June 30, 2009

Do I really look like that....

Remember this question that M and I are asked all the time. Well, last Sunday one of the ladies at the church took it a step farther and asked "Kim, are you pregnant?". Apparenetly the dress I was wearing gave her the impression that I was hiding a baby bump..... umm no.

Guess I will be double checking how "loose" my dresses fit on Sunday mornings so as to avoid similar conversations.

Made Me Smile Monday

  • Waking up before the alarm clock and being wide awake and ready to start my day.
  • A cute new top to wear to the office.
  • Getting lots and lots of compliments on my new top.
  • Doing Step Aerboics with my sister-in-law on my lunch break.
  • Realizing that I (the non-athlete) is better at step aerobics than my sister-in-law (the former cheerleader)
  • Running thru the rain!
  • Getting to act silly at Vacation Bible School.
 
What made you smile on Monday?

June 24, 2009

Justice

Nearly two years ago, I got a called that devestated me. My great friend Ben was calling to tell me that our mutual friend J.B. had been murdered. It was just 2 days before my 25th birthday - and we had all been planning to have a party to celebrate. I remember sobbing into the phone and then crawling into my father's lap like a child, and crying out "Why?  Why would someone murder him? He was such a great person."
 
I will never understand why J.B. was taken from this world. It still hurts to think of him being gone. However, news I received today has helped to lessen the pain. The following is from an e-mail sent to J.B. friends regarding the sentencing of his killer:
 
"Sentencing was today.  After hearing testimony from JB's step dad and family of the defendants, the judge deliberated and came back with a sentence of life plus 35 years for each defendant.  The life sentence means after 30 years they are eligible for parole, combined with the 35 years on top, they wont be eligible for parole for 65 years."
 
 

June 22, 2009

Made Me Smile Monday

1. A summer inspired dress that is office appropriate

2. Iced coffee during my lunch break

3. Receiving a compliment on my outfit.

4. Finding out that M and I will both be off of work on July 3rd.

5. Making plans to spend all of July 3rd with me - even if we wind up doing nothing.

What made you smile today?

June 19, 2009

1st Quarter Review of My Marriage

M and I will have been married for 3 months on Sunday. (Wow, where did the time go? It seems like yesterday I was blogging about playlists, flower selections, and all the other wedding details). And while 3 months is just a mere drop in the bucket that will be our life time together - I have demanded a minimum of 50 years together, I have learned a lot about marriage, M, and myself. I thought I would share a few of those lessons with you.

1. Finding time to spend alone is difficult....but absolutely necessary - I was under the impression that once the wedding was over and we returned from our honeymoon, the hectic pace of our lives would slow down. It hasn't! If anything, the pace of our lives has gotten faster. Everyday there appears to be another demand on our time - from working extra hours, to farming, to volunteer work with our church - we are busy from sunrise to sunset. There have been a few weeks where the only moments I saw M were when he kissed me goodbye as he was leaving for work and when he kissed me goodnight before bed. Those were the weeks that I felt crankier, moodier, and often wanted to pick a fight over something insignificant. I finally realized that I was feeling disconnected from my husband and told him as much. We now make it a priority to spend at least 1 night a week or weekend during absolutely nothing but spending time with each other. This time allows us to unwind from our day, fill each other in on the various happenings in our respective jobs, and grow closer together.

2. My husband's smile (and laugh) are the best sight and sounds in the world - I work in a corporate environment which means some days I come home tired, tense, and just plain wiped out. But as soon as I see M's smile, I feel 10 times better. And when something funny is said or done that makes M laugh, my heart just melts.

3. Something things are not worth arguing about. - I am a neat freak. I love to have everything in place. And while M likes things to be clean, his standards of cleanliness and mine are NOT the same. In the first few weeks, I would pester him to pick up his socks and put them in the dirty laundry as soon as he took off his boots. I pestered him to rinse out the sink after he shaves. And he would do as I asked, but he would be ill that I had nagged him about it. Having a house that meets my standards is not worth having a disgruntled husband. So now, I do my cleaning once a week to my standards. And if the cleaning doesn't get done, I don't let it bother me. It will get done eventually.

4. I really miss my husband when I am not with him - Until last week, M and I had not spent a night apart since our wedding. When my SIL asked if I wanted to join her at her family's beachfront condo for a few days, I jumped at the chance. Work has been crazy busy and the thought of getting away sounded like heaven. The only downside to the trip is that M would not be able to go with me. I assumed that I would miss him a tiny bit, but would be fine. WRONG! M came down for the day on Sunday and Sunday night when it was time for him to leave - all I wanted to do was go home with him. I was go upset I was crying --- and we had only been apart for 1 night.

5. Learning to share a bed is hard - M takes up 2/3 of our bed. I sleep on a tiny sliver of space every night. In the initial nights of our marriage, I was fearful that I was going to fall off. But M kept his arm wrapped around my waist and I never moved. Now, I find it hard to fall asleep if I am sleeping anywhere else on the bed. And it is okay that M hogs all of the bed space --- I take all the covers!

6. My husband is my biggest cheerleader (And I am his)- When I wanted to run a 5K, M signed up and ran the race with me. When I decided that I wanted to change careers in the middle of planning our wedding, M said "Go for it!". Lately when I decided that I wanted to get back into the gym, M agreed to take on more of the household duties, so I would have time for group classes. He now cooks dinner twice a week (and usually more) plus does any of the chores that need to get done while I am sweating it away. When I decided that I wanted to start biking, M went out and bought a bike so he ride with me while I trained. Last week, when I had to take on a few new tasks at work and was unsure if I would be successful, M e-mailed me throughout the day to let me know he knew I would do fantastic. We don't always like the same things, but we try and encourage each other in what we're really into. I don't understand construction, farming, or motorcycles. But those are things M loves so I ask questions to get a better understanding and really try and get a sense of what it is that he does.


I am sure that as time marches on, I will learn more lessons. I wonder, readers, what are some important lessons you have learned from your marriage.

June 17, 2009

Pardon The Interruption

Regular blog posting has been interuppted by a mini-vacation to the beach, long work hours, and a nasty head cold. Regular posts should appear again once the sunburn heals, the work hours shorten, and the medicine no longer makes me feel like I am walking around in a daze. In other words, new (real) post coming tomorrow.

June 11, 2009

Are Blogs Taking Over My Life?

Every morning I eat either a bowl of oats like Kath; or a Green Monster like Angela. Then I get my boost of fitness inspiration from MizFit If I can't figure out what to wear to work, the ladies on the forums of You Look Fab are ready to assist. I head to work, toil away in my office, and then come home to make dinner, which is often Mara or The Pioneer Woman. And if by some chance I am blessed with a bit of free time, I manage to catch up on the 60 or so blogs that are in my Google reader.

Some might say I am obessed, other would say I am addicted, but I say I am neither. Blogging is an outlet, a hobby, a way for me to connect to others in this great big world. Since blogging, I am eating better, working out more, dressing with more polish, thrifting my way to a great wardrobe, and laughing/learning with a huge group of women (and a few guys), and that is a very good thing.

June 10, 2009

June 09, 2009

Try This Receipe Tuesday

TTRT had to be postponed this week due to conflicting work schedules between M and I. My company has auditors in every day this week which is translating into longer hours for me. And M got caught up in a meeting at his office and then tied up with farm related business once he arrived home. Factor in that our lawn was beginning to look like a jungle, and we reached this decision to use the remaining evening hours to mow the grass. Afterwards, we just ate pizza at his parents house. Not the best meal nutrition wise, but sometimes life just goes that way.

Not to worry though, he and I have a few fabulous meals in the works. Keep checking back!

June 08, 2009

Made Me Smile Monday

My smiles today came courtesy of these puns, found on The Pioneer Woman site


1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s Round Table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated in an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, “You stay
here, I’ll go on a head.”
14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said, “Keep off the Grass.”
16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother
telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.”
17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
18. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
19. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
20. A backward poet writes inverse.
21. In a democracy, it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism, it’s your count that votes.
22. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
23. Don’t join dangerous cults, practice safe sects

I want in on the fun....

I found out about this fun swap on Jeannie's blog, and I am hoping to be a part of the fun.

A Contest to Good to Resist

M and I LOVE Pace Picante Sauce, so when I saw the giveaway that $5 Dollar Dinners was hosting, I knew I had to enter. Pace has agreeded to give the winner 5 of their speciality sauces and a cookbook. Want to enter?  Go here

June 03, 2009

June 02, 2009

Try This Recipe Tuesday

M and I love to eat - we take great joy in our food. Perhaps it is the fact that we come from families where family gathering often centered around food. M's family always shares Sunday lunch together (although we call dinner down here in the South)at his Meme's. My family has a tradition of getting together at my Aunt Gail's every Thanksgiving. At that meal, I know to look for certain dishes - Aunt Cheryl's Bannana Split Cake, Mema's Apple Salad, Aunt Joy's Shrimp and Rice, Aunt Gail's "dressing" (aka stuffing). Food is a huge part of our heritage, but unforutnately the food that we grew up eating (and loving) is not necessarily the healthiest. M and I have committed to try and live a healthier lifestyle and the largest component of that will be eating better.

In the 2 months since our wedding, we have eaten healthier, but I find we are eating the same things over and over again. Chicken salads, turkey burgers, stir-fry dishes - all healthy, all delicious - but my tastebuds are getting a bit bored. So in order to spice up our kitchen (and the blog), I have deemed Tuesdays "Try This Receipe" Tuesday. M and I will comb thru the myriad of food blogs, receipes sites and cookbooks we own to find a "new to us" receipe. We will then preare that meal, and I'll showcase the experience with pics and our thoughts right here.

If you my readers, have any contributions to make to "Try This Receipe Tuesday" you can either e-mail me or leave it as a comment.

June 01, 2009

Made Me Smile Monday

Mondays are notrosiouly busy days for me. And more often than not, they are the days where anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. This usually leads to a Kim (or a M) who is grouchy, short-tempered, and all together not too much fun to be around. So in an effort to combat this, each Monday I (or M if I can convince him to join the blogging world) will post 5 things that made us smile. Perhaps if we focus on the positive then our attitudes will shift to the positive.