A dessert worth waiting for

I’ve had my car for about three years now. It’s been through a lot in its time with me. We’ve gone across the country together… up and down hills, in the extreme hot and frigid cold, in crazy construction zones, on roads in the middle of nowhere…

My car is great. The biggest issue I’ve had with it is the tires. I can remember one winter they weren’t holding air well… I’d have to fill them up about three times a day before I got them sealed.

Drove my car to this beautiful place. This was taken in February, by the way.

 

Within the last week, I discovered I needed new brakes. So we got that done. On Saturday afternoon, I wanted to get some ice cream. We got in my car and Craig turned the key like we’ve both done a million times… But all we heard was a clicking sound.

The art of hanging art

One would think hanging a picture wouldn’t be that hard.

I’m living in my first apartment, and it’s interesting so far. How, you ask? Well, even though it’s small, it still takes work to keep it clean. There’s also the task of making sure I don’t burn it down while cooking a casserole or puncture holes in the wall while attempting to put up a clock.

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It’s quiet too. Growing up with two brothers and two sisters, I heard noise constantly. Now it’s so quiet, it’s weird to hear things. I think my neighbors in the floor above were vacuuming last night. It sounded so loud, even though it really wasn’t. At first, I thought it was my ice-maker.

Back to the picture situation. So I’m trying to be artsy and fun – bring a little color and liveliness to my tiny home… I got the picture for free, so that’s a plus. It’s an abstract painting with yellows, reds and oranges. Very nice.

Knee pop

Last night, Craig and I went out to dinner and a movie. It was refreshing and fun after my first week in a new department at work (Which has been a lot of fun, and a lot of learning. It keeps me busy!). We also spent some time wandering around Target after 10:30, which was quite interesting. Craig didn’t have any sugar, but he was unusually peppy and squirrely for that time of night. He wanted to buy all the Gatorade in the entire store. I saw him only drink water with dinner, so I’m sure he ate a package of cookies earlier in the day or something like that.

While we were waiting for our food, we started quizzing each other on things we thought the other didn’t know. For example, I asked Craig if he knew what flavor of ChapStick I ate as a kid (Yes, that’s a true story…I regret to say I ate the whole thing…) In case you’re wondering, it was Dr. Pepper. He got it right.

Somehow, a most embarrassing moment for me came up during our conversation. Back in high school, I was in 2 musicals. Craig and I met during the second one. It’s funny, because I almost didn’t audition for the first one because I was so nervous.

Craig getting in the spirit at Target.

Who knows…If I wouldn’t have tried out for the first one, I don’t know if I would have gathered the guts to try out for the second one. Anyway, I did decide at the last minute I was going to try out. Because auditions had already taken place, a few students who were either sick during that time or gone, had a chance to try out. I was one of those people.

It was kind of scary/intimidating. We were given numbers like we were running a race. I tried to take a deep breath and forget about how nervous I was. Apparently, I was able to relax a little too much. When asked if I had any special talents, I was eager to show what I could do. And of course, what better to show during an audition than the splits. I slowly lowered myself into the splits, which impressed the judges. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was getting up.

A deer in the forest and a prayer

Craig and I were able to go to a Packer game this year. It was Craig’s first game, and my second one. The last time I had been to Lambeau was when I was a little girl… Maybe 12 or so.

Stepping into the stadium took my breath away. The view made it worth the crazy traffic we experienced, despite our efforts to be early. I think Craig was enjoying it too. We were just glad we found our seats and were able to breathe for a bit.

It took a little time to get out of the parking area, but it didn’t take nearly as long as we anticipated. We were lucky. On our way back, we were hungry, so we stopped at a small McDonalds right next to a gas station. Craig ordered enough chicken nuggets to feed both of us for himself, and I got a chicken sandwich (he did need my help, by the way 🙂 ).

After a little bit, we got on the road again. We were driving along when a deer jumped in front of us from out of a ditch. It hit the passenger side where I was and made a loud noise. At first, I didn’t even know what happened. I didn’t know if it was a tire or what… Craig knew right away. I couldn’t believe it, because I didn’t even see it. We were on a highway when it happened, so we pulled over and checked things out. We were beyond blessed to discover we still had a working headlight, but most importantly, we were both absolutely fine. Just a little stunned and freaked out.

Wait… did she just say blessed? They were blessed to have one headlight instead of two?

While it was true, it was unfortunate we hit a deer, it could have been a lot worse than it was. We said our prayers before driving. So why did anything even happen to begin with?

The perfectly imperfect dress

The last few weeks have been busy, fun and crazy – all at the same time. I found myself in a lovely little Italian buffet style restuarant in the Cities, in a teal peacoat on these, at times, chilly April days, and at the Viennese Ball at UWEC.

Getting fancy – VBall 2015

The VBall was beautiful as always. Such great music, treats and dancing. Craig and I agreed it went way too fast! One of my favorite things about it is the man they get to play piano and sing songs. He’s funny and a very talented player. There’s nothing better than singing “Piano Man” with a bunch of strangers all dressed up in a dimly lit room. Some students jumped up on the small stange with him and sang along with their arms around each other.

Every year we go, Craig gets me a piece of this absolutely fabulous Snickers cake. It’s so good! Very rich with chocolate frosting and pieces of the candy bar on the top. It’s usually the first thing we do when we get in. It goes great with a cup of coffee, and it’s fun to see how perfect of a lip print I can get on the white plastic cup from my plum colored lipstick.

Last year, I had some major dress mishaps that ultimately led me to get the light green one you see me wearing in the picture on the left. It’s a long story, but I originally bought this gorgeous, pink, fairytale dress. In my mind, it was the most amazing dress, and I got it for a steal of a deal. It fit perfectly when I tried it on – I’ve learned my lesson about trying on clothes, especially dresses, before buying them. When I got home, it would not zip up at all for whatever reason. My dad even grabbed one of his tools from the garage to try and force it to go up.

Craig’s first haircut

   Yes, believe it or not, Craig had his very first haircut done by someone other than his dad the other day.  

What trusting God looks like…

This week, Craig and I have been thinking about God and trusting in Him completely. As some of you may know, I am back home now. A lot of new things have come my way since being home. It has been quite the ride! I’m just so thankful I know such a great God who has been looking out for me the whole time. 

Recently, Craig left his job in search of something new. I’m so proud of him, and I’m really happy he’s learning to trust in God and wait for a new opportunity. He is taking the first steps by filling out applications, but he’s letting God lead, waiting to hear what He has to say and feeling that check in his spirit about all that comes around.

Craig and I came up with an idea I really love. Each time we feel overwhelmed, stressed, concerned, or even if we feel fine, we think to ourselves, what does trusting God look like today? I like to wake up every morning and think just that…what does trusting God look like today?

Bring it, Puerto Rico!

Well everyone, I’m officially 2 days away from my trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico. 2 days! It feels so unreal. I remember thinking about where I was going to go and what I should do a year ago. Everything has happened so fast!

I know I said I would probably be packed by now, but I’m not. It’s on my to-do list. I actually made one yesterday because I didn’t want to forget about all the things I need to remember and think of before I leave. Making a list isn’t something I usually do, but I felt it was somewhat necessary this time.

Sleepy company

It was recently my last day working at WWIB until December. I can’t believe how fast this summer is going! July is coming to a quick close all too soon. I bet it will go even faster as I will be on a family vacation to South Carolina the last week in July and into August. It’s going to be quite the adventure, especially with my little brother and sister along for a very lengthy car ride.

I think I’m going to miss my family a lot, as well as my home…Wisconsin in general. It will be strange coming back to chilly weather after having an extended summer. Fall is also my favorite season and my birthday is in October, so I’ll miss the time when the leaves change colors.

Getting back to my first statement, Craig came along with me to the station on my last day working before my trip. I always love when he comes because it means I have company. The station  is normally pretty quiet on Sundays. I was hoping Craig would come along with me some time this summer, and it worked out perfectly that he came with me on my last day. He went to a movie the night before, a scary movie at that, so I’m not surprised that he was a little tired. When he comes with me, he usually is at least a little tired. However, he’s never fallen asleep before. 

If you see a dog or bat…RUN AWAY

It’s official! I survived my travel clinic appointment at Mayo. It was the day of the terrible snow storm of course, so I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it in. Although I didn’t make it to my morning music class, my brother and I got to campus safely around noon. It was a chilly day, but later on, Craig and I braved the cold to head over to the clinic. 

I didn’t have to wait long to be called back, so that was refreshing. A nurse took my blood pressure, temperature, and pulse. After that, we talked about my upcoming trip to Puerto Rico. We talked about how long I would be gone, what my plans for study are, what types of areas I would visit, and what types of foods I should avoid. I tried to listen carefully so I wouldn’t miss a single detail. She recommended I drink bottled water, keep my mouth closed in the shower, stay away from drinks with ice, and try to eat mostly hot, well-cooked food.