 8pm.
When we got home I gave Mom a quick call to wish her a Merry Christmas. It was really odd not heading down to Florida as I have almost every year for the past 9 years. (I'm such a creature of habit.) I know I just saw Mom and Gary at Thanksgiving, but I miss them already. We're planning on camping over Memorial Day weekend, so we're just focusing on that.
Friday Jason had to work until noon so I went shopping with Melissa at the Greene. Great sales! After we got home Jason and I headed to Kentucky to celebrate Christmas with his family. Saturday morning we gave them stockings with gifts inside. Both Gayle and John said they've never received stockings as gifts before. (Yay!) Later that afternoon (while temperatures were 72 degrees) we opened a few more gifts. Then Sunday Jason's sister, April, and her boys came over for Christmas dinner and more gifts! And before we knew it, Christmas was over and we had to go home.
It's been an awesome week and I can't believe the last day of 2008 is tomorrow. I have a "year in review" blog started, but still need to think about things before posting it. Stay tuned... :)
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Christmas pictures (so far)
This year we weren't sure what to do about a Christmas tree with two very curious kitties in the house. The tree I've used the past few years usually sits covered in the basement. Earlier this year the two boys demolished it. Not just knocking it down, but it was completely flat at one point. So we were trying to figure out how to secure a Christmas tree to the walls or bolt it to the floor when we had a great idea. How about a palm tree? The long trunk would keep ornaments high off the ground and if we decided we hated it, Jason would move it down to the man cave in the basement. (The parrothead/Coca-cola man cave in process.) So we found a nice little $21 palm tree at Flower Factory, brought it home, put some lights on it and then decorate it.
Ta-da!!
Unfortunately we didn't realize how top heavy it would be with all the ornaments on it. The cats helped us fix this. When we got home from work the next day, it was tipped over and most of the ornaments were scattered all over the house. We set the tree back upright, put some support around the pot and it's stayed put ever since.
Next set of pictures was taken at Jason's work. They had a Christmas party for the kids with a visit from Santa. Santa was played by one of Jason's friends from his previous position with Sojourner. Everyone had to sit on Santa's lap, so we got a few pictures...
And lastly, some pictures from the Christmas party last Saturday. (See previous blog if you haven't read it yet.)
Face Painting
Jason serving tables
Santa caught me peeking in through a window of his house!
Groceries were also given to the families
Ta-da!!
Unfortunately we didn't realize how top heavy it would be with all the ornaments on it. The cats helped us fix this. When we got home from work the next day, it was tipped over and most of the ornaments were scattered all over the house. We set the tree back upright, put some support around the pot and it's stayed put ever since.
Next set of pictures was taken at Jason's work. They had a Christmas party for the kids with a visit from Santa. Santa was played by one of Jason's friends from his previous position with Sojourner. Everyone had to sit on Santa's lap, so we got a few pictures...
And lastly, some pictures from the Christmas party last Saturday. (See previous blog if you haven't read it yet.)
Welcome to the Christmas party!
Gifts for the 800+ kids
Some of the caroling elves
Face Painting
Jason serving tables
Santa caught me peeking in through a window of his house!
Groceries were also given to the families
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Catching the Spirit of Christmas...
Not sure why, but I just wasn't ready for Christmas this year. I admit, I didn't want to listen to Christmas music until last week. I can't seem to get excited about Christmas shopping. I put up minimal Christmas decorations. I didn't even plan the annual (no longer annual) ugly ornament exchange.
What makes Christmas feel like Christmas? Snow? Pretty lights? Carols and candles? What happened to celebrating Jesus' birth? Where does that come into the picture? Over and over in my head I keep asking myself "what's the point?" We spend so much money at Christmas, for what? To get money spent on us too? No, no, no, really, I know that's not it. But doesn't it really feel like it? And so many of us right now don't have the extra money. We can't really be surprised when so many people are frustrated and grumpy this time of year.
So we go to the mall and first try to figure out which end of the mall to go to. (Which is usually the wrong end.) Then we try to find a parking spot. We circle the parked cars waiting for brake lights and then hoping they're leaving and not just pulling in. Of course we run into 2 or 3 other cars going for the same spot. (And the grumpiness doesn't help this situation.) Finally we find a spot that no one else is going for - and we're grateful that it only took 10 minutes. Then we make the decision - take the coat in and carry it around for hours, or leave it in the car and freeze to death. (It was 3 degrees when we left the mall tonight. The "feels like" was -18 degrees.)
Then we head to our store of choice with coupons in hand. Prices are really great, but they've cut the number of workers in half, so trying to find help is difficult. We have to be patient, but there's always those that are out for a better deal by complaining loudly to a manager in order to get another 10% off. (Is it worth it?) And the poor retail people, who have to put up with us while working until midnight each night, have little Christmas cheer either.
Like I said, where does celebrating the birth of our Savior fit into all of this? How do we get into the real Christmas spirit when things seem so helpless, hopeless? What is the real spirit of Christmas?
I found my answer. It might be different than yours, but it definitely worked for me. Serving others. Finding a need and doing what you can to meet that need. Even if it's just taking an extra moment to smile at someone and saying "Merry Christmas."
Yesterday our church had their annual Christmas party. The party involves serving a banquet-style dinner for 1,400 people in need and giving out almost 900 gifts to the children there. I really needed to be part of the party this year. Walking around and seeing people who were truly happy, really enjoying their time with family, laughing, and even skipping around, really helped me see that so many in need still remembered what Christmas was all about. For me, serving people meant doing face painting for 2 hours. I'm really great at snowmen on the cheek! I also did Santa, presents, poinsettias, Christmas trees, and candy canes. And so many of those that I got to interact with through painting their faces were teenagers or adults. The Christmas party fun is definitely not just for the kids. :)
Then today the real fun started. First there was choir practice at 8:00 am. Our little alto group is just four women, but I really love those women - Marti, Nancy, and Sally. We've had so much fun getting to know each other over the last few weeks of practice. Yes, choir is about singing, but there's also a kinship that is created by trying to help each other and staying together.
Then at 9:00 am we had worship team practice. Today was my first time singing on the worship team. I auditioned before Thanksgiving and Jim (the worship leader) put me on the schedule for toay. I didn't think about it too much, I just didn't want to get nervous. The songs were all so familiar and I've sang the harmonies almost every time I've sang the songs. The only difference was this time I was singing into a microphone. Oh, and standing in front of everyone, instead of hiding back at the soundbooth.
Church started at 10:15 and after Kevin opened with prayer, we started singing. What an experience! It was incredible watching everyone singing and getting into worship. I had so much fun and it was like I was hanging out singing with friends. And I just loved singing my favorite Christmas song, What Child Is This, and my favorite worship song, Praise Is Rising (Hosanna). It was just such an incredible experience. I asked Jim if I could sing with them again and he said I was going to stay in the rotation of singers. (Yay!)
After church we had a Christmas get-together at a friends house. We ended up hanging out with some of the funniest people we've met at the Dayton Campus. It was good to just sit, eat, tell stories and laugh. Then we had to rush off to go to the Fairfield Commons to wrap gifts. Our church wraps gifts for free every year as an outreach to the community. We were part of the 4-6 pm group, and also the 6-8 pm group. I helped wrap gifts for about 3 of those 4 hours. About the time I got tired of wrapping gifts, it was 8pm and the last shift of people starting coming in. Perfect timing!
There are a lot of stories that came out of wrapping gifts, and I don't have the time to share them all. However, I will say that everyone was smiling and chatting like we all knew each other and so many of us met for the first time that day. We got to talk to people while we wrapped gifts and hear their stories. So many wanted to give donations, but that's not why we do it. (And we don't take donations.) We tell them that we're just showing God's love in a practical way. And they seem to understand.
The Christmas spirit finally got me this weekend. I've got my focus back. And the presents waiting to be given are a sign of how much I love those that are in my life.
I need to share other stories from our Christmas experience, but I've run out of time for tonight. Stay tuned, we got a visit from Santa (and have photos with him), and we also put up a palm tree for our Christmas tree this year (and photos of this too). I'm sure I have pictures from the Christmas party that I can post too, but that will have to be tomorrow.
What makes Christmas feel like Christmas? Snow? Pretty lights? Carols and candles? What happened to celebrating Jesus' birth? Where does that come into the picture? Over and over in my head I keep asking myself "what's the point?" We spend so much money at Christmas, for what? To get money spent on us too? No, no, no, really, I know that's not it. But doesn't it really feel like it? And so many of us right now don't have the extra money. We can't really be surprised when so many people are frustrated and grumpy this time of year.
So we go to the mall and first try to figure out which end of the mall to go to. (Which is usually the wrong end.) Then we try to find a parking spot. We circle the parked cars waiting for brake lights and then hoping they're leaving and not just pulling in. Of course we run into 2 or 3 other cars going for the same spot. (And the grumpiness doesn't help this situation.) Finally we find a spot that no one else is going for - and we're grateful that it only took 10 minutes. Then we make the decision - take the coat in and carry it around for hours, or leave it in the car and freeze to death. (It was 3 degrees when we left the mall tonight. The "feels like" was -18 degrees.)
Then we head to our store of choice with coupons in hand. Prices are really great, but they've cut the number of workers in half, so trying to find help is difficult. We have to be patient, but there's always those that are out for a better deal by complaining loudly to a manager in order to get another 10% off. (Is it worth it?) And the poor retail people, who have to put up with us while working until midnight each night, have little Christmas cheer either.
Like I said, where does celebrating the birth of our Savior fit into all of this? How do we get into the real Christmas spirit when things seem so helpless, hopeless? What is the real spirit of Christmas?
I found my answer. It might be different than yours, but it definitely worked for me. Serving others. Finding a need and doing what you can to meet that need. Even if it's just taking an extra moment to smile at someone and saying "Merry Christmas."
Yesterday our church had their annual Christmas party. The party involves serving a banquet-style dinner for 1,400 people in need and giving out almost 900 gifts to the children there. I really needed to be part of the party this year. Walking around and seeing people who were truly happy, really enjoying their time with family, laughing, and even skipping around, really helped me see that so many in need still remembered what Christmas was all about. For me, serving people meant doing face painting for 2 hours. I'm really great at snowmen on the cheek! I also did Santa, presents, poinsettias, Christmas trees, and candy canes. And so many of those that I got to interact with through painting their faces were teenagers or adults. The Christmas party fun is definitely not just for the kids. :)
Then today the real fun started. First there was choir practice at 8:00 am. Our little alto group is just four women, but I really love those women - Marti, Nancy, and Sally. We've had so much fun getting to know each other over the last few weeks of practice. Yes, choir is about singing, but there's also a kinship that is created by trying to help each other and staying together.
Then at 9:00 am we had worship team practice. Today was my first time singing on the worship team. I auditioned before Thanksgiving and Jim (the worship leader) put me on the schedule for toay. I didn't think about it too much, I just didn't want to get nervous. The songs were all so familiar and I've sang the harmonies almost every time I've sang the songs. The only difference was this time I was singing into a microphone. Oh, and standing in front of everyone, instead of hiding back at the soundbooth.
Church started at 10:15 and after Kevin opened with prayer, we started singing. What an experience! It was incredible watching everyone singing and getting into worship. I had so much fun and it was like I was hanging out singing with friends. And I just loved singing my favorite Christmas song, What Child Is This, and my favorite worship song, Praise Is Rising (Hosanna). It was just such an incredible experience. I asked Jim if I could sing with them again and he said I was going to stay in the rotation of singers. (Yay!)
After church we had a Christmas get-together at a friends house. We ended up hanging out with some of the funniest people we've met at the Dayton Campus. It was good to just sit, eat, tell stories and laugh. Then we had to rush off to go to the Fairfield Commons to wrap gifts. Our church wraps gifts for free every year as an outreach to the community. We were part of the 4-6 pm group, and also the 6-8 pm group. I helped wrap gifts for about 3 of those 4 hours. About the time I got tired of wrapping gifts, it was 8pm and the last shift of people starting coming in. Perfect timing!
There are a lot of stories that came out of wrapping gifts, and I don't have the time to share them all. However, I will say that everyone was smiling and chatting like we all knew each other and so many of us met for the first time that day. We got to talk to people while we wrapped gifts and hear their stories. So many wanted to give donations, but that's not why we do it. (And we don't take donations.) We tell them that we're just showing God's love in a practical way. And they seem to understand.
The Christmas spirit finally got me this weekend. I've got my focus back. And the presents waiting to be given are a sign of how much I love those that are in my life.
I need to share other stories from our Christmas experience, but I've run out of time for tonight. Stay tuned, we got a visit from Santa (and have photos with him), and we also put up a palm tree for our Christmas tree this year (and photos of this too). I'm sure I have pictures from the Christmas party that I can post too, but that will have to be tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Thanksgiving in Florida
I usually go to Florida sometime around Christmas to see my mom and step-dad. It's always quite a treat to drive down there with Kinzie and experience Christmas Florida-style. Last year Kinzie and I brought Jason along and he fell in love with the lighted palm trees and celebrating with shorts instead of snow.
This year was a little different though. First, we now have three cats (Jason brought his two cats up from Kentucky). Second, I only had a few vacation days left after the wedding, honeymoon, and going to Honduras. Third, Mom and Gary didn't get a chance to come up to Ohio during the summer, and if I didn't go down for Christmas, I wouldn't see my mom again until next Spring.
I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner, but we decided to go down to Florida over Thanksgiving instead. I haven't done Thanksgiving with my mom and step-dad for about 10 years. It's not our favorite holiday since neither my mom nor I like to cook, and we don't have family in Ohio to get together with. But this year Jason came down with me, and he loves to cook! It was definitely the first Thanksgiving that I didn't feel useless standing outside of the kitchen wishing I knew how I could help. Jason and Mom had it completely handled and all I had to do was stuff leftovers in the fridge and help Mom wash dishes when it was all over with.
We were originally going to drive down to Florida, but with gas prices after Ike (which was when we were planning this), it would have been $300 for gas down there and back home. Not to mention it's an 18 hour drive, and if you stay at hotel to break up the driving, we're now talking close to $500 for the entire trip - and wasting 4 days of the vacation driving. So then the search for cheap airline tickets started. Mom offered to send us Christmas money to help pay for our tickets, which really helped. We ended up getting tickets from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the Monday after for $331 each. (That's everything, including fees & taxes.) However, the "cheap" tickets required that we fly out of Columbus and that our first flight out left at 6:00 am.
So then we started looking for a cheap hotel around Columbus that we could check into Monday night. Through AAA we got a room at the Crowne Plaza North for $59.99. The hotel room was gorgeous with a King sized bed, little treats everywhere, including a sleep mask, ear plugs, and lavender linen spray. (And you know I love lavender!) There was also a complenetary CD with sounds to put you to sleep. The room was actually nicer than any of the hotels my law firm had set me up with. (And they use nice hotels.) So we sat on the huge comfy bed, checking emails on my laptop, watching Dancing with the Stars, and munching on snacks. The vacation definitely started early!
We got up around 3:30 am and were on the road a little after 4am. We pulled into the long-term parking lot at the airport and a sign told us what row to park in. As we headed for that row, there were men waving us to a parking spot. The shuttle bus was right there ready to pick us up. I've left my car in long term parking a few times at different airports and this was by far my best experience. We got checked in before 5:00 am and were in the air a little after 6am.
We landed in Naples, Florida by 11:15 am. We stopped at Bonita Beach for lunch at a place on the beach. We ate on the 2nd level where there was an amazing view of the beach and the gulf. It was a breezy 72 degrees, while back in Dayton I'm sure it wasn't 30 degrees. I had to take a picture and send it to my friends back home. (Love you guys! And yes, I'm a brat.)
Wednesday we went shopping at the Apple store to check out the iPod Touch. (It's like the iPhone, without the phone.) I tried to sell Mom & Gary on a MacBook but I don't think they're ready to convert. (I'll keep praying for them... ha.) Then we hit the grocery store and got all our supplies for Thanksgiving and the rest of the week.
Jason and Mom started Thanksgiving dinner early and the turkey was done quicker than they thought. There was one forgotten item, so I got to rush to the grocery store down the street and save the day. (It's good to feel useful.) We ate around 2pm and then waddled around the rest of the day. Just because it was Thanksgiving and we were in Florida, we had to get in the pool. The pool was heated (about 82 degrees) but it was in the low 70's and just too chilly to stay in for long. It was one of those things - how often do you get to say that you went swimming Thanksgiving day? :)
Thursday night Mom and I had a first. We went shopping! Michael's (a craft store) was open from 6-9pm Thanksgiving night, so we spent an hour there. Mom didn't get anything, but I got quite a few supplies I was needing. (The gourd parrot and the Pinto rock can now be painted!) Does this count as black Friday shopping?
Jason and I headed out on Friday to do some shopping at Macy's with gift cards we still had from our wedding. We had over $200 in gift cards but only managed to spend $57. I think there were just too many people there and not enough practical gift ideas. And for some reason it was difficult to shop for ourselves. Jason works the day after Christmas, so I have a feeling I'll be spending the rest of those gift cards that day. We also hit Bealls and got a few items, though we couldn't find the prelit aligator or parrot that we saw in the ads. Jason wanted to get a prelit palm tree and decorate that instead of a regular Christmas tree. With three cats, I'm starting to think that this would have been a good idea.
Saturday we went to the beach in the afternoon and then watched the sunset over the gulf. Gorgeous!! I'll post pictures below. Afterwards we hit our favorite (fresh) seafood spot, Kelly's Fish House. I got the garlic butter shrimp as I always do. It's the type of place where everything you eat is yummy, from the salads to the baked potatoes to the hush puppies - not just the main entree.
Sunday we decided to go to the Vineyard Church in Naples. We drove past the building the night before on our way home after dinner. We got there early the next morning and... there was no one there. I remembered that the church was on Davis Road and we were on Radio Road, so the church must have moved. So we headed towards Davis Road. I remembered that I had put Google Directory Assistance on my cell phone, so I called and got directions to the church. Without this free service, we would never have found it. The pastor talked about agape love and how to make your love (for your spouse, family or friends) better. His sermon series was based on the Fireproof movie. I really liked his preaching and got quite a bit out of it. It was a tiny little church, maybe 20 people. They're in a transition period right now so attendance is low. Naples is so different from Dayton.
Sunday afternoon it rained. Jason and I saw out on the covered part of the back patio and watched the rain. We decided that a rainy day in Florida is better than any day in Dayton. We really didn't want to go home, but our real lives are here in Dayton. Yesterday we got in the pool one last time before heading home. We flew Delta down to Florida - a wonderful experience. We flew US Airways home - we'll never fly them again. We shouldn't have been so surprised by the charges for checked bags and drinks, and the lack of snacks on board. What we were really surprised about was how rude the flight attendants were. Actually almost all of the crew we came in contact with were unprofessional, in my opinion. One good thing, we landed 15 minutes early which got us home and in bed much quicker.
The fuzzies were so happy to see us. Sleeping in our own bed made it good to be home. There really is no place like home. (Even if it's 20 degrees outside.) :)
This year was a little different though. First, we now have three cats (Jason brought his two cats up from Kentucky). Second, I only had a few vacation days left after the wedding, honeymoon, and going to Honduras. Third, Mom and Gary didn't get a chance to come up to Ohio during the summer, and if I didn't go down for Christmas, I wouldn't see my mom again until next Spring.
I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner, but we decided to go down to Florida over Thanksgiving instead. I haven't done Thanksgiving with my mom and step-dad for about 10 years. It's not our favorite holiday since neither my mom nor I like to cook, and we don't have family in Ohio to get together with. But this year Jason came down with me, and he loves to cook! It was definitely the first Thanksgiving that I didn't feel useless standing outside of the kitchen wishing I knew how I could help. Jason and Mom had it completely handled and all I had to do was stuff leftovers in the fridge and help Mom wash dishes when it was all over with.
We were originally going to drive down to Florida, but with gas prices after Ike (which was when we were planning this), it would have been $300 for gas down there and back home. Not to mention it's an 18 hour drive, and if you stay at hotel to break up the driving, we're now talking close to $500 for the entire trip - and wasting 4 days of the vacation driving. So then the search for cheap airline tickets started. Mom offered to send us Christmas money to help pay for our tickets, which really helped. We ended up getting tickets from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the Monday after for $331 each. (That's everything, including fees & taxes.) However, the "cheap" tickets required that we fly out of Columbus and that our first flight out left at 6:00 am.
So then we started looking for a cheap hotel around Columbus that we could check into Monday night. Through AAA we got a room at the Crowne Plaza North for $59.99. The hotel room was gorgeous with a King sized bed, little treats everywhere, including a sleep mask, ear plugs, and lavender linen spray. (And you know I love lavender!) There was also a complenetary CD with sounds to put you to sleep. The room was actually nicer than any of the hotels my law firm had set me up with. (And they use nice hotels.) So we sat on the huge comfy bed, checking emails on my laptop, watching Dancing with the Stars, and munching on snacks. The vacation definitely started early!
We got up around 3:30 am and were on the road a little after 4am. We pulled into the long-term parking lot at the airport and a sign told us what row to park in. As we headed for that row, there were men waving us to a parking spot. The shuttle bus was right there ready to pick us up. I've left my car in long term parking a few times at different airports and this was by far my best experience. We got checked in before 5:00 am and were in the air a little after 6am.
We landed in Naples, Florida by 11:15 am. We stopped at Bonita Beach for lunch at a place on the beach. We ate on the 2nd level where there was an amazing view of the beach and the gulf. It was a breezy 72 degrees, while back in Dayton I'm sure it wasn't 30 degrees. I had to take a picture and send it to my friends back home. (Love you guys! And yes, I'm a brat.)
Wednesday we went shopping at the Apple store to check out the iPod Touch. (It's like the iPhone, without the phone.) I tried to sell Mom & Gary on a MacBook but I don't think they're ready to convert. (I'll keep praying for them... ha.) Then we hit the grocery store and got all our supplies for Thanksgiving and the rest of the week.
Jason and Mom started Thanksgiving dinner early and the turkey was done quicker than they thought. There was one forgotten item, so I got to rush to the grocery store down the street and save the day. (It's good to feel useful.) We ate around 2pm and then waddled around the rest of the day. Just because it was Thanksgiving and we were in Florida, we had to get in the pool. The pool was heated (about 82 degrees) but it was in the low 70's and just too chilly to stay in for long. It was one of those things - how often do you get to say that you went swimming Thanksgiving day? :)
Thursday night Mom and I had a first. We went shopping! Michael's (a craft store) was open from 6-9pm Thanksgiving night, so we spent an hour there. Mom didn't get anything, but I got quite a few supplies I was needing. (The gourd parrot and the Pinto rock can now be painted!) Does this count as black Friday shopping?
Jason and I headed out on Friday to do some shopping at Macy's with gift cards we still had from our wedding. We had over $200 in gift cards but only managed to spend $57. I think there were just too many people there and not enough practical gift ideas. And for some reason it was difficult to shop for ourselves. Jason works the day after Christmas, so I have a feeling I'll be spending the rest of those gift cards that day. We also hit Bealls and got a few items, though we couldn't find the prelit aligator or parrot that we saw in the ads. Jason wanted to get a prelit palm tree and decorate that instead of a regular Christmas tree. With three cats, I'm starting to think that this would have been a good idea.
Saturday we went to the beach in the afternoon and then watched the sunset over the gulf. Gorgeous!! I'll post pictures below. Afterwards we hit our favorite (fresh) seafood spot, Kelly's Fish House. I got the garlic butter shrimp as I always do. It's the type of place where everything you eat is yummy, from the salads to the baked potatoes to the hush puppies - not just the main entree.
Sunday we decided to go to the Vineyard Church in Naples. We drove past the building the night before on our way home after dinner. We got there early the next morning and... there was no one there. I remembered that the church was on Davis Road and we were on Radio Road, so the church must have moved. So we headed towards Davis Road. I remembered that I had put Google Directory Assistance on my cell phone, so I called and got directions to the church. Without this free service, we would never have found it. The pastor talked about agape love and how to make your love (for your spouse, family or friends) better. His sermon series was based on the Fireproof movie. I really liked his preaching and got quite a bit out of it. It was a tiny little church, maybe 20 people. They're in a transition period right now so attendance is low. Naples is so different from Dayton.
Sunday afternoon it rained. Jason and I saw out on the covered part of the back patio and watched the rain. We decided that a rainy day in Florida is better than any day in Dayton. We really didn't want to go home, but our real lives are here in Dayton. Yesterday we got in the pool one last time before heading home. We flew Delta down to Florida - a wonderful experience. We flew US Airways home - we'll never fly them again. We shouldn't have been so surprised by the charges for checked bags and drinks, and the lack of snacks on board. What we were really surprised about was how rude the flight attendants were. Actually almost all of the crew we came in contact with were unprofessional, in my opinion. One good thing, we landed 15 minutes early which got us home and in bed much quicker.
The fuzzies were so happy to see us. Sleeping in our own bed made it good to be home. There really is no place like home. (Even if it's 20 degrees outside.) :)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wow, what a weekend!
Here's what was planned for the weekend... Jason was going to leave for the Men's Retreat ("Bootcamp") Friday after work and I was either going to meet Jenni out for karaoke, or if she couldn't make it, I was going to spend the evening in, watching movies. Saturday was the Philhar-monster with Emelynn, and Saturday night was dancing with girl friends. And then Sunday was to be time with Jason, after spending 2 days away from each other.
Here's what actually happened...
Friday around noon I was offered 2 tickets to see Turandot, the opera that was playing at the Schuster Center. (Click on link for more info.) A friend of mine, Shannon, was in the opera (dancing, though not singing) and I was looking forward to going. Jenni emailed to see if I was still up for karaoke, so I asked her if she was up for an opera, and we agreed to do both!
Around that time, Shannon sent me a text asking for places to go for karaoke after the opera, so I let her know that Jenni and I would be at the opera and that we'd be going to karaoke afterwards. She said she might be bringing a few friends - principals from the opera. (Yeah, right.)
Also around that time, Jason let me know that he would have to work until they found someone to fill in for the woman he fired earlier that week. He was afraid he'd miss the beginning of the men's bootcamp. Later he found out that he would have to work until midnight, when the next person came on. I planned on packing his stuff for the retreat and then he could meet at the retreat location at 8am Saturday morning, just in time for breakfast. About 11:40 pm the midnight person called in and said she wasn't going to make it. They couldn't find a substitute, so Jason had to stay until 8am. That's right, he pulled a 24 hour shift - with nothing to eat from 4pm on. Needless to say, the bootcamp was now out.
If I may fast-forward for a moment, the 24 hour shift was horrible on Jason and he still can't get his sleep caught up on. However, he has earned the respect of everyone he works with. Yesterday everyone was telling him how they heard that he had pulled a 24 hour shift. Even the VP came to his office to apologize and also to thank him. She gave him the day off today. :) (Which he spent getting things done instead of getting caught up on sleep!)
Back to my Friday night. Jenni and I went to the opera and we had incredible seats - Orchestra level, row M, right in the middle. You could see the expressions on their faces!! Synopsis of Turandot. Act 1 went quickly. Act 2 was a little slower. And Act 3 was... wow. I could go on and on about it, but I'll just tell you one part I loved. Turandot (the "ice" princess) has a hardened heart and pretty much hates all men. The prince, Calaf, kisses her and you can see her stiff shoulders suddenly relax, and then her head tilts. Just, wow. (Maybe I relate too well to this.)
So we rushed out of there, text our friends, Kira and Megan, that we're on our way and headed down Wayne to the little tavern down the road from my house. Shannon took forever to get out of there and let us know there's a few people from the opera coming. There was a problem though, they weren't getting there until 11:30 and the tavern closes at 1am. Also, they were hungry and the tavern stopped serving food at 11pm. Thankfully, right before they showed up, a guy from a local pizza place stopped by trying to sell pizzas. I told Shannon to tell her friends that the only food to eat was pizza, and that the place closed at 1am, but we could guarantee that they'd have fun.
Then it hits me. These are people who live in New York, or someplace like that, who have traveled the world, and for an evening out after the opera, I've offered for them to come to this little hole in the wall tavern for karaoke??? I was suddenly convinced that they would have a miserable time, stay 10 minutes and head to Therapy Cafe, or somewhere else a little more classy. I couldn't have been more wrong. :)
Shannon and Tara, a Dayton friend of hers who was also in the opera, come in and prepare us that the principals that are coming are Dongwon, who played Calaf, "Yummy" who played Ping, and Jin, who played Pang. (See the bottom of this page for their pictures.) They had a great time, eating pizza, drinking beer, and hanging out with us.
From left to right, Shannon, Yummy, Jin, Dongwon, and Tara.
Yummy sang "Moon River" while Shannon did her version of interpretive dance. (A first at the Red Carpet Tavern.)
Later Jin sang Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" which had about half the people in the bar doing their own versions of interpretive dance.
The remainder of the evening was mostly goofing around with everyone, singing at the top of our lungs, and a lot of laughing. Absolutely surreal. If I didn't have pictures, I don't think anyone would believe me.
The entire time I was at the tavern I was texting Jason and missing him so much. It was one of those moments that I wish Jason would have been there. (But if he hadn't been working, he would have been at the bootcamp anyway.) When I got home I had to call Jason and tell him all about my evening, which probably took almost an hour. I didn't get to sleep until almost 3am.
Jason got off around 8:30 am and got home at 9:30 am. I got up and he fell asleep. I took some time to work on my costume and then got ready to take Emelynn to the Philhar-monster. My costume was a poodle skirt and saddle shoes, and Emelynn was a fairy princess ballerina.
This was Eme's first philharmonic experience and she really enjoyed it. One of her two favorite songs was "Extraction of No. 8" (as in tooth number 8). They actually held up cordless drills and ran them at one point, and we got to scream a couple of times. The composer is from Yellow Springs and his music is quite... interesting. The other song she loved was The Sorcerer's Apprentice (from Fantasia). She asked if brooms were going to come out. She's cute. :)
I dropped Eme off at their church where they were doing Trunk-or-Treat and a chili dinner. I was originally supposed to eat with them, but since Jason was home, I headed off to do dinner with him. Then Belynda came over and we went out dancing at Julia's. The other two friends who were supposed to come had to cancel, but it was a good night with Belyn. It was so good to catch up and just hang out like old times. Jason came along with us to watch the table and to fend off the leaches.
Sunday we got up for church and we were both dragging. I offered to cook lunch so Jason could rest and Jason requested that I make tuna pea casserole, one of my personal favorites. So we hit the grocery store and got everything we needed. I hate cooking, but I definitely love making that casserole. I swear I could eat the entire thing if I could. So yummy!! The rest of the day was spent napping and doing very little. The perfect Sunday. The perfect ending to an incredible weekend.
Here's what actually happened...
Friday around noon I was offered 2 tickets to see Turandot, the opera that was playing at the Schuster Center. (Click on link for more info.) A friend of mine, Shannon, was in the opera (dancing, though not singing) and I was looking forward to going. Jenni emailed to see if I was still up for karaoke, so I asked her if she was up for an opera, and we agreed to do both!
Around that time, Shannon sent me a text asking for places to go for karaoke after the opera, so I let her know that Jenni and I would be at the opera and that we'd be going to karaoke afterwards. She said she might be bringing a few friends - principals from the opera. (Yeah, right.)
Also around that time, Jason let me know that he would have to work until they found someone to fill in for the woman he fired earlier that week. He was afraid he'd miss the beginning of the men's bootcamp. Later he found out that he would have to work until midnight, when the next person came on. I planned on packing his stuff for the retreat and then he could meet at the retreat location at 8am Saturday morning, just in time for breakfast. About 11:40 pm the midnight person called in and said she wasn't going to make it. They couldn't find a substitute, so Jason had to stay until 8am. That's right, he pulled a 24 hour shift - with nothing to eat from 4pm on. Needless to say, the bootcamp was now out.
If I may fast-forward for a moment, the 24 hour shift was horrible on Jason and he still can't get his sleep caught up on. However, he has earned the respect of everyone he works with. Yesterday everyone was telling him how they heard that he had pulled a 24 hour shift. Even the VP came to his office to apologize and also to thank him. She gave him the day off today. :) (Which he spent getting things done instead of getting caught up on sleep!)
Back to my Friday night. Jenni and I went to the opera and we had incredible seats - Orchestra level, row M, right in the middle. You could see the expressions on their faces!! Synopsis of Turandot. Act 1 went quickly. Act 2 was a little slower. And Act 3 was... wow. I could go on and on about it, but I'll just tell you one part I loved. Turandot (the "ice" princess) has a hardened heart and pretty much hates all men. The prince, Calaf, kisses her and you can see her stiff shoulders suddenly relax, and then her head tilts. Just, wow. (Maybe I relate too well to this.)
So we rushed out of there, text our friends, Kira and Megan, that we're on our way and headed down Wayne to the little tavern down the road from my house. Shannon took forever to get out of there and let us know there's a few people from the opera coming. There was a problem though, they weren't getting there until 11:30 and the tavern closes at 1am. Also, they were hungry and the tavern stopped serving food at 11pm. Thankfully, right before they showed up, a guy from a local pizza place stopped by trying to sell pizzas. I told Shannon to tell her friends that the only food to eat was pizza, and that the place closed at 1am, but we could guarantee that they'd have fun.
Then it hits me. These are people who live in New York, or someplace like that, who have traveled the world, and for an evening out after the opera, I've offered for them to come to this little hole in the wall tavern for karaoke??? I was suddenly convinced that they would have a miserable time, stay 10 minutes and head to Therapy Cafe, or somewhere else a little more classy. I couldn't have been more wrong. :)
Shannon and Tara, a Dayton friend of hers who was also in the opera, come in and prepare us that the principals that are coming are Dongwon, who played Calaf, "Yummy" who played Ping, and Jin, who played Pang. (See the bottom of this page for their pictures.) They had a great time, eating pizza, drinking beer, and hanging out with us.
From left to right, Shannon, Yummy, Jin, Dongwon, and Tara.
Yummy sang "Moon River" while Shannon did her version of interpretive dance. (A first at the Red Carpet Tavern.)
Later Jin sang Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" which had about half the people in the bar doing their own versions of interpretive dance.
The remainder of the evening was mostly goofing around with everyone, singing at the top of our lungs, and a lot of laughing. Absolutely surreal. If I didn't have pictures, I don't think anyone would believe me.
The entire time I was at the tavern I was texting Jason and missing him so much. It was one of those moments that I wish Jason would have been there. (But if he hadn't been working, he would have been at the bootcamp anyway.) When I got home I had to call Jason and tell him all about my evening, which probably took almost an hour. I didn't get to sleep until almost 3am.
Jason got off around 8:30 am and got home at 9:30 am. I got up and he fell asleep. I took some time to work on my costume and then got ready to take Emelynn to the Philhar-monster. My costume was a poodle skirt and saddle shoes, and Emelynn was a fairy princess ballerina.
This was Eme's first philharmonic experience and she really enjoyed it. One of her two favorite songs was "Extraction of No. 8" (as in tooth number 8). They actually held up cordless drills and ran them at one point, and we got to scream a couple of times. The composer is from Yellow Springs and his music is quite... interesting. The other song she loved was The Sorcerer's Apprentice (from Fantasia). She asked if brooms were going to come out. She's cute. :)
I dropped Eme off at their church where they were doing Trunk-or-Treat and a chili dinner. I was originally supposed to eat with them, but since Jason was home, I headed off to do dinner with him. Then Belynda came over and we went out dancing at Julia's. The other two friends who were supposed to come had to cancel, but it was a good night with Belyn. It was so good to catch up and just hang out like old times. Jason came along with us to watch the table and to fend off the leaches.
Sunday we got up for church and we were both dragging. I offered to cook lunch so Jason could rest and Jason requested that I make tuna pea casserole, one of my personal favorites. So we hit the grocery store and got everything we needed. I hate cooking, but I definitely love making that casserole. I swear I could eat the entire thing if I could. So yummy!! The rest of the day was spent napping and doing very little. The perfect Sunday. The perfect ending to an incredible weekend.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Pumpkin Carving and Ginger Update
I got the Cinderella pumpkin idea from hallmark.com. Jason and I had a great time trying to find the bits and pieces. The top is a lap final, the "hubcaps" are buttons, and everything else is scrapbook elements. (I added the purple rhinestones.)
We went to Kentucky this past weekend to visit Jason's parents. Ginger has doubled in size! Sometimes her legs work pretty good and other times she's dragging them quite a bit. She likes to jump off things (tables, chairs, counters...) and I think the landing is hard on her back legs. She plays constantly and she's so sweet!
We went to Kentucky this past weekend to visit Jason's parents. Ginger has doubled in size! Sometimes her legs work pretty good and other times she's dragging them quite a bit. She likes to jump off things (tables, chairs, counters...) and I think the landing is hard on her back legs. She plays constantly and she's so sweet!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Disappearance of tall pants, Jason's promotion, and whatever else comes to mind
I've been trying to lose weight, but after 16 months (and two weddings, one being mine) and no weight coming off (actually gained a few), I'm giving up. I walk 3 days a week (average 8,000 steps/day), I do yoga, I try to eat healthy without dieting. (Diets make me gain weight because after starving myself for weeks, I give up, eat everything I've been denying myself and end up gaining weight.) At this point I'm just fighting to not gain weight. I know I need to join a gym and kick it up a notch, but I need to find the TIME.
Anyway, I decided that I was sick of wearing old, worn out pants. Only a few pairs still fit me and I hate wearing the too-small pairs with a long sweater. I was going out tonight to buy a couple new pair of pants for work. I have 4 pairs of black pants, so I was hoping to find navy, brown, gray, or stripes.
I went to Lane Bryant, where most of my pants have come from for the past 6 years. They no longer carry tall pants in the store, but I can order them online. I don't want to order them - I want to try them on BEFORE I pay for them. So then we go to JCPenneys, and once again, they no longer carry tall pants in the store, but I can buy them online. Pass.
So we hit Macy's and Elder Beermans. All these places have tall jeans, but no tall pants. We hit a few other stores that carry my size, and still no tall pants. We go to Fashion Bug and no tall pants. I had to fight feelings of being huge and ugly. I'm sick of hearing people say "you're so lucky to be tall." They have no idea how frustrating it really is. No one says "you're so lucky to be short" and petite people have entire stores that cater to them.
My options are now to go back to the Eddie Bauer outlet store and hope for another pair of tall pants that have been returned. (They're usually super cheap and a great fit for me!) I know what pants I like at Lane Bryant, so I know I can order them with confidence that they'll fit. There is also a tall store in Dayton where I actually feel short and the pants are way too long. I'll head over there and drop the $60 for a good pair of pants. It's worth it if I can start feeling good about my height again.
Next topic, Jason's promotion at work. I tried to blog this last week, but wasn't hooked up to the internet. I typed it in a program that doesn't have auto-save. I found this out the hard way. Anyway, a couple weeks ago Jason got an email about an Operations Manager for the adolescent residential program at Sojourner, where he works. (Link to Sojourner.) He submitted his letter of interest that afternoon. He interviewed with his future boss and the VP of Sojourner the following afternoon. The next day they offered him the position. Unfortunately it wasn't much of an increase from the position he was in, so he turned it down. There was some discussion and they agreed with him, that the position deserved more money, and they met his counter-offer.
They believe in Jason, they believe he's perfect for the position, that he can turn the program around. They need a leader who isn't afraid to make people do their job and fire them if they don't. His first official day in his new position was today, and he's already fired someone. He now has to work on hiring a couple new people. Jason has plenty of experience running this type of program, including hiring the right people to work with. I'm excited about the lives he's going to change. I know it's more stressful, but it's hopefully going to be more rewarding. Please pray for Jason has he tackles the difficulties waiting for him. It's going to be rough at first, but it's all going to work out.
I have Ginger updates, but they'll have to wait for another day. I need up do some laundry, hem some pants, and if I have time, finish my pumpkin... and it's 10:30 pm. Okay, maybe the pumpkin will wait until tomorrow.
Anyway, I decided that I was sick of wearing old, worn out pants. Only a few pairs still fit me and I hate wearing the too-small pairs with a long sweater. I was going out tonight to buy a couple new pair of pants for work. I have 4 pairs of black pants, so I was hoping to find navy, brown, gray, or stripes.
I went to Lane Bryant, where most of my pants have come from for the past 6 years. They no longer carry tall pants in the store, but I can order them online. I don't want to order them - I want to try them on BEFORE I pay for them. So then we go to JCPenneys, and once again, they no longer carry tall pants in the store, but I can buy them online. Pass.
So we hit Macy's and Elder Beermans. All these places have tall jeans, but no tall pants. We hit a few other stores that carry my size, and still no tall pants. We go to Fashion Bug and no tall pants. I had to fight feelings of being huge and ugly. I'm sick of hearing people say "you're so lucky to be tall." They have no idea how frustrating it really is. No one says "you're so lucky to be short" and petite people have entire stores that cater to them.
My options are now to go back to the Eddie Bauer outlet store and hope for another pair of tall pants that have been returned. (They're usually super cheap and a great fit for me!) I know what pants I like at Lane Bryant, so I know I can order them with confidence that they'll fit. There is also a tall store in Dayton where I actually feel short and the pants are way too long. I'll head over there and drop the $60 for a good pair of pants. It's worth it if I can start feeling good about my height again.
Next topic, Jason's promotion at work. I tried to blog this last week, but wasn't hooked up to the internet. I typed it in a program that doesn't have auto-save. I found this out the hard way. Anyway, a couple weeks ago Jason got an email about an Operations Manager for the adolescent residential program at Sojourner, where he works. (Link to Sojourner.) He submitted his letter of interest that afternoon. He interviewed with his future boss and the VP of Sojourner the following afternoon. The next day they offered him the position. Unfortunately it wasn't much of an increase from the position he was in, so he turned it down. There was some discussion and they agreed with him, that the position deserved more money, and they met his counter-offer.
They believe in Jason, they believe he's perfect for the position, that he can turn the program around. They need a leader who isn't afraid to make people do their job and fire them if they don't. His first official day in his new position was today, and he's already fired someone. He now has to work on hiring a couple new people. Jason has plenty of experience running this type of program, including hiring the right people to work with. I'm excited about the lives he's going to change. I know it's more stressful, but it's hopefully going to be more rewarding. Please pray for Jason has he tackles the difficulties waiting for him. It's going to be rough at first, but it's all going to work out.
I have Ginger updates, but they'll have to wait for another day. I need up do some laundry, hem some pants, and if I have time, finish my pumpkin... and it's 10:30 pm. Okay, maybe the pumpkin will wait until tomorrow.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Looking back 7 months and a few days...
to our wedding day. I've been thinking about how much things have changed since Jason starting living 24/7 in my little house, 7 months ago. I try to remember what it was like when I was single and just did my own thing around the house. My last single morning was the wedding day. What a crazy morning. I had stayed up the night before trying to write my wedding vows. (I didn't mean to wait until the last moment. I was waiting for inspiration to say something great. I work well under pressure, so the inspiration finally came while I was laying in bed the night before.)
I woke up the next morning with all the things that were left to do - mostly ironing my veil, and fluffing my crinolines one last time. Jason came over and was helping me get things together for the rehearsal. (Rehearsal was the morning of the wedding. I highly recommend it for small evening weddings.) Jason came up from the basement and asked what my stress level was. (I'll never forget that.) The basement was flooded. Well, almost half of it was. It was the drain, it wasn't draining after my super long shower. Oops. (My poor brother couldn't shower until the water went down, but he didn't need to be at the rehearsal thankfully.)
I remember getting to the church late, rushing into the rehearsal, but then finishing in plenty of time. I remember walking around taking in all the family and friends who had gathered for that moment. Lunch was wonderful, but I wish we had made a toast or introduced important people. We planned on this but then didn't. It was informal, maybe it just didn't feel right to stand up and be the center of things, but just to let people mix and mingle and relax.
Afterwards, Melissa and I went back to the church to start getting ready. We goofed around a bit before going to get our hair done. After that it was rush rush rush. I still took in each moment knowing that this was the only chance to have everyone around and hear them all chatting and laughing. I wish we had more pictures taken. I wish I would have had pictures taken with the friends that helped us out so much. Our photographer was awesome and got pictures I never imagined would be taken, so for that I'm grateful. (I didn't make a list of pictures I wanted. I should have made a list...)
The rest of the evening is a blur. Laughter, tears, more laughter, more tears, almost setting my veil on fire - a couple times I think. (And technically, it wasn't my veil.) It's all on video, which we have, but for some reason I've never watched it. We're looking forward now. There's so much to come, and yet we have no idea what it is. I feel like I'm still taking in every moment trying to get as much out of it as I can.
What I enjoy most about marriage (*cheese alert*), those moments that I savor and want to hold on to as long as possible, is when Jason and I have our arms around each other, and we're looking at each other making faces. Who else in this whole wide world could I do this with? Who else in the whole wide world gets me, and understands me, and knows what I'm saying when I make a face at him, and in response, he makes a face back at me. And we laugh. :)
I just wanted to share my blog from myspace that I posted March 16th. This blog wasn't around back then, but I wanted to make sure I have it over here too.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Memories from the wedding day & Honeymoon Diary
I wrote all this down a couple days after the wedding. I thought I’d share. (Done in my usual incomplete thoughts style.)
- Tried to sleep in, got up at 7:45 am. (Supposed to be at church at 9:30 am.)
- Typed up vows & direction from church to the Schuster Center (where the rehearsal lunch was.)
- Decided I could iron petticoats and steam veil later.
- Long shower – basement flooded.
- Got to church at 10:00 am.
- Rehearsal started at 10:15 am, ended around 10:40 am.
- Walked around church until 11:15 and then headed to luncheon.
- Food was very good, had a wonderful time with everyone.
- Passed out gifts, never got around to making speech/toasts for everyone.
- Melissa & I went back to church to steam veil. Gayle (Jason’s mom) ironed petticoats.
- Got to Liza’s at 2:00, my hair took 40 minutes. (This is where the schedule starts to get off a bit.)
- Melissa’s hair done by 3:00 pm.
- Went back to house to finish packing & get forgotten items.
- Back to church, almost 4pm. (Now running 45 minutes late.)
- Brush teeth, teeth-whitening, make-up, under garments – took so long!
- Put on dress (petticoats inside dress & then stepped into both) & Melissa laced me up.
- Dress too long in front, keep stepping on it. No idea how to fix this. (Had to kick dress out to keep from stepping on it.)
- Jason comes in to see me – he looks incredible in a tux!!
- Pictures upstairs by windows of Jason and me.
- Family pictures next (trying to get corsages & boutonnières on everyone & get them into the church).
- Off to hide, Nancy & Melissa try to fix my hem, double-sided tape didn’t work! Realized that two pick-ups had pulled out, Melissa sewed stitches back in. Dress now perfect length! (Thinking it came from dress shop this way.)
- Jenni & Becca wouldn’t let me put lotion on, didn’t want to get it on my dress, so they put it on for me. Too funny!
- Time to go. Melissa was started too early, during Moms lighting candles. Thankfully she walked really slowly.
- Kevin announced for everyone to stay seated. (Said it humorously, like it was for everyone to see MMEEEEEEE!!!)
- Hosanna starts & Dad and I start walking, he’s walking so slowly!
- Get to look around and smile, everyone smiling right back.
- Dad passes me off to Jason.
- Kevin does Declaration of Intent & first prayer.
- Sing "Beautiful One" and "How Great is Our God." Songs seem long but stood there listening to all the voices.
- Melissa & Bryan didn’t have words, faked the singing pretty good.
- Walk up to platform after song is over.
- April & Nancy do readings. Noticed they were looking at us while they read. (Reading to us instead of to the guests. Kevin must have told them to do that.)
- Kevin reads scripture from Ephesians and did message – to us, but for everyone.
- Kevin teased about humility (everyone laughed, I almost caught the veil on fire).
- Kevin also said to bear with one another, not be a bear to one another. I told Jason that was for him.
- Read vows to each other through smiles & tears. (I almost dropped my vows.)
- Exchanged rings.
- I was tearing up, so Jason gave me a tissue. (Exchanged vows, rings, … and tissues.)
- Unity candle & communion while Kate sang "How Beautiful." (Left parents candles burning.)
- Kevin served us communion – cup was HUGE ceramic thing; bread was a small hoagie roll.
- Kevin asked people to come up to pray for us, about half the guests came up. (Surprising!)
- Steve Bowen told us he saw two streams coming together and God was the banks holding us in. (He’ll write it out for us.)
- Mark Eggenschwiller & Connie Hunter also prayed for us. Kevin prayed last.
- Kevin pronounced us husband & wife, before he can finish everyone starts yelling & clapping.
- We went ahead and kissed. (Kiss, hug, and another kiss.)
- Announced us as Mr. & Mrs. Jason Parsons.
- Music starts & we walk out. Melissa & Bryan follow.
- Wait a moment and go back in for receiving line. (Just Jason & me.)
- Ushers dismiss people to come up and greet us before going downstairs for reception.
- Greeted everyone with hugs. Was so wonderful to have a moment with each person.
- Service was 55 minutes long!
- Melissa bustled my dress. Decided to leave veil in. (Probably couldn’t have gotten it out of my hair anyway.)
- Got downstairs and everyone eating or in line.
- Chocolate fountains & fruit – surprise from Pat! (Our caterer.)
- Mingled for the first part of the reception.
- Kids kept ringing bells to see us kiss. (Fun at first, annoying after awhile.)
- Karaoke DJ got there & played my CD for us until we were ready for karaoke. Did announcements for us.
- Didn’t eat much; wish I would have had more fruit.
- Snuck upstairs so Melissa could help me put the petticoats under the bralette that was scratching me pretty bad. Emelynn was taking pictures of this. (Melissa got to tease Jason she got under my skirt before he did…) ;)
- Cut cake. Was nice to each other, but managed to get a bit of cake on each others’ noses. (Jason let me walk around a bit unknowing I hadn’t gotten it all off…)
- Bouquet toss upstairs from balcony with a ton (20-30?) of single women.
- Did a fake-out like Darrin (photographer) suggested. They weren’t happy. Rachel Leibold caught the bouquet!
- Back downstairs, did 1st dance together & then started karaoke. About 9:00 pm.
- People started to leave after 9pm, the last left around 10pm.
- Was worried that things weren’t cleaned up and presents wouldn’t get back to house, but family & friends took care of everything for us. (Thank you thank you!!)
- Took limo to Therapy Café. Got our Appily Married martinis and did some salsa dancing. Darrin joined us and got more pictures. Bunch of friends joined us there.
- Left around 11:30 pm (got to give Kira a ride to her car in the limo).
- Rode around Dayton until midnight and then checked into hotel.
(And that’s where the details end.) ;)
Honeymoon Diary
Saturday, March 1st, married 1 day.
Left Dayton around 1:30 pm and drove to Gatlinburg.
Got to cabin around 7:30 pm.
Went to Pigeon Forge for dinner then got groceries.
Sunday, March 2nd, married 2 days.
Made Cinnamon Twists for breakfast (our first meal made together).
Watched TV all day, had frozen pizza for lunch.
Went into town around 4pm and shopped until 6pm (stores closed).
BBQ for dinner.
Ghost walk around Gatlinburg at 8:45-10:00 pm.
68 degrees during the day, but down in the 40’s at night.
Monday, March 3rd, married 3 days.
Cereal & bagel for breakfast.
Went into Gatlinburg around 1pm; lunch at Bennett’s. (Also BBQ.)
Took skytram to Ober Gatlinburg. Watched skiing; stayed about an hour.
Drove up into Smoky Mountains; 68 degrees at bottom, 48 degrees at top!
(Almost ran out of gas, coasted most of the way back down the mountain!)
Jason’s meatloaf burgers (what I call them) and tater tots for dinner.
74 degrees during the day, back down in the 40’s at night.
Tuesday, March 4th, married 4 days.
Cereal & bagels for breakfast.
Decided to stay in all day, raining out.
Did laundry and ran dishwasher. (Yes, housework during the honeymoon.)
Sat on porch swing outside and watched the rain. (Sun came out a couple of times.)
Played pool, we both suck. I figured out I could beat Jason if I cheated.
Lasagna & peas for lunch. (And Girl Scout cookies.)
Went into Gatlinburg for dinner, ate at the Peddler. Wonderful dinner!!
50’s during the day, stinkin’ cold that night.
Wednesday, March 5th, married 5 days.
Cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
Packing & cleaning; check-out time was 10:00 am.
Rain had ended, but ice on the deck.
Went into Gatlinburg to finish shopping & get Old Time Photo.
Headed back to Dayton around 2pm. Got home and opened presents.
I woke up the next morning with all the things that were left to do - mostly ironing my veil, and fluffing my crinolines one last time. Jason came over and was helping me get things together for the rehearsal. (Rehearsal was the morning of the wedding. I highly recommend it for small evening weddings.) Jason came up from the basement and asked what my stress level was. (I'll never forget that.) The basement was flooded. Well, almost half of it was. It was the drain, it wasn't draining after my super long shower. Oops. (My poor brother couldn't shower until the water went down, but he didn't need to be at the rehearsal thankfully.)
I remember getting to the church late, rushing into the rehearsal, but then finishing in plenty of time. I remember walking around taking in all the family and friends who had gathered for that moment. Lunch was wonderful, but I wish we had made a toast or introduced important people. We planned on this but then didn't. It was informal, maybe it just didn't feel right to stand up and be the center of things, but just to let people mix and mingle and relax.
Afterwards, Melissa and I went back to the church to start getting ready. We goofed around a bit before going to get our hair done. After that it was rush rush rush. I still took in each moment knowing that this was the only chance to have everyone around and hear them all chatting and laughing. I wish we had more pictures taken. I wish I would have had pictures taken with the friends that helped us out so much. Our photographer was awesome and got pictures I never imagined would be taken, so for that I'm grateful. (I didn't make a list of pictures I wanted. I should have made a list...)
The rest of the evening is a blur. Laughter, tears, more laughter, more tears, almost setting my veil on fire - a couple times I think. (And technically, it wasn't my veil.) It's all on video, which we have, but for some reason I've never watched it. We're looking forward now. There's so much to come, and yet we have no idea what it is. I feel like I'm still taking in every moment trying to get as much out of it as I can.
What I enjoy most about marriage (*cheese alert*), those moments that I savor and want to hold on to as long as possible, is when Jason and I have our arms around each other, and we're looking at each other making faces. Who else in this whole wide world could I do this with? Who else in the whole wide world gets me, and understands me, and knows what I'm saying when I make a face at him, and in response, he makes a face back at me. And we laugh. :)
I just wanted to share my blog from myspace that I posted March 16th. This blog wasn't around back then, but I wanted to make sure I have it over here too.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Memories from the wedding day & Honeymoon Diary
I wrote all this down a couple days after the wedding. I thought I’d share. (Done in my usual incomplete thoughts style.)
- Tried to sleep in, got up at 7:45 am. (Supposed to be at church at 9:30 am.)
- Typed up vows & direction from church to the Schuster Center (where the rehearsal lunch was.)
- Decided I could iron petticoats and steam veil later.
- Long shower – basement flooded.
- Got to church at 10:00 am.
- Rehearsal started at 10:15 am, ended around 10:40 am.
- Walked around church until 11:15 and then headed to luncheon.
- Food was very good, had a wonderful time with everyone.
- Passed out gifts, never got around to making speech/toasts for everyone.
- Melissa & I went back to church to steam veil. Gayle (Jason’s mom) ironed petticoats.
- Got to Liza’s at 2:00, my hair took 40 minutes. (This is where the schedule starts to get off a bit.)
- Melissa’s hair done by 3:00 pm.
- Went back to house to finish packing & get forgotten items.
- Back to church, almost 4pm. (Now running 45 minutes late.)
- Brush teeth, teeth-whitening, make-up, under garments – took so long!
- Put on dress (petticoats inside dress & then stepped into both) & Melissa laced me up.
- Dress too long in front, keep stepping on it. No idea how to fix this. (Had to kick dress out to keep from stepping on it.)
- Jason comes in to see me – he looks incredible in a tux!!
- Pictures upstairs by windows of Jason and me.
- Family pictures next (trying to get corsages & boutonnières on everyone & get them into the church).
- Off to hide, Nancy & Melissa try to fix my hem, double-sided tape didn’t work! Realized that two pick-ups had pulled out, Melissa sewed stitches back in. Dress now perfect length! (Thinking it came from dress shop this way.)
- Jenni & Becca wouldn’t let me put lotion on, didn’t want to get it on my dress, so they put it on for me. Too funny!
- Time to go. Melissa was started too early, during Moms lighting candles. Thankfully she walked really slowly.
- Kevin announced for everyone to stay seated. (Said it humorously, like it was for everyone to see MMEEEEEEE!!!)
- Hosanna starts & Dad and I start walking, he’s walking so slowly!
- Get to look around and smile, everyone smiling right back.
- Dad passes me off to Jason.
- Kevin does Declaration of Intent & first prayer.
- Sing "Beautiful One" and "How Great is Our God." Songs seem long but stood there listening to all the voices.
- Melissa & Bryan didn’t have words, faked the singing pretty good.
- Walk up to platform after song is over.
- April & Nancy do readings. Noticed they were looking at us while they read. (Reading to us instead of to the guests. Kevin must have told them to do that.)
- Kevin reads scripture from Ephesians and did message – to us, but for everyone.
- Kevin teased about humility (everyone laughed, I almost caught the veil on fire).
- Kevin also said to bear with one another, not be a bear to one another. I told Jason that was for him.
- Read vows to each other through smiles & tears. (I almost dropped my vows.)
- Exchanged rings.
- I was tearing up, so Jason gave me a tissue. (Exchanged vows, rings, … and tissues.)
- Unity candle & communion while Kate sang "How Beautiful." (Left parents candles burning.)
- Kevin served us communion – cup was HUGE ceramic thing; bread was a small hoagie roll.
- Kevin asked people to come up to pray for us, about half the guests came up. (Surprising!)
- Steve Bowen told us he saw two streams coming together and God was the banks holding us in. (He’ll write it out for us.)
- Mark Eggenschwiller & Connie Hunter also prayed for us. Kevin prayed last.
- Kevin pronounced us husband & wife, before he can finish everyone starts yelling & clapping.
- We went ahead and kissed. (Kiss, hug, and another kiss.)
- Announced us as Mr. & Mrs. Jason Parsons.
- Music starts & we walk out. Melissa & Bryan follow.
- Wait a moment and go back in for receiving line. (Just Jason & me.)
- Ushers dismiss people to come up and greet us before going downstairs for reception.
- Greeted everyone with hugs. Was so wonderful to have a moment with each person.
- Service was 55 minutes long!
- Melissa bustled my dress. Decided to leave veil in. (Probably couldn’t have gotten it out of my hair anyway.)
- Got downstairs and everyone eating or in line.
- Chocolate fountains & fruit – surprise from Pat! (Our caterer.)
- Mingled for the first part of the reception.
- Kids kept ringing bells to see us kiss. (Fun at first, annoying after awhile.)
- Karaoke DJ got there & played my CD for us until we were ready for karaoke. Did announcements for us.
- Didn’t eat much; wish I would have had more fruit.
- Snuck upstairs so Melissa could help me put the petticoats under the bralette that was scratching me pretty bad. Emelynn was taking pictures of this. (Melissa got to tease Jason she got under my skirt before he did…) ;)
- Cut cake. Was nice to each other, but managed to get a bit of cake on each others’ noses. (Jason let me walk around a bit unknowing I hadn’t gotten it all off…)
- Bouquet toss upstairs from balcony with a ton (20-30?) of single women.
- Did a fake-out like Darrin (photographer) suggested. They weren’t happy. Rachel Leibold caught the bouquet!
- Back downstairs, did 1st dance together & then started karaoke. About 9:00 pm.
- People started to leave after 9pm, the last left around 10pm.
- Was worried that things weren’t cleaned up and presents wouldn’t get back to house, but family & friends took care of everything for us. (Thank you thank you!!)
- Took limo to Therapy Café. Got our Appily Married martinis and did some salsa dancing. Darrin joined us and got more pictures. Bunch of friends joined us there.
- Left around 11:30 pm (got to give Kira a ride to her car in the limo).
- Rode around Dayton until midnight and then checked into hotel.
(And that’s where the details end.) ;)
Honeymoon Diary
Saturday, March 1st, married 1 day.
Left Dayton around 1:30 pm and drove to Gatlinburg.
Got to cabin around 7:30 pm.
Went to Pigeon Forge for dinner then got groceries.
Sunday, March 2nd, married 2 days.
Made Cinnamon Twists for breakfast (our first meal made together).
Watched TV all day, had frozen pizza for lunch.
Went into town around 4pm and shopped until 6pm (stores closed).
BBQ for dinner.
Ghost walk around Gatlinburg at 8:45-10:00 pm.
68 degrees during the day, but down in the 40’s at night.
Monday, March 3rd, married 3 days.
Cereal & bagel for breakfast.
Went into Gatlinburg around 1pm; lunch at Bennett’s. (Also BBQ.)
Took skytram to Ober Gatlinburg. Watched skiing; stayed about an hour.
Drove up into Smoky Mountains; 68 degrees at bottom, 48 degrees at top!
(Almost ran out of gas, coasted most of the way back down the mountain!)
Jason’s meatloaf burgers (what I call them) and tater tots for dinner.
74 degrees during the day, back down in the 40’s at night.
Tuesday, March 4th, married 4 days.
Cereal & bagels for breakfast.
Decided to stay in all day, raining out.
Did laundry and ran dishwasher. (Yes, housework during the honeymoon.)
Sat on porch swing outside and watched the rain. (Sun came out a couple of times.)
Played pool, we both suck. I figured out I could beat Jason if I cheated.
Lasagna & peas for lunch. (And Girl Scout cookies.)
Went into Gatlinburg for dinner, ate at the Peddler. Wonderful dinner!!
50’s during the day, stinkin’ cold that night.
Wednesday, March 5th, married 5 days.
Cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
Packing & cleaning; check-out time was 10:00 am.
Rain had ended, but ice on the deck.
Went into Gatlinburg to finish shopping & get Old Time Photo.
Headed back to Dayton around 2pm. Got home and opened presents.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Saturday randomness
First a rant. I've been collecting these "Privacy Policy for Consumer Information" pamphlets that keep showing up in my mail. I'm on the do-not-call list, but somehow, since these people have my information, they feel like they can give this to other companies they're affilated with. And now days, isn't that a rather large number and growing regularly? We've noticed a large increase in telemarketing calls recently and although we answer these and ask them to take us off their list, there's still plenty of others who now have us on their lists.
So I've been saving these pamphlets for a day where I felt ornery enough to call these people and ask them to NOT give my information out. Today was that day.
First up, Charles Schwab. Yay, it's automated and they only want my SSN, and then my PIN. What? I don't know any PIN for them, so I have to answer a series of other questions, including my date of hire. I struggled with that for a moment because it was the week after Thanksgiving about 4 years ago. Is that November or December??? I guessed correctly and finally got to "reset" my PIN. And then I find out that their Customer Service department is closed on the weekend and I'll have to call back on Monday. Strike one.
Second up, Lane Bryant. Also automated, but you need your account number to change your privacy policy. I don't have this, so I tried to figure out how to talk a human being. Hitting 0 didn't work, so I just waited and didn't hit any more buttons. It hung up on me. Strike two.
Third up, Fifth Third Bank. Once again, automated. However, after hitting a series of buttons, I'm informed that I need to submit my request in writing or talk to a customer service. So I wait for my call to be transferred to customer service and then I'm given another number to call. I didn't write down the number, hoping it would transfer me again... and then it hung up. Strike three. I'm out.
Guess the telemarketers finally got around the do-not-call list.
I'm stashing the pamphlets in my work bag and I'll try dealing with this again at work next week. I don't want to waste any more time on a Saturday.
Next topic... wedding album. After spending weeks working on our wedding album on iPhoto (on my mac) I've figured out that they're more than twice as much as mypublisher.com. And they don't have as many options. So... I downloaded the mypublisher software and started working on my wedding album. Again. I used the same layout as before, but got to tweak a few things. So it took me another week to finalize this next album. And it'll be about $30 after the discount.
I haven't ordered the book yet, I'm still looking for critical input from people. I think I finally have the book how I want it, but the last little details is the "our wedding" on the front. I'll probably take it off, but there are quite a few who actually like it.
To view our wedding album, click here. If it asks for the ID and password, here's the info:
Your Share ID # is: S1715562
Your Share password is: 2342225
Last topic of randomness... the new Parsons kitten, Ginger. (That would be the Kentucky Parsons household, not the Ohio Parsons household.) Meet Ginger:
Gayle, Jason's mom, found her on the road, dragging her back legs. She was so little that at first she thought it was an injured squirrel. The little cat's stomach was huge, like it was about to pop, and there was a sore on her side. Gayle took her to the vet and the vet recommended putting her to sleep, but Gayle wanted to do what they could to save the kitten's life. Her bowels were impacted and she wasn't peeing on her own. The vet checked Ginger's legs and there was nothing broken, so he assumed that she had nerve damage. They think that maybe a dog got her and shook her. The vet wasn't sure how badly she was hurt and whether or not she'd make it. She weighed a pound and a half.
Gayle took her home, started feeding her baby food and laxative, and she would express her bladder. Every few days Gayle would take the kitten back to the vet to get her checked out again. Each time she was worried she'd hear him say again that the kitten would need to be put to sleep. But each time she was getting a little better. She was still a pound and a half after a week though.
We came to visit about a week after Gayle had brought her home. She was finally using the litter box on her own and she was getting around a lot better on her back legs. Her back legs would move, but very slowly. If she tried running too fast, she would end up dragging her legs behind her again. You could tell her ear would itch, but she couldn't move her leg to itch it. She was also was eating quite a bit more and getting more and more playful. By Sunday she was playing the entire day with almost every cat toy she could find. Yes, I have video and I have to share. :)
Also making their video debuts are Bella, the dog, and Simon, the cat, who isn't too excited about a new kitten being around.
We'll be back in Olive Hill October 17-19, we'll have an update (most likely in video form) on little Ginger for you in about a month.
So I've been saving these pamphlets for a day where I felt ornery enough to call these people and ask them to NOT give my information out. Today was that day.
First up, Charles Schwab. Yay, it's automated and they only want my SSN, and then my PIN. What? I don't know any PIN for them, so I have to answer a series of other questions, including my date of hire. I struggled with that for a moment because it was the week after Thanksgiving about 4 years ago. Is that November or December??? I guessed correctly and finally got to "reset" my PIN. And then I find out that their Customer Service department is closed on the weekend and I'll have to call back on Monday. Strike one.
Second up, Lane Bryant. Also automated, but you need your account number to change your privacy policy. I don't have this, so I tried to figure out how to talk a human being. Hitting 0 didn't work, so I just waited and didn't hit any more buttons. It hung up on me. Strike two.
Third up, Fifth Third Bank. Once again, automated. However, after hitting a series of buttons, I'm informed that I need to submit my request in writing or talk to a customer service. So I wait for my call to be transferred to customer service and then I'm given another number to call. I didn't write down the number, hoping it would transfer me again... and then it hung up. Strike three. I'm out.
Guess the telemarketers finally got around the do-not-call list.
I'm stashing the pamphlets in my work bag and I'll try dealing with this again at work next week. I don't want to waste any more time on a Saturday.
Next topic... wedding album. After spending weeks working on our wedding album on iPhoto (on my mac) I've figured out that they're more than twice as much as mypublisher.com. And they don't have as many options. So... I downloaded the mypublisher software and started working on my wedding album. Again. I used the same layout as before, but got to tweak a few things. So it took me another week to finalize this next album. And it'll be about $30 after the discount.
I haven't ordered the book yet, I'm still looking for critical input from people. I think I finally have the book how I want it, but the last little details is the "our wedding" on the front. I'll probably take it off, but there are quite a few who actually like it.
To view our wedding album, click here. If it asks for the ID and password, here's the info:
Your Share ID # is: S1715562
Your Share password is: 2342225
Last topic of randomness... the new Parsons kitten, Ginger. (That would be the Kentucky Parsons household, not the Ohio Parsons household.) Meet Ginger:
Gayle, Jason's mom, found her on the road, dragging her back legs. She was so little that at first she thought it was an injured squirrel. The little cat's stomach was huge, like it was about to pop, and there was a sore on her side. Gayle took her to the vet and the vet recommended putting her to sleep, but Gayle wanted to do what they could to save the kitten's life. Her bowels were impacted and she wasn't peeing on her own. The vet checked Ginger's legs and there was nothing broken, so he assumed that she had nerve damage. They think that maybe a dog got her and shook her. The vet wasn't sure how badly she was hurt and whether or not she'd make it. She weighed a pound and a half.
Gayle took her home, started feeding her baby food and laxative, and she would express her bladder. Every few days Gayle would take the kitten back to the vet to get her checked out again. Each time she was worried she'd hear him say again that the kitten would need to be put to sleep. But each time she was getting a little better. She was still a pound and a half after a week though.
We came to visit about a week after Gayle had brought her home. She was finally using the litter box on her own and she was getting around a lot better on her back legs. Her back legs would move, but very slowly. If she tried running too fast, she would end up dragging her legs behind her again. You could tell her ear would itch, but she couldn't move her leg to itch it. She was also was eating quite a bit more and getting more and more playful. By Sunday she was playing the entire day with almost every cat toy she could find. Yes, I have video and I have to share. :)
Also making their video debuts are Bella, the dog, and Simon, the cat, who isn't too excited about a new kitten being around.
We'll be back in Olive Hill October 17-19, we'll have an update (most likely in video form) on little Ginger for you in about a month.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Wind update - it’s now Saturday afternoon and we’re in Kentucky at Jason’s parents’ house. A house with electricity. When we left Dayton last night, we still didn’t have electricity, though most of our friends had theirs back on. This was a good place to go to unwind and not think about the disruption to our lives last week. Few people around here even knew what happened in southern Ohio last Sunday.
Just a few minutes ago I got a text from my friend who is checking our house - we have electricity!!! When we get home tomorrow, we'll be busy plugging everything back in and resetting the clocks. We also need to move everything from the cooler and the counter back into the fridge. (I took the opportunity on Wednesday to thoroughly clean out the fridge and sanitize it.) And yes, we unplugged almost everything before leaving last night. There had been reports of people who lost their computers, TVs, and alarm clocks from the electrical surge when the power is turned back on.
Yesterday as I was driving to work on Wayne, the truck two cars in front of me suddenly stopped and the driver ran across the street. He almost got hit by a car turning left onto Wayne, as did his passenger. The driver had his cell phone out and was looking at something in the tree branches sitting by the road. (All the storm debris was moved to the curbs and often blocked the sidewalks.) Suddenly I realized that there was a person, a teenager, laying on the sidewalk within the branches. He wasn’t moving and his backpack was beside him. I drove by knowing the men from the air duct cleaning truck would make sure the boy was alright.
I called Jason right away and told him I saw something disturbing. Teens don’t suddenly collapse on the sidewalk. Was he hit? Shot? When I got to work I checked the local news sites and they didn’t have anything at first. Later I finally found one site that reported that a Dayton teenager had been hit by a car and had died. The truck that hit the boy didn’t even stop. It was just so sad and suddenly not having electricity didn’t seem so important. Later I noticed that all the Dayton news sites were carrying the story and little by little they were getting more information. They had a description of the truck, but still had not identified the driver.
Later in the afternoon I checked a couple of the news sites again, to see if they had found the driver, and I couldn’t believe what I read. The teen did not die, he was in critical condition! Somehow the police and the school had passed along the wrong information. A few of us were following the story and we were so excited that he was still alive - and we don’t even know the boy! So now we’re praying that he makes a full recovery!
Here’s the entire story.
Just a few minutes ago I got a text from my friend who is checking our house - we have electricity!!! When we get home tomorrow, we'll be busy plugging everything back in and resetting the clocks. We also need to move everything from the cooler and the counter back into the fridge. (I took the opportunity on Wednesday to thoroughly clean out the fridge and sanitize it.) And yes, we unplugged almost everything before leaving last night. There had been reports of people who lost their computers, TVs, and alarm clocks from the electrical surge when the power is turned back on.
Yesterday as I was driving to work on Wayne, the truck two cars in front of me suddenly stopped and the driver ran across the street. He almost got hit by a car turning left onto Wayne, as did his passenger. The driver had his cell phone out and was looking at something in the tree branches sitting by the road. (All the storm debris was moved to the curbs and often blocked the sidewalks.) Suddenly I realized that there was a person, a teenager, laying on the sidewalk within the branches. He wasn’t moving and his backpack was beside him. I drove by knowing the men from the air duct cleaning truck would make sure the boy was alright.
I called Jason right away and told him I saw something disturbing. Teens don’t suddenly collapse on the sidewalk. Was he hit? Shot? When I got to work I checked the local news sites and they didn’t have anything at first. Later I finally found one site that reported that a Dayton teenager had been hit by a car and had died. The truck that hit the boy didn’t even stop. It was just so sad and suddenly not having electricity didn’t seem so important. Later I noticed that all the Dayton news sites were carrying the story and little by little they were getting more information. They had a description of the truck, but still had not identified the driver.
Later in the afternoon I checked a couple of the news sites again, to see if they had found the driver, and I couldn’t believe what I read. The teen did not die, he was in critical condition! Somehow the police and the school had passed along the wrong information. A few of us were following the story and we were so excited that he was still alive - and we don’t even know the boy! So now we’re praying that he makes a full recovery!
Here’s the entire story.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The night the lights went out in Dayton... okay, more like days
Sunday morning the remnants of hurricane Ike met up with a weather pattern from the West. The combination of these two resulted in severe winds blowing through Ohio, oddly enough, with little to no rain. Wind gusts were 60-70 mph, almost hurricane strength, and tore through our neighborhood. Trees, power lines, and shingles littered our road after a few hours and there was still more wind to come.
Sunday after church we noticed that it was really windy. We went to lunch and noticed several smaller trees almost bent all the way over. When we got back to our house, there were already a few leaves and limbs blowing around, but just small ones. We started watching TV and the lights flickered a few times. Around 2pm we lost our power. Thinking it would just be an hour or so, we got our books out and started reading to the howl of the wind.
Jason noticed the neighbors out walking around their houses and we started wondering if something was wrong. First I noticed that our neighbor’s shingles were blowing up and looked like they might start coming off. Jason then called my attention to the caution tape that was now blocking off our road. I went to get my shoes on so we could see for ourselves what was going on. When we went outside we saw a tree down across the road to the north of our house, with power lines on the road. Across the street, a tree had fallen on our neighbor’s garage, once again knocking down power lines. And just a couple houses south of us part of a tree had fallen across the side walk and into the road.
We also saw a neighbor’s downspout blow off the house and flashing from another’s roof beat around for awhile before blowing off. We walked around the house a few times and only saw smaller branches and a few shingles laying in the back yard. We checked our shingles and they all seemed to be in place. Our plastic patio furniture got knocked around a bit, but no damage. At one point the spa cover flew open but thankfully we were standing there when it happened and closed it again right away. (But what an awful noise when it smacked together!)
There are no trees behind our house or our neighbors’ houses except for what’s across the ally from us. A branch fell off of this tree bringing down our neighbor’s phone and cable lines. In the front each of us have one large maple tree. Amazingly, our neighbors on either side of us had no large branches fall and we didn’t lose any branches at all. There was one that was twisted around but never ended up falling off.
We saw shingles fly off our neighbor’s roof. We saw the wind push large branches down our street. We saw a lot of people moving their car into the garage, including us. It was all so surreal, branches down everywhere, neighbors standing around outside, yelling to be heard over the wind. And all of us wondering what was really going on. We’ve had hurricane systems move over us before, but it’s never been like this.
I sent out a text messages to my friends in our area and most of them were without power but a few were not. It seemed very hit or miss on who had power and who didn’t. They said close to 500,000 people in the Miami Valley area lost their electricity. However, I’ve seen this number change so often, who knows what the real number is. I’d rather not be a number anyway, so I’ll let you know how bad it is this way: it’s now Tuesday and we still don’t have power. On Sunday they said it would take a couple of days to get power back on. It’s been a couple of days and now they’re hoping they can have power restored to everyone in Dayton by this weekend.
We took care of some things on Saturday that we had no idea how glad we would be about it on Sunday. Jason cleaned out the garage and put all our camping supplies in the basement. Therefore we had room in the garage for the Vibe when the wind storm started. I also did most of the laundry on Saturday - except for one load that didn’t make it to the dryer. The clothes were hung in the basement to dry. I had also taken down the the curtains in the basement to wash them, so we had full light down there while we were working down there during the day.
I had just charged my laptop and cell phone, so those were ready to go. And I also balanced the checkbook (on the computer) and got all our bills paid (online). I had just done a spa shock on our hot tub, so the water should be okay without being run for a few days. And we didn’t go grocery shopping thankfully. We had our Coleman lantern ready and several packs of matches. We were all set to go!
Sunday night we went to a special service at church. We figured if the church didn’t have power, we could find dinner and then come home. The church didn’t have electricity, but they did have a generator. There were just enough lights to get around and some candles in the bathrooms. Most of us who were there did not have power. Others were just realizing the destruction around the Dayton area. Just a small group was there, maybe 100 people, very small for a gathering at our church.
The worship team was a group of young people from different churches and they did an excellent job of leading without overheads to follow. The speaker was from Canada and due to the wind, spoke mostly from his heart, though I’m not sure he really had an outline or an agenda when he came. I did a lot of chatting with God that night and he bonked me over the head about some issues I was having. Basically that I need to let him take care of things and stop worrying so much. I also felt like he was saying that the wind was a gift and that there was much to learn through this experience. (I’m still rolling this one around in my head, I’m not thankful for the wind at all.)
We headed home around 10:30 pm and tried to find some fast food for dinner. We picked Wendy’s but then realized the line was all the way out to the street. Then we went to Burger King and after waiting 10 minutes in line we saw a sign that said no debit/credit cards. We only had a little bit of cash on us, so we got out of line. We ended up at McDonalds (which had no line at all - surprising?) and got just enough food to take all our cash and feel like we had something of a dinner. We headed home and crashed for the night.
The next morning we got ready in the dark, thankful to have a gas water heater, and then headed to work. Both of our work places had electricity, however, Jason’s had no network. He did as much work as he could without his computer and then headed off to find gas. Originally he was going to search for ice too, but thankfully his boss sent him home with a trash bag full of ice from their kitchen. I had a full day of work but had a difficult time concentrating. Our biggest issue was the food in our fridge. We hadn’t opened it yet, but we didn’t think the food would make it. Jason got home and put what he could in our cooler and the rest ended up getting thrown out. We left the freezer shut and hoped it would last for another day.
That evening we had left over pulled pork for dinner and later made popcorn the old fashioned way - on our gas stove. We read by the light of our Coleman lantern (a wedding gift) and then watched a movie in bed with my laptop. With candles all around us, munching on popcorn, we forgot we had no electricity for a couple of hours. It was fun.
This morning we woke up and decided it was time to check on the food in the freezer. It was still cold, but no longer frozen. The meat was put in the cooler and the rest of it was thrown away. Honestly though, most of it needed to be thrown out anyway, so we didn’t lose that much stuff. We went through the items in the cooler and picked out what could go to work with us to eat the rest of the week. We threw out all the mayonnaise, which most of it we had no idea how old it was. So, not a bad thing.
We got ready in the dark again. This time I had to wash my hair and ended up going to work without makeup and wet hair. Thankfully someone else was getting ready in the bathroom at work and had a hair dryer I could borrow. I talked to several people at work and it seems that there were three groups of people. Those who didn’t lose power at all. (And actually had the nerve of complaining about not having cable to me.) Those who lost power but then got it back Sunday night. And the rest of us who still didn’t have power. Today’s hot topic of conversation was the amount of food we had to throw out.
Jason headed home and I worked late. I anxiously waited for Jason to call and let me know if we had power or not. Not. Jason made spaghetti with tons of meat sauce (not tons of sauce, tons of meat in the sauce). It was good and we didn’t have to throw away most of the meat. We sat outside and enjoyed the evening and decided to let the kitties out for some entertainment. Lenny is skittish and takes off, so we have to put him on a leash. After some reading (and blogging) we’re getting ready to watch another candle-lit movie.
Movies of the wind (after the worst was over)...
A view from the front of the house:
From the back of the house...
And one more from across the ally behind our house:
Sunday after church we noticed that it was really windy. We went to lunch and noticed several smaller trees almost bent all the way over. When we got back to our house, there were already a few leaves and limbs blowing around, but just small ones. We started watching TV and the lights flickered a few times. Around 2pm we lost our power. Thinking it would just be an hour or so, we got our books out and started reading to the howl of the wind.
Jason noticed the neighbors out walking around their houses and we started wondering if something was wrong. First I noticed that our neighbor’s shingles were blowing up and looked like they might start coming off. Jason then called my attention to the caution tape that was now blocking off our road. I went to get my shoes on so we could see for ourselves what was going on. When we went outside we saw a tree down across the road to the north of our house, with power lines on the road. Across the street, a tree had fallen on our neighbor’s garage, once again knocking down power lines. And just a couple houses south of us part of a tree had fallen across the side walk and into the road.
We also saw a neighbor’s downspout blow off the house and flashing from another’s roof beat around for awhile before blowing off. We walked around the house a few times and only saw smaller branches and a few shingles laying in the back yard. We checked our shingles and they all seemed to be in place. Our plastic patio furniture got knocked around a bit, but no damage. At one point the spa cover flew open but thankfully we were standing there when it happened and closed it again right away. (But what an awful noise when it smacked together!)
There are no trees behind our house or our neighbors’ houses except for what’s across the ally from us. A branch fell off of this tree bringing down our neighbor’s phone and cable lines. In the front each of us have one large maple tree. Amazingly, our neighbors on either side of us had no large branches fall and we didn’t lose any branches at all. There was one that was twisted around but never ended up falling off.
We saw shingles fly off our neighbor’s roof. We saw the wind push large branches down our street. We saw a lot of people moving their car into the garage, including us. It was all so surreal, branches down everywhere, neighbors standing around outside, yelling to be heard over the wind. And all of us wondering what was really going on. We’ve had hurricane systems move over us before, but it’s never been like this.
I sent out a text messages to my friends in our area and most of them were without power but a few were not. It seemed very hit or miss on who had power and who didn’t. They said close to 500,000 people in the Miami Valley area lost their electricity. However, I’ve seen this number change so often, who knows what the real number is. I’d rather not be a number anyway, so I’ll let you know how bad it is this way: it’s now Tuesday and we still don’t have power. On Sunday they said it would take a couple of days to get power back on. It’s been a couple of days and now they’re hoping they can have power restored to everyone in Dayton by this weekend.
We took care of some things on Saturday that we had no idea how glad we would be about it on Sunday. Jason cleaned out the garage and put all our camping supplies in the basement. Therefore we had room in the garage for the Vibe when the wind storm started. I also did most of the laundry on Saturday - except for one load that didn’t make it to the dryer. The clothes were hung in the basement to dry. I had also taken down the the curtains in the basement to wash them, so we had full light down there while we were working down there during the day.
I had just charged my laptop and cell phone, so those were ready to go. And I also balanced the checkbook (on the computer) and got all our bills paid (online). I had just done a spa shock on our hot tub, so the water should be okay without being run for a few days. And we didn’t go grocery shopping thankfully. We had our Coleman lantern ready and several packs of matches. We were all set to go!
Sunday night we went to a special service at church. We figured if the church didn’t have power, we could find dinner and then come home. The church didn’t have electricity, but they did have a generator. There were just enough lights to get around and some candles in the bathrooms. Most of us who were there did not have power. Others were just realizing the destruction around the Dayton area. Just a small group was there, maybe 100 people, very small for a gathering at our church.
The worship team was a group of young people from different churches and they did an excellent job of leading without overheads to follow. The speaker was from Canada and due to the wind, spoke mostly from his heart, though I’m not sure he really had an outline or an agenda when he came. I did a lot of chatting with God that night and he bonked me over the head about some issues I was having. Basically that I need to let him take care of things and stop worrying so much. I also felt like he was saying that the wind was a gift and that there was much to learn through this experience. (I’m still rolling this one around in my head, I’m not thankful for the wind at all.)
We headed home around 10:30 pm and tried to find some fast food for dinner. We picked Wendy’s but then realized the line was all the way out to the street. Then we went to Burger King and after waiting 10 minutes in line we saw a sign that said no debit/credit cards. We only had a little bit of cash on us, so we got out of line. We ended up at McDonalds (which had no line at all - surprising?) and got just enough food to take all our cash and feel like we had something of a dinner. We headed home and crashed for the night.
The next morning we got ready in the dark, thankful to have a gas water heater, and then headed to work. Both of our work places had electricity, however, Jason’s had no network. He did as much work as he could without his computer and then headed off to find gas. Originally he was going to search for ice too, but thankfully his boss sent him home with a trash bag full of ice from their kitchen. I had a full day of work but had a difficult time concentrating. Our biggest issue was the food in our fridge. We hadn’t opened it yet, but we didn’t think the food would make it. Jason got home and put what he could in our cooler and the rest ended up getting thrown out. We left the freezer shut and hoped it would last for another day.
That evening we had left over pulled pork for dinner and later made popcorn the old fashioned way - on our gas stove. We read by the light of our Coleman lantern (a wedding gift) and then watched a movie in bed with my laptop. With candles all around us, munching on popcorn, we forgot we had no electricity for a couple of hours. It was fun.
This morning we woke up and decided it was time to check on the food in the freezer. It was still cold, but no longer frozen. The meat was put in the cooler and the rest of it was thrown away. Honestly though, most of it needed to be thrown out anyway, so we didn’t lose that much stuff. We went through the items in the cooler and picked out what could go to work with us to eat the rest of the week. We threw out all the mayonnaise, which most of it we had no idea how old it was. So, not a bad thing.
We got ready in the dark again. This time I had to wash my hair and ended up going to work without makeup and wet hair. Thankfully someone else was getting ready in the bathroom at work and had a hair dryer I could borrow. I talked to several people at work and it seems that there were three groups of people. Those who didn’t lose power at all. (And actually had the nerve of complaining about not having cable to me.) Those who lost power but then got it back Sunday night. And the rest of us who still didn’t have power. Today’s hot topic of conversation was the amount of food we had to throw out.
Jason headed home and I worked late. I anxiously waited for Jason to call and let me know if we had power or not. Not. Jason made spaghetti with tons of meat sauce (not tons of sauce, tons of meat in the sauce). It was good and we didn’t have to throw away most of the meat. We sat outside and enjoyed the evening and decided to let the kitties out for some entertainment. Lenny is skittish and takes off, so we have to put him on a leash. After some reading (and blogging) we’re getting ready to watch another candle-lit movie.
Movies of the wind (after the worst was over)...
A view from the front of the house:
From the back of the house...
And one more from across the ally behind our house:
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Wedding Album
I've been working on this for awhile and I think I'm finally done.
I made this using iPhoto on my Mac book. My apologies if you can't read the words, I haven't figured out how to upload a high-quality version of the album. The words are straight from the wedding invitations and the programs, including participants and order of ceremony. Each slide is a page from the album. There is a book jacket, so this is the first two slides, and the last two. And no, I didn't pick the music.
Now all I need to do is find a discount coupon somewhere. (Anyone know where I can find one?)
I made this using iPhoto on my Mac book. My apologies if you can't read the words, I haven't figured out how to upload a high-quality version of the album. The words are straight from the wedding invitations and the programs, including participants and order of ceremony. Each slide is a page from the album. There is a book jacket, so this is the first two slides, and the last two. And no, I didn't pick the music.
Now all I need to do is find a discount coupon somewhere. (Anyone know where I can find one?)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Camping in Hocking Hills - Labor Day weekend
We returned to Top of the Caves Campground and this time friends came with us, Jonathan and Becca. We picked out two spots when we were camping 4th of July weekend and hoped for good weather - we got it! 
Quiet hours start at 11pm and we headed to bed. I believe we were the only ones. I was exhausted and fell asleep even with all the noise. Becca had enough around midnight and went around asking people to quiet it down. The people next door were nice, but suggested she talk to the sites with the children. Becca said she intended to. Of course, finding an adult amongst the children running around the fire was difficult. When she finally found an adult, she asked "are we being too loud?" If you have to ask, you already know. The neighbors were quieter, but the children were still wound up for awhile. (This is when you wish it would start raining.)
Breakfast Saturday morning was bacon and eggs with Jonathan cooking and Jason tending the fire. After breakfast we headed out to see Cantwells Cliffs and Conkle's Hollow.
We had a picnic lunch at Conkle's Hollow and then made a stop at the Grandma's place to get forgotten items and some ice cream. We vegged back at the campsite afterwards while Jason went to get gas. (He finally found a gas station about 15 minutes away!) That evening Jason made a great dinner of cheddar smokies and baked potatoes. Afterwards we made pie iron pies with cressant crusts, cherry (or apple) pie filling and cream cheese. Yummy!!
Monday morning we got up, ate our left-over mini muffins and got our campsite packed up. We took our time and got done around 10:30 am. Much faster than last time! We decided to hit one last cave, Ash Cave, before heading back to Dayton. We were quite impressed by the enormous size of the cave and ended up getting quite a few pictures!
On the way out we saw women with dresses on in the distance. Amish tourists? No, a bridal party! The bride had a gorgeous white dress on with her bridesmaids in apple red. (All David's Bridal dresses.) The mom with them invited us to the upper ridge to view the wedding at 1:30 pm. All I can say is that was one brave bride!
We got home about the time the temperatures were hitting 90 degrees. We were so thankful for the beautiful weather we had the whole weekend. Such a relaxing and fun weekend. And Jonathan and Becca kept things silly and fun. :) (I'll see if I can't get them to post some thoughts and comments after this post.)
We got to the campground around 7pm Friday night and got our tents set up and our tables situated near the fire ring. We were the last two spots in a row of sites in the trees. As Jason got the fire going, night set in... and our neighbors started showing up. Along with two couples who decided to share a spot next to us, about 20 children showed up with (what we think was) 2 adults. We watched a tent go up near Jonathan & Becca's tent, then a screened in awning, also very close to their tent. And then another tent - even closer to their tent! We were assuming that in their attempt to stay away from the children on the warpath (seriously!) they ended up partially on our site. (This was verified in the morning.)
The next morning we were in better spirits and decided not to say anything to the neighbors about being on our spot. We had plenty of room (we could have fit on the end site) so we just left things as they were. Besides, the neighbors had a cutie little dauchaund dog that we enjoyed saying hi to. The next two nights were much quieter, so we didn't need to worry any further.
We had a picnic lunch at Conkle's Hollow and then made a stop at the Grandma's place to get forgotten items and some ice cream. We vegged back at the campsite afterwards while Jason went to get gas. (He finally found a gas station about 15 minutes away!) That evening Jason made a great dinner of cheddar smokies and baked potatoes. Afterwards we made pie iron pies with cressant crusts, cherry (or apple) pie filling and cream cheese. Yummy!!We also had a great time with the huge bubble wand I had found at Walmart. We quickly discovered the bubbles above the campfire would float upward until they hit the trees or came back down. I'd blow the bubbles (actually wave the wand above the fire), Jonathan would shine a flashlight on it, and Becca would try to capture the bubbles with her camera. They look like UFO's in the pictures, but really, they're just bubbles.
That night we had a visitor. Becca heard rustling and wasn't sure what was going on outside our tent. When she peeked out she saw a raccoon hanging upside from our trash bag. She and Jonathan scared off the scavenger and locked the trash bag up in their car. Jason and I slept through the whole thing.
We got up at 7am Sunday morning and got ready to go hiking at Old Man's Cave. We grabbed some snacks, bottles of water, our cameras, and headed out. Our reward for getting up so early was getting there with basically no one else around. It was wonderful! (And quite a contrast to the pictures I took the 4th of July weekend.) We really enjoyed walking around at our own leisure, taking as many pictures as we could, and then heading back to the campsite to make breakfast. We had breakfast burritos with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole. Yummy!
Oddly enough, most of the children left that morning. About half our neighbors packed up their cars and headed out. This gave us the opportunity to walk around and scout out good spots for the next trip. We also decided to check out the state campground while we were driving around. The upkeep seemed better, but the bathrooms were lacking and the sites didn't have as many trees. We decided shaded spots and private bathrooms at Top of the Caves would keep us coming back there.
That afternoon we headed out to Lake Logan and just hung out watching the boats and the people on the beach. We then headed to Millstone BBQ (same BBQ place we ate at last time) for an early dinner. Our waitress (different than last time) loaded us up with their mini corn muffins to eat for breakfast the next morning. The food there is good, you get plenty to eat without having to get appetizers, and the service is great. Once again, we highly recommend this place!
After dinner we went to play putt putt at Adventure Golf. This was the first time all weekend that it was really hot. There was plenty of goofing around, several holes in one (I got 2!) and Becca learned that if she claimed she could get the ball in in 2 shots, she usually did. Camping just doesn't seem complete without a game of putt putt. (Jonathan got the best score.) Afterwards we headed back to the campsite to veg for awhile.
One last evening of campfire stories and smores. One last attempt by the raccoon to get food. This time it was Jason and I who got up and put the trash and all the food in our car. It was also a horribly cold night. We really need to get sleeping bags!
On the way out we saw women with dresses on in the distance. Amish tourists? No, a bridal party! The bride had a gorgeous white dress on with her bridesmaids in apple red. (All David's Bridal dresses.) The mom with them invited us to the upper ridge to view the wedding at 1:30 pm. All I can say is that was one brave bride!
Jonathan and Becca headed back to Dayton but Jason and I decided to stop at Chillicothe to eat lunch at the park where we had our first date. (Yoctangee Park) It was fun reminiscing while walking around and feeding the ducks. One thing though, there were a lot of strange people at the park. We probably won't visit there very often. (Were they there the first time we were and we just didn't notice???)
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