You Can't Take it With You

I think I have a little problem with lists. As in, I make too many of them. I have a list of weekly cleaning tasks, a list for things to do at work, and a list for things to do for the wedding. Sometimes I think we get so caught up in the mundane things of life that we forget to stop and have a little fun. Although I could probaly think of 2 pages worth of things to do today, I'm not making a list and am just enjoying life today. I started the day by taking Mack for a walk. Felt so good afterwards.

Last week when we had the garage sale, I was reminded that we keep stuff for a while and then eventually get rid of it. I was thinking that I wanted to go to Hobby Lobby to buy fall decorations now that we have a house. But then I thought, is that something we really need. I have a few things already. Neal has really been wanting to go on a little trip. But I keep saying I can't take off of work. Now I'm thinking, why not? Work will be there when I get back. I think it might be a good idea to take a few days off to rejuventate the mind.

Moral of the story....Stop and smell the roses. They might not be here tomorrow.

SOLD!

We've been trying to do a garage sale since we moved into the new house. A Saturday finally was open so we did it this morning. As we were moving, we "cleaned" house and started making a garage sale pile. We also had a lot of stuff that was Neal's mom and picked out a few things to keep. Our morning started bright and early at 5:30. We started putting things out and Neal drove around to put signs out about 6:00. Our first customer arrived at 6:45. The sun wasn't even up yet. It was very interesting to see people "shop." Some people bought stuff without really even knowing what it was. We have a big Hispanic population in this area, so many of our shoppers spoke very little English. One lady bought a pilates CD with the sculpting ring. I tried my best to explain to her what to do with it. I even gave her a demonstration in the our driveway. She bought it and I hope she comes back to show me her abs. Just kidding. We had several pairs of Neal's pants for sale. Most were size 34/30. It amazed me that people bought the pants without even looking at the size. Maybe they have a lot of family members who are a variety of sizes. One lady bought several things and even made us an offer on the plastic totes we were storing everything in. We didn't price anything. Our main goal was just to get rid of everything which we did. All in all it was a success, and we have a little extra wedding money in our pockets. After eating lunch and taking a little nap, the afternoon was spent at the condo painting. Of course until it was time for the UT football game.

Labor Day

Where did the Labor Day weekend go? It seemed like as soon as it began, it was over. We had a good weekend in San Antonio visiting family. Left as soon as school was out on Friday. I drove to SA so Neal could catch up on his work emails. Coleson turned 2 on Friday. Hard to believe I've known that little guy and his family for 2 years. He's cute as ever and in to everything. Makes me really want little ones. All in due time. His little birthday party was at Beefy's Backyard. All the little ones had a blast running around and playing on all the cool stuff. Grandma even stayed the weekend in San Antonio. I got him what I thought was the cutest gift ever. It was a play bbq pit that says things like "Let's fire up the grill" and "Squirt some ketchup on this burger." Well, his mommy thought it was the coolest thing every too and got him the same thing. But that's why God invented gift receipts. No worries, off to Toys R Us to get something else. We had dinner at Chuy's with Bryan and Stephanie that night. Sunday rolled around. We went for a little run in the rolling hills of SA. Took Grandma to see a church. That afternoon, Neal, BJ, and I went to the 5 dollar spot on the Guadalupe and parked our chairs in the river for the afternoon. It was a lot of fun drinking beer and talking about everything under the sun. Sunday we had lunch with Terry and Jeff. Man, I miss my friend! It was good to see him happy. Then we started the long drive home. I think everyone was in the hill country over the weekend. The traffic was really bad and the weather was starting to get bad because of a tropical storm in the gulf. About 4.5 hours later, we made it to Molly's Mutthouse to pick up our furry child. It's funny how much you can miss a dog over a few days. All in all, it was a great weekend making memories. Stay tuned!

Wanted: A church home

We've started the search of looking for a church home. Why, you ask. Because I love Jesus and want to try to be a better Christian. I also want to raise a family in a God-loving home. There are literally hundreds of churches to choose from in Houston. We're looking for something in between traditional and contemporary. A few weeks ago we went to a super traditional Episcopalian church. That wasn't the one. We need to find somewhere with young people who actually talk to each other. Not the case there. That's ok, on to the next one. Today we had planned to visit a Lutheran church not to far from our house. They have a early traditional service and a later contemporary service. We did a little research before we went and learned that on the 5th Sunday of the month (which today was), they do a unified bilingual service. We were thinking it would be in Spanish. I also thought it would probably be in English and Spanish because the English speaking crowd would still need a service to go to on the 5th Sundays of the month. We live in an area with a high Hispanic and Korean population. We drove by the church and saw a sign written in Korean and 2 Korean gentlemen directing traffic. We chickened out and decided not to go in, but to try this church on a "regular" Sunday. Why is it so intimidating to go to a church for the first time? I feel so uncomfortable going to visit somewhere for the first time. Too bad we can't be flies on the wall to just "see" how things work in a church. I really don't like feeling this way because after all its just a group of people who love Jesus. Why should I be so scared of them? Am I afraid they'll actually talk to me? This "finding a church home" busines clearly isn't an overnight process. I continue to pray that God will lead us to the right place and I know He will.

Reflections

Things have really been put into perspective for me lately. I've realized how easy it is to be in your own little bubble and be oblivious to the outside world. It's very easy to get caught up in material things and forget what really matters in life. My mind is constantly "on" these days. Sometimes I feel like I can literally see the world spinning around me. It's times like that when I have to stop and take a deep breath. It's also a wonderful feeling knowing that I'm not alone in the crazy game of life. Call me crazy but there have been many days lately where I can physically feel God's arms around me. I also have my partner in crime to celebrate the good and deal with the not so good. I pray every night that I will be a good wife. This world isn't all about me. Kinda sad that it took me 32 years to realize that, but better late than never. I understand what people meant now when they said you really figure out who you are in your 30s.

New Beginnings

I have another first day of school under my belt. Hard to believe that 9 years ago I was fresh out of graduate school working in Center, TX. My how things have changed from the days of driving behind chicken trucks to work everyday. I'm thankful to have found a career that I truly enjoy. It was so cool today to see those little guys come to school so excited. I'm also enjoying working at the new private practice. It's a different kind of therapy and the extra cha-ching doesn't hurt either.

I've taken a break from the wedding planning but it's time to start getting back on the wagon. My current projects are photographer and DJ. We went to an open house at the Westlake Club this weekend and it was so exciting to walk through and see everything. I could actually picture what the night of our reception will be like. Can't wait to be married!

We've officially begun the task of finding a church home. We've only visited 1 Episcopal church and it wasn't for us. I like tradition but this was too traditional. We walked in and it was silent. No one was talking to anyone. There also weren't any young people there. So on to the next one. There's a lutheran church near here that we're checking out next. God will show us to the right one!

Under Construction

So today is my first day back at work. It actually felt good to go back and I'm excited to what's in store for this year. Since our school was built in 1938, the process of building a new school began over the summer. It was weird driving up this morning to see several buildings totally gone and we have a new area to park in. They've also moved in a village of portable buildings, lovingly known as the "condos". I am in the same room as last year. I was so excited last year to walk into this room and see a window. Nothing beats natural light. To my surprise the window has now been boarded up since construction is happening right outside my window. Looking at the big picture, our new school will be so nice even if all I heard this morning was dump trucks and hammering. I'm coming off the high of a great summer and trying to transition to my "thinking" hat. This morning I was just sitting in my room thinking of ways to arrange it. Here's to another year!