New Dessert Discovery... Yumm!

I recently found a dessert cookbook I got from my Mom around the time we got married.  I LOVE finding random new desserts to try.  I reallllly wish Cody and more of our family enjoyed more 'fancy' desserts so that I could try those types out as well!  But sadly hardly any of them do.  (Cody definitely does not.  He's a cookies and brownies kinda guy... and often makes comments about the different desserts I experiment with.)  I am glad that this year I have now found recipes I (and we all) like for Apple Crumble and Apple Pie (... although I did not make the crust from scratch this first time... I do hope to in the future!).  So, back to my main point.  On Sunday I found this old dessert cookbook (Hershey's Classic Recipes) and flipped through it.  I was pressed for time before our family came over so I found something that looked good and was super quick and easy.  I ended up making Hot Fudge Pudding Cake and it turned out really well!  We ate it cold with whipped cream.  Cody felt like it would have been great with ice cream... and I felt like it would have possibly been better warmed up.  We did try it warm the next night... and I was torn, it was really good both ways!  I do think I slightly overcooked it... it could have been a little more moist and mushy as it's suppose to be kinda pudding-like.

I forgot to take a picture BEFORE we started eating it all!

Anyways, I just wanted to share as I'm always excited to try a dessert that people end up enjoying!  I found the recipe in the Hershey's Classic Recipes cookbook, BUT I saw that it is also available online in anyone is interested in trying it out:

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/4761/Hot%20Fudge%20Pudding%20Cake.aspx

Getting to Know Callie

As stated in my last post, we adopted Callie and officially brought her home with us Monday evening.  Yesterday we had our first visit to the Vet's office --and during the visit when a HUGE dog was brought by and started barking, Callie barked (only once) for the first time.  We were wondering if she was mute or something possibly! Don't get us wrong, we are very grateful she isn't a loud annoying dog... but she also except that one bark yesterday, has made NO noise whatsoever. I guess we weren't sure if that's normal or not. Ayways...

She is finally starting to adjust to her new home.  Each day that goes by she becomes a little more active and playful.  The vet said sometimes it takes shelter dogs up to 2 weeks to fully adjust and become themselves in their new environment.  We've definitely already seen her start to transition.  The first two days she wouldn't eat anything... not even treats.  She is slowly starting to eat more and more on her own and is now eating about a half serving of her food at each meal time. The first two days also she literally would do almost nothing except lay down.  She will now play a ton with us though and she is even starting to play a bit with her toys by herself.

We already love her to death... despite her one huge flaw.  Turns out she is not potty trained one teeny-tiny bit!  We knew that was a possibility, but since she isn't a puppy, we were definitely hoping she had some skills in that department. She does not.  Before Callie I was only used to little dogs -my parents have a Dachshund and a Pomeranian that I also love.  And, man, I will tell you.  There is quite a difference between little dog pee and poo and bigger dog pee and poo. Callie isn't even a BIG dog, she's right now about 37 pounds.  But she is significantly bigger than what I'm used to... and when she pees, she seriously pees! It is NOT fun to clean up.  I am already very read for her to be potty trained!  That's enough on that gross topic though.

Man's best friend... they looove to play together!

This morning after Cody brought Callie back in before he left for work, (I was still in bed and reaching over the side to pet her) we were talking briefly and I literally said the words, "I'm glad our bed is high enough that Callie can't just jump up here."  And Cody agreed that it was good and he was also glad.  And as if on cue... Callie jumped up onto the bed... and on top of me... and decided that my still half asleep body was very comfortable to sprawl out on.  We don't want her on the furniture (at least not for the first few weeks... probably never on our bed though) and so we did get her down pretty quickly.  But it was just the funniest thing as we had JUST said how we didn't think she could get up due to the height of our bed, and then to our surprise, she showed us that she most certainly can.  She already makes us laugh!

Just wanted to share about how things are going as we are getting to know our new sweet girl!

Isn't she adorable!  Her one eye is blue with a patch of brown!

Our First Family Addition: Meet Callie!

A week ago I posted about how Cody and I went out and got a 4 month old puppy only to realize our apartment has an age restriction and we sadly had to take her back. Well. As soon as we got home from returning her, we agreed that we were very ready to get a dog and wanted to keep looking to find one. Last week we went out to Animal Care Services and looked around at their non-puppy dogs and found three we were interested in and one by one took them out to walk and interact with. We didn’t hit it off with either of the first two dogs, but the third one was what we were looking for. She had some spunk and energy and also seemed to enjoy interacting with us. After less than ten minutes with her we decided to adopt her. We filed out the paperwork that evening and were told we could pick her up on the 13th after she got her shots and spayed.

Honestly at first I was nervous that we were just getting her for the sake of quickly getting a dog. Cody bonded with her right away the night we picked her, but I did not as much. I was still held up on Bella (the puppy from a week ago). It was easy for me to immediately fall in love with Bella since she was still a puppy and small and cuddly and I could hold her in my arms. I liked everything about this new dog –except that she wasn’t a puppy. Still we decided to get her and the next couple days went about returning/exchanging the puppy sized stuff for things that would better fit this new dog.

Yesterday we were able to go pick her up… and I am VERY excited to say that after about 2 minutes of riding in the back seat with her on our way home, having her –even being much bigger than a puppy- try to fit her entire body on my lap and cuddling up against me, I started falling in love with her. By the time we were half way home I was saying to Cody that it didn’t matter that she wasn’t a puppy any more, she was ours and I already loved her!

So! We are very excited and proud new dog owners : ) Her name is Callie. She is a Border Collie mix (we think with some Lab), about a year old. She is mostly all black with a white patch on her chest, white paws, and bright blue eyes. She is adorable, and she is ours! Currently she weighs 37 pounds… definitely slightly underweight though from how she looks at least. We can’t decide if we think she’d be in the medium or large dog category… I think she’d be either a larger medium dog, or a very small large dog –if that makes sense. She’s a little smaller than I remembered from the first night we picked her out.

On a random note about her… SHE SMELLS AWFUL! And the smell is STRONG! Lol … They said we can’t bathe her for 7-10 days since she just had her surgery to be spayed. We will definitely be washing her thoroughly in exactly a week. And if anyone comes over before then… we apologize in advance for the strong dog smell. They also told us she won’t quite be herself for a few days due to the surgery and they said they gave her pain medicine, so she’s a little dopey lol. She definitely seems very subdued, especially compared to how she was acting the night we picked her out and met her. Anyways…

 

So that’s our latest news! She is our first official family addition and we are very excited! If anyone has any good dog training/owning/general tips… feel free to pass them along!

A Bit of Backtracking...

I realized the other day that I still haven't posted about a couple things that I kept meaning to... and just kept forgetting.  So I decided we're going to backtrack a bit and catch up.  If I don't post about these things now (even though it's now been a while) it will continue to bother me.  So while I'm thinking of it... here we go.

Stuart and Mary Lou Sorensen's Wedding

Cody was a groomsman in his friend Stuart's wedding up in Longview at the end of October.  He really enjoyed the weekend as it provided lots of time to hang out and catch up with his friends.  I was still on crutches on the time... and man, that was a LONG car ride with my leg at the time.  We had to stop every two hours or so so I could get out of the car and move around some.  Also the wedding was outside and therefore on grass and just natural ground... and it was really difficult to crutch around on the uneven ground and grass.  But, besides all of that.  It was a wonderful and enjoyable weekend and Stuart and Mary Lou's wedding was beautiful!  It really was a gorgeous place for a ceremony, and thankfully the weather was fine through that.  Unfortunately it did start to storm pretty much right as the reception was starting.  I think they got through the dances and by then a lot of guests had already left due to the weather.  And my camera died during the wedding... as usual.  The batteries run out almost immediately and it drives me crazy because I love to almost constantly take pictures during events (especially gorgeous weddings).  So.  Here are a few of the pictures I did get before my camera died... and the storm took over.  It was still a beautiful wedding and it looked like Stuart and Mary Lou got some cute pictures out in the rain together after the reception had shut down.  

Kari and John's Wedding Shower

Mid-November we went to a wedding shower for Kari and John.  It was a lot of fun and I think they really enjoyed it.  The best part of that shower was the very last gift they opened up (not planned that way, but it worked out perfectly).  So far they had opened up dozens of typical house/kitchen gifts, you know, things you register for to start up your first home together -which are all great and needed and fun since you're about to get married.  This last gift though was very unexpected.  They opened up this last gift and both their faces became bright red and had half smiles and half 'what do we do?' looks on their faces.  A few minutes later they sheepishly held up his and her lingerie.  It was hilarious!  Best gift of the shower by far!  Anyways. That was just the best thing I've ever seen happen at a wedding shower thus far and wanted to share.  And I'm so excited for Kari and John!  They're getting married on January 1st!  It's getting so close!!! 

Family photo from the shower.

 Thanksgiving/Cody's Birthday

 This year Cody's birthday (he turned 25!) fell on Thanksgiving day.  First off I should tell you that he had been looking forward to this week off for Thanksgiving for ever, and then it finally rolled around and poor Cody got sick!  He had a horrible cold and really felt awful from Sunday to Wednesday.  I was glad for him that he finally felt better for his actual birthday and Thanksgiving... unfortunately he passed it along to me.  As the day went on that Thursday I slowly got worse and worse and by that evening I felt terrible.  Needless to say as most colds go, I was miserable the next three days before I started feeling better.  So Cody's anticipated week off didn't turn out to be as enjoyable as he'd hoped.  He was sick then I was sick... so we really didn't do anything at all.  We did go over to his parents' home in the morning on Thanksgiving to hang out for a bit and to celebrate Cody's birthday, and then we drove to Dripping Springs to celebrate Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family at my grandparents' house.  It was a fun and enjoyable day... up until I started to feel like death and unable to breathe.  On my mom's side for Thanksgiving we do lots of gift exchanges, play White Elephant, and also simultaneously celebrate multiple birthdays: several cousins, my brother -Sean, Cody, and my grandpa -Yayo.  I felt terrible too because one thing Cody asked me for his birthday was to make him an apple pie.  -Actually he said he wanted me to buy one, because for his birthday we shouldn't risk me making one.  I was very offended and refused to buy one, and thought it would be the perfect time to learn how to make an apple pie for the first time.  Our plan was to go back over to the Hendersons' home on Friday to really celebrate Cody's birthday since Thursday was more about Thanksgiving and we weren't at his parents' house very long.  Unfortunately I still felt awful and also Cody's grandpa (his mom's parents were in from Houston staying with them) ended up having to go to the ER that day, so we never did anything else for his birthday!  I felt bad for him -he had been looking forward to that.  And I didn't make the apple pie since I was sick... lol it was probably the worst birthday ever for him!  Sorry, Loves.  

 

I did finally make the pie about a week ago.  I decided to not 'risk' messing it up for him, to not attempt to make the crust from scratch.  So I just bought a frozen pie crust and made the filling.  It turned out extremely well!  I'm just sorry I didn't get to make it for him on either his birthday or that Friday.  Eventually I hope to learn how to make a decent pie crust as well, so I can make the whole pie from scratch.
 

The Sad Story of The Day We Almost Had a Puppy

This past Saturday Cody and I were out running errands and drove past a Pet Adoption event going on in a parking lot.  Cody wanted to stop and just enjoy looking at the dogs and I said we really shouldn't...  We've been talking about getting a dog for a while; we definitely WANT a dog, just haven't been sure if the timing was right yet.  Anyways.  We did end up stopping and looked around and it was fun to just pet them walk around.  Then we made the mistake of talking to a lady working the adoption event.  (There was actually 2 separate things going on right next to each other so at first that was confusing.)  She explained how all their animals were found and now in the shelter, and all had been spayed and neutered and were up to date medically.  She asked if we wanted to go into their trailer thing and look at their pets for adoption... and we did.  We were in there about 30 seconds before I spotted a super cute black puppy (she was 4 months old) and started trying to play with her through her cage.  The lady noticed the attention I was giving her and pulled her out for us to take on a walk.  The name they had assigned her was Juliette.

We took her out and after being out of her cage a while she really started to show some attitude and spunk.  She was adorable and cute and fun!  She already listened fairly well also which was nice.  When she sat she was a little above my knees and on the leash she was already able to actually kinda pull me around.  I can't image the lack of control I would have had with her in the future!  We pretty much fell in love with her within 30 minutes.  We kept playing with her and enjoying getting to know her... and I kept trying to talk to Cody seriously.  I'd lean over and be like "so, are we actually considering this? I can't tell what you're thinking."  We were outside with her probably an hour, and then decided we couldn't leave without her!  We got super excited and went through the paperwork to adopt her.  They held onto her for us for about an hour as we went to a couple stores to buy the basics (and some more fun stuff) for her to take her home.

When we picked her back up, she sat in my lap as we drove home, and it was adorable.  She sat calmly and cuddled up to me and laid her head on my shoulder and licked my chin.  We got back to our apartment and I walked her around outside while Cody went in to pay our pet deposit.  It was taking him quite a while and I started to wonder why.  When he came back on he had this super upset look on his face and said we couldn't have her.  We knew about the apartment's size restriction, but we did not recall ever hearing about an age restriction.  The dog would have to be a year old and we had to have proof of her age.  She was only 4 months.  It was a completely awful feeling to have bonded with her, bought her lots of fun stuff, brought her home, and then realizing we had no choice but to take her back.  We felt awful for her as well... like we had potentially robbed her of a chance to be adopted by someone else.  I know it's only been a few days, but she was SO adorable, I hope someone has adopted her by now.  It was so sad taking her back, and then coming home with all this new dog stuff, and having no dog.

Yes, I will admit I cried.  I know we only even knew her a couple hours... but we bonded and she already felt like ours.  She would have been the perfect dog... we just know it.  We had named her Bella.

So now, we are dog-less, with lots of dog stuff.  And now that we got so close to almost having a dog, we are really ready to get one!  I'm a little sad we can't get a puppy due to the age restriction, but I'm still excited we are going to still try and get one.  We are planning on going tomorrow or Thursday to look again.  Hopefully soon I will be able to post about a new dog that we have fallen in love with.

I don't have any good pictures of Bella... I only took a couple once Cody explained that we couldn't keep her and we were driving to take her back.  So they are not good pics... we were in the car and she was in my lap and I couldn't get a good angle of her.  But here are 2 pics that I did get:

The Healing Process

I haven't updated on my leg in a while... but that's a good thing!  It means there isn't as much to report.  Just in the last two weeks my leg has made HUGE progress which is very exciting.  I can sometimes walk without a limp... it takes me being up and moving around a bit to kinda warm it up I guess... but then I can walk pretty normally which is exciting.  I can go up stairs without a problem, however going down I still have to focus a bit.  I STILL eleven weeks later have a bruise and it's still pretty sore.  Not as sore or colorful as it has been, but by now I expected it to be gone and pain free.  (Cody always forgets... and often hits my leg and I give him this angry face and not so gently remind him 'I AM STILL BRUISED'... and then he accidentally hits it again a few minutes later.  It's an unfortunate cycle.)  My last three INR tests (I had one today) have been low at 1.4, 1.8, and today was 1.5.  (Suppose to be between 2 and 3 while on the Warfarin.)  We're readjusting my dosage and tomorrow I'm going in to get another ultrasound on my leg for the blood clot.  I've been having some minor pain and pressure again behind my knee and in my calf for about 3 weeks now and my doctor said at this point I shouldn't, and so we're going to check it out just in case.  The pain now is nothing compared to what it was initially... where that was definitely a 10, this is only like a 2, but he still said I shouldn't be feeling that at all by now.  So.  That's basically my update! Oh, and tomorrow (or Friday, I may have to move the appointment because of the ultrasound that is now scheduled for tomorrow) is my last PT session! So yay for that.

Now, while I don't know how exciting pictures of a bruise are, I finally uploaded my camera and now have some pics that document my leg from September to late October that I thought I'd share.  Also some pics are from my phone so they're not great quality.

Week 1: (Day 5)

leg bruise

welt on my back

elbow

 4 1/2 Weeks

You can see how my thigh shrank from not being able to use it much.

6 Weeks

I haven't been good lately at uploading and organizing my pictures!  I'll have to upload pics of the last 5 weeks when I find them! 

A&M vs. The Spurs

The Clueless Wife

Why the Dilemma?

So this evening in our household we have a small dilemma. We had tickets to go watch the Spurs game tonight against Cleveland but all week Cody has randomly thrown out there that he wished we had tickets to a different game. The dilemma being that I wanted to go to the Spurs game (yes, I actually like the Spurs… I don’t know a lot or completely follow them… but I definitely enjoy going to those games) while Cody wanted to stay home and watch the A&M and Nebraska game.

Now the type of Aggie that I am… I didn’t realize this game was the Maroon Out game for the year, and apparently this is one the biggest games A&M has had in years. Also they’re trying to break the record for the number of student attendance at the game and are selling standing room only tickets. So obviously it’s a bigger deal than I initially realized. Cody, knowing that I like going to the Spurs games, kept saying we’d go but that he wished it was a different night, and finally I just said that clearly he really wants to stay home and if we go he’ll just complain and be distracted anyways. So we gave our tickets to Cody’s grandparents and now have plans to watch the A&M game tonight at home. I’m okay with that… we just better get Spurs tickets again at some point this season since he gave these away!

Today Cody is sporting his 2010 Maroon Out shirt while I am wearing my Spurs shirt… a little bit in protest to the fact we won’t be there and we could have been tonight. I do enjoy the Spurs and my interest in them started when I developed a tiny semi-crush on Tony Parker. Don’t worry! –Cody approves of this semi-crush because it means we now have a common interest in the Spurs and I like watching the games with him. As of recent developments however, I am very upset and torn about Tony and Eva’s divorce. They are (I guess were) my favorite celebrity couple. I will admit that I follow them both on Twitter. –It’s okay, you can judge me!  I judge myself a little bit as well lol. And I’m a fan of Desperate Housewives. I had always hoped that one day at a Spurs game I would somehow get to meet both of them since Eva at least used to come to some of the games. I guess that dream is in the process of dying. And while this is all gossip I know… it sounds like Tony probably cheated on Eva, possibly with Brent Barry’s wife. And so now I’m torn about not wanting to support someone who might have done that… and yet, I still want to wear my shirt (did I mention it’s signed by Parker?) and cheer for him.

My autographed Tony Parker shirt!  This was from a game last season back in January.

So, A&M vs. The Spurs… A&M won out for tonight. It’s understandable given the hype for tonight’s game. Here’s hoping we BTHO Nebraska and that the Spurs win as well!

PS –Here’s a promo video (although it’s not an official A&M one) that Cody loves for tonight’s Maroon Out game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umSpMuRF_H4

    

Jeff Fuller Who?

The Clueless Wife

A couple weekends ago Cody and I went to watch Texas A&M play -and defeat- Oklahoma in College Station.  (Whoop!)  You should know though, that I was the WORST Aggie imaginable while in school.  -Like, less than a 2 Percenter.  (Other Aggies out there, please don't hate me.)  I enjoyed the traditions and yells and all, but did not care even the tiniest bit about football (or any other sport for that matter).  I went to games throughout my freshman year, and then only a handful through the rest of my time there.  Football though -especially A&M football- is not a joking matter to my sweet husband.  While he politely answers all my questions, I know that he often gets annoyed at my lack of total understanding since it usually starts to interfere with him just enjoying the game.  So, I decided to learn a bit.  -This game was where my recent interest in learning about sports developed as I mentioned in my intro post to The Clueless Wife.

All I heard the entire game yesterday from Cody yelling next to me was "throw it to Jeff Fuller!"  Jeff Fuller.  Jeff Fuller who? -That was the question reeling in my head the whole game.  I finally just asked.  His literal response was the following: "Jeff Fuller is a man beast!"  Yeah, that really cleared things up for me!  While I didn't learn a whole lot by any means, I did bother to learn a bit about who this Fuller guy is and why he is said man beast.

So, Jeff Fuller is a wide receiver who plays for Texas A&M's football team.  (I had at least already gathered that, but I thought I should state it.)  Fuller is 6'4" and 215 lbs from McKinney, Texas; he's currently a junior.  Fuller set a new record for number of career touchdowns at A&M previously held by Bob Long from the late 60's.  While the record setting catch was number 20, as of today he is at 27 touchdowns in his career at A&M (I originally looked that number up on the 7th).

Since one of the most basic things to state about Fuller is the fact that his position is that of a wide receiver... it begs me to ask the question -what is a wide receiver?  I know it's a position in football... but what does a person with that position, and therefore Fuller, do?  (I did warn you all that my knowledge in the field of sports is pitiful.)  A wide receiver is an offensive position where the player runs and catches the pass from the quarterback, then attempts to run for a touchdown.  This position typically runs closest to the sideline and is farther out from the rest of the players, hence the description 'wide'.  I hope no one out there needs me to explain 'receiver'!  These guys are typically the quickest and most agile on the team.  Besides catching passes wide receivers are also responsible for helping block to allow other team members to run the ball downfield.  Wide receivers are often referred to simply as a receivers, or as wideouts.

I know it's not a lot, but hey - it's a start!  I have a general idea who Jeff Fuller is and what he does as a wide receiver.  Trust me, the simple fact that I now know he has the current record of touchdown catches at A&M will impress Cody!

(Ahem, ... I will have you know I did ask Cody to read over this post for me before finalizing it.  While he openly laughed at it and said this whole idea sounds silly, he did say though it was worded 'wierdly,' it was generally correct.  Just wanted to make sure that what I was learning and sharing was in deed at least fairly accurate!  I figured my husband would know since he was the one raving about Jeff Fuller to begin with.)

The Clueless Wife

This could definitely end up not going anywhere and becoming a one time thing... but for now, I've decided to sort of start a series within this blog.  Typically I just write about the goings-on in our lives and keep everyone up-to-date.  While this series thing will still be about stuff going on in my (our) life, it'll have a slightly different twist to it.  And I realize it's probably silly and dumb, I know Cody has already laughed at this.  BUT, it is fun in my mind, and this is my blog!  So I can, right?  It'll be called The Clueless Wife and will focus on various things that I'll make an effort to learn about that I've up until now I've been, well clueless about.  I don't know why because I have always had ZERO interest in sports... but lately I've felt like that's a topic that Cody cares so much about, it wouldn't hurt for me to start learning some of the basics. -And I mean BASICS!  For example, football... the extent of my knowledge is that the guys are on teams, have an offense and defense, and the goal is to run or throw the football into the proper end zone for a touchdown.  I know there is a quarterback who throws the ball.  That's about it!  Pitiful, I know.  Up 'til now I haven't cared.  It'll be beyond sports though... for all I know this is a one week interest in sports and it may be 100% gone as of tomorrow!  I'm also interested in becoming more domestic and such.  I've always assumed once I was married I would do more domestic things... but I've been married for two and a half years now, and well, I never magically learned how to sew or cook fancy meals, or be crafty at all!  And I want to learn. 

Anyways. I ramble I know; I'm sorry!  Like I said, this could very easily die quickly and never become anything.  But, I still figured I needed to introduce the idea so that I don't just start titling things 'The Clueless Wife' and you have no idea what I'm referring to!  So now you know.  We'll see what comes of this!

Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck!

Last weekend Cody and I made our first visit back to College Station since we graduated!  We went up to watch the game against Oklahoma and were very glad to have made the trip for a game that we won! 33-19.  Whoop!  Cody was extremely ecxcited to say the least.  We really enjoyed our weekend!  We joined up with our friends Jared and Stehpanie and watched the game with them, as well as enjoying Midnight Yell and some meals with the Adams and Sue and Steve.  I don't think I've gone to a Midnight Yell since my freshman year!  I was glad we went.

Now as much as we enjoyed our trip there was a pretty big down side to it all... at least for me.  The walking.  It was WAY too much.  I guess we forgot how large campus is!  We parked by the stadium but then wanted to go meet up with some (other) friends, the Nichols, at a tailgate.  Well their tailgate was just about the farthest away it possibly could have been.  It took Cody and me forever to walk (and by walk for myself I mean half limp and half crutch) over there and my leg was already worn out and sore and I felt exhausted.  And he was trying to be sweet about it, but I could tell Cody was getting fairly annoyed and frustrated at having to walk so slow to stay by me.  I felt bad.  Anyways.  We weren't quite sure how we'd be getting back to the stadium, as I wasn't sure I could make it (at least not within a month's time) and it was clear Cody didn't want to walk back waiting with me at a snail's pace.  So, Steve and Cody had the idea to balance me up on a bike (thanks for another friend at the tailgate who graciously let me borrow his bike) and they steered and pushed me a good portion of the distance.  Let me tell you... it was a good idea and necessary because my leg was already so sore... but I felt   r i d i c u l o u s !  People were looking, I was nervous and off balance, and I kept grabbing tightly onto each of them thinking I was going to fall off.  I'm sure we were quite an odd sight!  I wish we had a picture of that ordeal!  Actually, maybe I'm glad we don't lol!

Anyways.  We enjoyed time with friends, a great game, and ate food that we've missed!  If you know Cody, or at least knew him at A&M, you know he LOVES Layne's.  I mean loves.  He has on several occasions seriously considered driving the 3 hours to College Station just for lunch at Layne's and then to drive back.  Fortunately so far I've always been able to talk him out of it.  If you aren't familiar with it, Layne's is a local hole in the wall type restaurant that serves... chicken fingers.  Not my type of meal, but one of Cody's absolute favorites.  So of course we ate there twice.  The restaurant I miss from College Station is Rosa's Cafe.  While it's not local to College Station, I'm still allowed to miss it since we don't have any here in SA.  It is the only place where I like chicken tacos!  And I really do love theirs.  I ate there twice : )  Cody and I were both happy.

So that was our little weekend trip.  Aggie football, friends, family, and food.  Too much walking with my leg still, but definitely a good enjoyable time.  Thank you Sue and Steve for getting us the tickets! 

(I'm sad I don't have any pictures at all from the trip to post!  My dumb camera was out of batteries as usual.  Sorry!)

7 Weeks

So this Monday marks 7 weeks from the HEB Incident.  (I like to refer to it as the incident rather than accident... it just sounds cooler to me somehow.) I had PT today... and am officially starting to walk without any crutch! Yay for that; however, my 'walk' is still not a normal walk.  I definitely look goofy.  I walk super slow and have to balance and focus... but hey, it's been seven weeks... I'll take any and all progress that I can get.  I still do not have full range of motion with my knee -I can't straighten it fully or bend it fully- and therefore my step motion is very awkward and incorrect.  But again, it's progress.  At PT I'm doing a lot of weight-bearing exercises (to regain strength as my leg is still much weaker than normal), balancing exercises, and knee extension stuff all trying to get me back to walking normally.  I still unfortunately need both dang crutches to get back up our three flights of stairs (during this whole ordeal I've really wished we lived on the first rather than third floor) and I still need one to get down without falling or something.  And since I'm just starting trying to walk without the crutch at all... I've realized it's more of a slow weaning-off procress rather than a quick quit cold turkey.  If my leg gets too tired or if I'll be up for any real amount of time I still need the crutch.  Like I said, it's a process, but I'm glad to finally be at this point!  7 weeks... I'm so ready to be off the crutches completely.  Hopefully soon!

Anyways.  Today I also started crocheting again. The only thing I know how to crochet is a scarf... although I can vary the style slightly (I don't know if that's saying much). Two years ago I learned how to crochet a scarf and made ... well a lot of them.  I don't remember exactly.  I definitely went on a scarf-crocheting kick, and then I proceded to burn myself out on that hobby and haven't for almost two years.  However, today I picked through my huge backet of yarn and found one that I wanted to start up my hobby again with.  I don't know if I'll end up just making this one and being done or if I'll find myelf on another scarf-kick, but for today (and the next few days), I'm enjoying relearning how to crochet.  Sometimes while working on a scarf I can't tell if I like it or not until about half way... and at that point I've put in enough time that I'm finishing it even if I don't much like it.  So hopefully I'll like how this one turns out!  Scarves are fun and I always enjoy adding new ones to my collection.

Tidbits

Two random things to share:

Tidbit 1:  After six weeks of not being able to do much of anything, I have finally been able to start cooking again!  I realize this isn't something super exciting... but it's a big deal to me at the moment.  We have had to resort to eating out a TON since the accident (since pretty much up until about a week ago I could hardy be up for much time at all and it still hurt my leg a lot... therefore I was not able to cook us dinners) and this week I finally felt up to making some easy meals.  Nothing too complicated or that would require me to stand in the kitchen for very long... but, I am so glad to be making dinners for my husband again -and to save us the cost of eating out.  Not to mention after six weeks... I've kinda gotten tired of the same fast foods over and over.  Monday I made simple spaghetti (which is my favorite anyways), however I did forget about the part where I would need help to carry the full pot with water and the cooked noodles over to the sink to drain it.  Fortunately by that point Cody was already home and able to quickly do that for me.  Spaghetti was yummy and something I've missed!  Yesterday I tried something new... just kind of throwing stuff together that I could let simmer without worrying about it or having to check on it.  It turned out wonderfully and Cody both completely finished it off and 'gave me permission' lol to make it as often as I wanted.  It was simply pork chops with carrots and potatoes, simmering for an hour in beef flavoring and Worchestershire sauce.  I was excited it turned out exactly as I hoped.  I have named it Stewed Beef Chops --or Beef Stewed Chops.  Nothing fancy at all!  But I was glad to have sort of made something myself (alright, I did sort of combine other types of recipes I've used in the past, but still) that turned out great!  And because I hate not knowing what to call meals... I decided to name it. Please don't judge me.

My Beef Stewed Chops... nothing fancy, but it made me excited to be cooking again!

Tidbit 2:  I was just reading someone's blog (please don't judge me again -I definitely read random blogs of people even that I don't really know) and found out about this website called BookSneeze.  It looks really interesting!  I haven't tried it out yet (I did JUST discover it today) but I've definitely signed up and hope to soon. If you sign up with it, you can get free copies of select books, and all you have to do is write a review and share it on your blog and on a consumer website.  It seems like it's either all or mainly Christian material -ranging from Bibles to Christian fiction to children's books to practical living... it looks like it offers a variety of options.  Anyways, for those people with a blog and who enjoy reading Christian books, it looks like something worthwhile to look into!  Like I said, I haven't tired it yet, but it looks worthwhile and like a neat system if you're willing to write a short review for each book!  Just thought someone out there might like to take advantage of that opportunity -I know it got me interested.

If you're interested, check it out:

http://booksneeze.com 

Down to One Crutch!

I've been making tons of progress lately!  It's very exciting to see myself slowly getting closer and closer to being back to normal.  Thank you everyone who has been praying for my leg and recovery!  Please continue to do so as I am much improved, but still far from 100%.

Today I had my next INR test and was at 2.1.  I will get another test next Wednesday again and if it has kind of stabilized and remains within the 2-3 range then I won't get tested again for 2 weeks, and then if that one is good I'll get to wait for a month.  That's the goal... to get to a point where it remains fairly stable so that I only have to go in once a month to get it checked.  I would say that I am getting used to the finger pricks... only I'm not lol!  It's annoying, frustrating, embarrassing, and funny all at the same time.  I KNOW that the finger prick hardly hurts... I actually hardly even feel it. However, due to my crazy fear of needles and all, even knowing that it hardly hurts, I cannot help but freak out.  Today I thought I was going to break Sue's hand (mother-in-law, who sweetly lets me squeeze the life out of her hand as they prick me).  It's so silly!  I am able to clearly remember that last time (and all the times) it wasn't bad at all, and yet here I am again... on the table, freaking out, starting to breathe hard and sweat and panic.  Oh well.  I guess it makes me more embarrassed that I panic like that than anything else.  And fortunately nobody there is mean enough to let me feel bad.  They always tell me I did great and I get a fun Band-Aid lol on my bleeding finger.

I am glad to report that at least so far Physical Therapy hasn't been nearly as bad as I was dreading it would be!  I think I'd heard so many horrible stories from people that I was expecting them to practically break my knee to get it to budge if that's what it took... and well fortunately that's not what they are doing.  Yes it is sometimes painful, and it is almost always very difficult to do the exercises.  It's still surprising (and frustrating) to me to feel how difficult it is to do these motions that should be easy.  I often do the same thing with my other leg to feel and see the difference... and I'm always still a lot farther away from normal than I think I am once I actually compare my two legs. Nonetheless, I feel like I am making TONS of progress just since last Thursday! (Last Thursday when during my evaluation Angel gave me some exercises to start doing on my own and instructed me to start walking with the heel, toe, push movements all the time.)  My leg is WAY more flexible (yay!) and getting a lot stronger too.  I am down to one crutch! Whoop! When I get worn out I resort back to two, and I definitely need two to get up the three flights of stairs... but otherwise I am only using one crutch which is big progress.

So that's the update.  And I'm glad to say that besides the physical side of it all, I have been in a lot better moods about it all lately as well.  For a while there I had gotten really sad and depressed and frustrated.  I still do at times, but overall, I am feeling optimistic and excited about the progress I am making.  Thank you again everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement!  Please also don't forget to continue praying for my sweet husband with his stress load with work.  

Heel, toe, push... repeat.

Today I had my first Physical Therapy session.  Well, actually it wasn't a first "real" session (that'll be Monday, which I am still nervous for), it was more of an intro, paperwork, and evaluation day.  But nonetheless, I'm on the road to recovery with PT.  I'm working with a lady named Angel... who right up until the very end of the evaluation, seemed 100% indifferent about the pain she was causing.  I don't much like her yet, although it's nothing personal.  She did all sorts of stuff, and had me try to do all sorts of stuff, to my leg in trying to evaluate where I'm at.  Today she showed me and had me try several different exercises that I am now suppose to do at home everyday.  Also, she showed me and had me start practicing walking more normally (or as close as I can get right now) with my right leg.  So now whenever I am up and walking/moving around with the crutches, I have to practice moving my leg as normally as possible and focusing on my foot going through the correct movements of placing down my heel, then moving to my toes, and then pushing off my toes.  Hence, 'heel, toe, push'.  If you're walking next to me any time soon, you may hear me mumbling those words under my breath as I try to focus on correcting these movements with my step.  I'm simultaneously suppose to try and put as much pressure/weight on my foot/leg during each step as I can with the motions.  It's weird having to focus so hard on just trying to take a correct step.  And it's annoying!  Seriously.  I am now the slowest person walking ever.  If you thought I was slow before with the crutches (which I was anyways), you can now triple that slow speed as I have to walk with all this focus and practice.  I know it's for the best... that just doesn't change the fact that it's annoying lol.  So.  That's basically my update for now.  Oh I also had another INR test yesterday and was high (4.0) so this week my dosage is lower to try and bring my level back down.  I don't know how many people care about my weekly (hopefully soon it'll only be monthly) INR report... but this is my (our, although let's face it, Cody does not take much part in this-and that's okay) blog, and so I feel like I can share if I want to!

Now, onto the topic of teaching and school.  I won't share too much except to say that Cody is really, really struggling right now.  He is ridiculously stressed with everything with school and just completely overwhelmed feeling.  Please be praying for him.  Pray for relief from stress, strength to make it through each week, and the efficiency and organizational skills to be able to get prepared each day as quickly/easily as possible.  (And of course anything else you feel like throwing into your prayer.)  Fortunately Thanksgiving isn't that far off... so we are counting down the weeks for that much needed break.  Thank you all for your prayers.

Tomorrow morning we start the looong drive to Longview for Cody's friend, Stuart's, wedding.  We're hoping I can handle that long of a time in the car okay with my leg.  I guess I'll have to; I don't really want to stay home all weekend without my husband.  We're excited for the weekend and the wedding!  I hope I don't look too ridiculous in my dress and shoes with my crutches still!  Cody has already stated that I will be the worst dance partner ever at this wedding.  (Not that I have ever been a great dance partner... I'm more of a "I only dance by myself at home when nobody can see me" type of person. Oh well.) 

I'll share about how the wedding weekend goes sometime next week probably.  Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Picture of Community

Christ calls us as believers to live in community with one another.  This isn’t a new realization to me; however, I will say that I’m still learning, and haven’t always had a clear idea what that might really look like.  This weekend though I saw and experienced a beautiful picture of what this community is suppose to look like, and I just have to share.

Last week I had a friend come to hang out and visit (and introduce me to her new baby boy since I hadn’t been able to meet him yet) and her visit was exactly what I needed.  I had reached a point of being beyond frustrated that I’m still on crutches and stuck in the apartment and not suppose to move much and unable to do simple things easily.  Having her stop by to hang out and talk was a breath of fresh air that I truly needed.  Her visit in itself was wonderful.  Before she left she asked what she could do to help out (our apartment had gotten really messy and dirty… due to me unable to tidy up and Cody being super stressed and coming home late almost every day lately) and I didn’t want her to have to do anything because I didn’t want to be a bother and I was embarrassed by our apartment.  I tried to think of some quick easy little things she could do in the study where we had been visiting. (We had managed to thankfully keep that room and the guest bathroom decent enough.)  She did those few things, went to the restroom, and I was expecting her to be about to leave, when she stuck her head back in the door and asked if we were good enough friends that I wouldn’t get mad if she just went into the living room and tried to pick up a bit for us.  While I was still embarrassed by how our home was, I said yes and she shut the door to our study and went and picked up a bit.  Before she left she asked if her and her husband could bring us dinner or do anything to help over the weekend, and after telling her that actually we’d be gone (Cody to Austin for his race and me to my parents since it wouldn’t have been a good idea for me to stay alone) she asked for a key to our apartment to come and tidy up while we would be gone.

We came home late Sunday evening to our apartment picked up, tidy, and clean.  Her and another friend came and took out our trash, organized, did the dishes and our laundry.  Our home was the nicest it’s been since before we found the blood clot. 

I just wanted to share because I honestly felt like it was a wonderful picture of us living in community.  We didn’t ask them to do anything.  She asked if they could and genuinely wanted to help because she saw an opportunity to do so.  Actually when she asked for our key and explained what she wanted to do, I was really hesitant.  I mean, it was our mess, our home, nobody else should have to bother with it, and I was still embarrassed by it.  She said to me that this is the type of thing community should do for each other and that she honestly wanted to help.  And she was right, that’s exactly what it was -a picture of community. 

We are extremely grateful to our friends for their help, and for giving us a glimpse into what living in community really looks like. 

Little At a Time

Two days ago (this past Wednesday) I had my second INR test and I was at 2.8! Yay! -That's good news, it's within the range I need to be.  My doctor was out of town and I had several questions for the nurse (like I usually do).  She said that I need to come back in a week, next Wednesday, to test again and make sure it's staying consistent.  At that point, she said we would set up physical therapy.  I was a little torn... I had hoped to start PT sooner because I am SO ready to get back to walking again, however I was also a little relieved as that would mean I had more time on my own to try and slowly stretch and move and try to 'get ready' for PT ... at least those are my thoughts.  Also, I've started hearing horrible stories of PT not being so nice and gentle and fun.  It kind of sounds really painful and very un-fun.  So.  I told Cody I am perfectly okay with my toes not curling all the way.  I mean seriously, when do you ever NEED to curl your toes 100%?  You just don't need to.  It's not important.  Therefore, my toes are great just as they are currently.  He said that was not okay and proceeded to try and explain mountain climbing scenarios where I might need full capacity of my toes.  But really, does anybody reading this ever see me climbing a mountain?? I guess I understand more about my knee.  I do want to walk normally again.  I've just realized PT might totally stink because I'm a HUGE baby when it comes to pain.

Off of all that, a nurse from the doctor's office called yesterday and told me that she'd gotten a hold of my doctor and he said he wants to start me on PT sooner than waiting until after my next testing.  So, she said I should be expecting a call from some place and they will fill me in.  I'm guessing that means I'll be starting sometime at the beginning of next week.  I'm getting nervous about it.  I am doing a lot of small movements and trying to stretch my leg slowly and carefully on my own, and I am seeing small improvements as I go.  I've been doing my foot/ankle movements for about a week now, and within that time my foot/ankle has improved a lot.  I just started doing my knee/leg though yesterday after I got the okay on Wednesday to start trying.  So I guess I shouldn't expect too much too quickly.  I don't know... I've never done this before.

This weekend Cody is doing is second Oyster Race in Austin with his friends.  He'll be leaving quickly after school, coming home to pack, pick me up, and leave asap.  He'll be dropping me off at my parents this weekend so I'm not alone (since I'm still pretty much useless) and on his way.  It's also his friend Stu's bachelor party weekend sort of in combination with the race.  Cody has been incredibly stressed lately with school (I'm sure coming home to me being useless hasn't helped matters much) and I'm hoping and praying this weekend helps him relax and de-stress.  Good luck, Loves!

Guess that's it for now!
 

Please Someone Get Me Out of Bed!

I am getting so frustrated and tired and being stuck!  It has almost been a month since the HEB accident ... (it'll be a month on Wednesday).  I got my last shot (thank you Lord) yesterday and continue to take the Warfarin medicine -and will for 9-12 months apparently.  I got my blood tested on Thursday and my INR level was 1.8, almost there but not quite.  I need to be between 2 and 3.  After my shot yesterday I asked if we now assume after this next/last shot and after yesterday's pill that I'm at the 2.0 level and if I can start moving/working my leg.  I was really, really, really expecting and hoping the answer to be yes, and sadly it wasn't.  They said I had to wait until next Wednesday when we retest my blood, for now I still have to not move my leg much and still have to keep it elevated. Ugh! I am SO ready to be out of bed and off the couch! I wanted to just go with Cody on a quick trip to Target.. and I would have stayed in the car even! And he wouldn't let me lol. I understand, but I've reached the beyond frustrated point. I am suppose to be moving/working my foot/ankle, and I have been, just not my knee/or leg as a whole.  It's sort of weird, I hadn't realized how weak my muscles had gotten I guess.  It's really an effort to get my foot to do what I want it to do... but every time I work with it, it gets easier the next time.  I practice writing the alphabet with my foot and writing out sentences people ask me sometimes.  It's funny getting excited that I can flex my foot and squeeze my toes.  Also I'm excited the pain in my leg is finally dwindling.  It's not totally gone still.  But initially when this new pain (from the blood clot, just we didn't know it at the time) started last Saturday it was SO bad that it hurt to barely move my leg. Any pressure on it -even a blanket- hurt. And the pain was the same whether I was sitting, standing with my crutches, or laying down.  Thankfully finally it's gotten better. It doesn't hurt laying down or sitting with my foot elevated on a pillow.  It only still hurts some -and thankfully not nearly as badly- only when I get up and am up for a bit.  So it's getting better!  Besides being ready to be up and about, I'm also very ready to be pain free in my leg!

Anyways.  I think that's about it on the update.  Last shot yesterday.  I'll be taking Warfarin for quite a while... and hopefully after getting tested again next Wednesday I will start physical therapy and be on my way back to walking normally again!  I am very excited for next Wednesday when I should get that news officially.  Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers.  Please continue to pray for my leg to fully heal and my blood levels to get to where they're suppose to be. Happy Saturday!

Blood Clot

Yesterday was three weeks from the day of the HEB Incident/accident. Starting last Saturday during the afternoon, I began having a new pain in my leg. My calf and foot/ankle started hurting out of nowhere with a really intense pressure, bad enough for me to take Vicodin again (which didn't even help by the way, just made me sick on top of the pain). I had an appointment with my doctor scheduled for this morning and I figured I'd talk to him then about it, especially since I had JUST seen his last Thursday. My dad was at the doctor's office yesterday with my younger brother and our doctor just asked how I was doing, and my dad told him about this new pain. Since the MRI results showed everything was okay, he thought it must be a blood clot and sent us immediately to the ER in New Braunfels. They did an ultrasound test and found a clot behind my knee. I was getting mentally prepared for one shot just in my arm (shots are a HUGE HUGE fear of mine. i get upset like you wouldn't believe when they are just even mentioned.) and thought I could handle the one shot, when the doctor comes in and says actually it'll be a series of shots (I start crying) that I have to administer to myself (crying turned into bawling) and they're in my stomach (I seriously lost it completely.). I knew it wasn't an option and I knew how important they were, but it didn't change how freaked out I was. I think I was upset for a solid two hours. Anyways...

Today I had an appointment with my doctor again and due to my inability to handle shots, he said that my dad could drive me in (fortunately the office is not even 10 minutes from their house) every afternoon for a nurse to administer it, and instead of it being twice a day, he adjusted the dosage to be once a day. So that was at least some good news. We had to wait for the prescriptions to be filled (I'll also be taking a pill for several months it sounds like -the pills are to prevent new/future clots and the shots are to dissolve the current one.) and will be going back around 4 to get my shot for today and will continue to go back everyday this week. On Thursday I'll get my blood retested to see if I need to continue the shots or if I'm okay.

So. That's the latest update with my injury and healing process. Please pray for the clot to not move until it's small and safe AND please pray for me to be able to handle these shots each day. I know that's probably silly, but it is seriously an uncontrollable fear of mine. Thanks everyone for caring!

HEB Incident

So, I think that most people know what happened a few weeks ago… but for those that don’t –or those who don’t know exactly what happened- I thought it was about time I shared.

A little over two weeks ago on the 13th I went to HEB… you know, for groceries, it was a normal morning activity. I parked where I always park if it’s available… right next to the shopping cart corral, because it annoys me to walk far to put my cart away. Anyways. Back in the parking lot after shopping I was loading my groceries into my car in the back passenger seat on the driver’s side with myself wedged between my car and the corral. I just put in a pack of Dr. B’s (cheap version of Dr. Pepper) and was reaching around to grab my next bag from my cart when I heard a really loud screech noise and I turned my head and just remember seeing crazy fast movement coming my direction. The next thing I know I’m behind my car and in the parking lot aisle with people running up to me and some lady yelling all panicked at me to stop trying to get up.

After that I realized what happened. Some old guy must have hit the gas instead of the brakes and came from across the other aisle –extremely fast I might add- and ran into the cart corral, which in turn hit me. So I was not directly hit by the car; however, Cody says I basically was and he pretty much is telling people that I was. The corral was pushed quite a ways across the aisle and flipped around (uphill I might add, told you the guy had a lot of speed going) and somehow managed to hit me without even barely scratching my car. I don’t remember being hit and I don’t remember landing or how I landed or trying to get up initially. One lady was also out at her car at the time and saw the whole thing and she said that it hit me and threw me in the air a bit –which I guess explains why I ended up behind my car and in the aisle.

People starting rushing around and gathering around me and all I noticed was my leg throbbing. I remember looking at it and running my hand over this HUGE dent-like-thing across my leg above my knee. I literally ran my hand over it and felt my fingers dip into the dent and back up. It was weird. That must have been immediately after it happened because not long after once EMS arrived the dent was gone and there was already a massive bruise forming. They were initially worried I’d hit my head because one of the guys there said I was really incoherent at first for a while and said I either passed out or almost did. I do remember at one point this guy was talking to me and asked where I was hurting and told me EMS was on the way, and I (for whatever stupid reason –I’m blaming shock I guess) was really confused and thought I could just drive home and forget about this for the day. I kept saying I was fine and wanted to go home and I remember trying to stand up, and I got up (with help), and this lady had gathered my cart and purse and groceries that had all gone flying, and I tried to hold onto the cart, and then everyone around me talking started to sound really distant and muffled and my vision went all white and I couldn’t see anything and could hardly hear anyone and then I couldn’t stand and I felt like I was falling. I guess that was either the point where I did –or almost did- pass out. I’m pretty sure the guy helped me lay back down and soon EMS was there. They kept insisting I go in the ambulance to the ER and I kept saying I was fine. I was really stubborn. Finally they told me they couldn’t force me to go to the hospital but that they were not going to let me drive home and so I had to call someone. I called the high school and Cody came out and he decided that we should go to the ER and so he took me. They did tons of X-Rays, nothing was broken thankfully. I was just really bruised, sore, and stiff. And I couldn’t put any pressure on my leg without yelling and bawling.

After about 8 or 9 hours in the ER we were able to leave. I left with crutches, pain medicine, and meds for the swelling. (I think the worst part of the ER trip was the IV they had to insert… if you know me, you know needles are my WORST fear. I told them I was fine and wanted to go home when they said they wanted to do an IV. But, that’s a separate long story in itself lol.) Now, to try and be more brief, the following Friday I had a follow-up appointment with our family doctor and I currently have an appointment for tomorrow as well. A little over two weeks later and I’m STILL on the dang crutches. They are getting very annoying. I think I’m close to being off of them though. The swelling in my knee/leg is gone but my ankle/foot is still a little swollen. My foot, calf, and leg are still bruised and sore but getting much better. I can move my leg more but still can’t straighten it all the way and I’m slowly building up being able to put more pressure on it and take a few hobble-steps without the crutches. My back still is sore if I sit too long or stand/move-around on my crutches too long or bend over to pick something up. But again, it’s much better. Since the accident though I’ve pretty much been stuck in the apartment (mostly on the couch). The stairs still kill me and I still can’t try to drive. I actually just called my doctor to set up another follow-up for next week, but while I was on the phone I asked the lady if she happened to know if it was anything to be concerned about that my (bad) leg gets really cold sometimes. Sometimes it’s just slightly cooler than my other leg, but sometimes it feels like ice. She said she’d ask and call back, and when she called back she said my doctor wanted me to come in tomorrow. So that’s the new plan. I guess that means the coldness might be of concern! We’ll see tomorrow I guess.

Anyways! Thank you everyone for thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for my leg to fully heal quickly so I can get off the crutches and be able to walk, run, jump … whatever… sooner rather than later. Also for my back that is still sore sometimes, however my leg is the main issue. And sorry this got so long! I guess I’m not good at sharing a brief recap. Hope everyone’s having a lovely Wednesday!

PS - While yes I was super bruised and stiff and sore (and on crutches), I want to say that I was also extremely blessed and protected. It could have been worse in a hundred different ways. I was very blessed it wasn't anything worse than it was because it very easily could have been.

Morning's Interview

Over the weekend I got an unexpected (but very welcomed) phone call for an interview.  Right at the time I was really getting down about not being hired and accepting the fact that I would sub all year, God provided me encouragement with this possibility.  It was this morning at a middle school in Northside for a 6th and 8th grade Reading position.  While I am still trusting that the Lord has a plan and will provide me the right teaching position in His timing, I'm excited to say at least that it went really well this morning!  I have felt like previous interviews have gone really well... with nothing coming from them.  But then obviously those weren't the jobs God has prepared for me.  I guess I won't know if this one is or isn't for a of couple days ... until I either do get a phone call, or accept that I won't.  It did go really well and I felt like they liked me.  Everyone at the school that I encountered was extremely friendly, even on such a dreary day.  They said they would make a decision within a couple days, and even if this doesn't turn out to be where I end up, at least I am grateful to know that I did my best and to have gotten the opportunity to interview.  That in itself was encouraging at this point.  So.  Thank you all for prayers and support with my seemingly-endless job search!  I'll keep everyone updated with whatever develops through all of this.


PS -Sorry the last post was crazy long!  I didn't realize how lengthy it got until I had published it.  Thanks for sticking with me if you read it to the end!

Nerf Guns & Yahtzee

Well week 2 of school is coming to a close.  Cody is extremely excited for the 3 day weekend!  (I am too; I feel like I haven't seen him all week.)  I think so far (granted this is me judging from how he acts and what he says... not actually being in his head and truly knowing) school is going well for Cody.  There were a couple stressful points this week, but they were dealt with and the small situations improved.  Definitely compared to last year, these two weeks have been good! I know that at least.  It's amazing what just having that first year under your belt does I guess.  While yes he's still working a crazy amount, he's not as constantly stressed or overwhelmed as last year.  He's more confident going into each lesson and each day.  I'm so proud of my husband!  He's doing a wonderful job! -and some of his students have even been telling him that he's a good teacher.  I guess we'll see what week three brings, but for now, it's all going well, and we're both very thankful.

As you can probably guess since I'm writing this new post mid-morning today, I did not get a sub job as I was hoping.  I really hoped that I would today... now that two weeks of school are almost done, and it's a Friday, I thought something would come up. Nope. I did get a call for an afternoon job -but it was bilingual and I had to speak Spanish... and well, I don't.  However, I was slightly encouraged yesterday.  This week a couple days I went out to some schools and put my sub card in lots of teacher mailboxes and then yesterday I compiled lists of teachers from other schools and sent them a brief email introducing myself and saying I'm available as a sub and telling them my qualifications/certifications and such.  I got a call yesterday evening for a sub job next Wednesday from a teacher who read my email; one of the schools is having an in-service day then.  And I got a call later last night, and a call at 6:30 this morning from teachers from the same school asking about the same in-service day.  If only I could sub multiple jobs on the same day!  Oh well.  I was encouraged that I know at least 3 teachers read my email and were willing to use me!  ...I am hoping more than just those three will call eventually lol.  Anyways.  I don't know if that really counts as an update... nothing really new, but that's what's going on with subbing.

Oh, very briefly, a while ago I mentioned I had started working out (haha) and said I hoped sharing it on our blog would keep me motivated to continue... well, it did for about 2 weeks.  And I haven't since.  My 2 week kick was ended during our South Padre trip, and for the sake of honesty and since I did mention it before, I thought I'd just share that, well, it didn't last.  I'm not broken up about it.

-Cooking Experiment: Success or Failure-
While I'm sure this isn't anything new to most people, it was new to me.  This week I made chicken with an Italian Dressing flavoring (thank you to Kari for that idea a while back!).  And it was amazing! -If I do say so myself, actually, Cody said so too!  I didn't cook the chicken in any different way than usual, I just smothered it in Italian Dressing as it cooked, and it turned out awesome. I will absolutely use that to flavor chicken a lot more often.  (I do tend to make chicken a lot.)  This was hands down a success.

I also within the last week made my first double layered round cake (actually I made two back-to-back, but I'm only gonna talk about one, cause the second one didn't get icing).  I know that's probably nothing new or special to most other people as well, but again, it was the first time I'd tried it.  The double layered and round parts were easy enough, however the icing was another story.  First off, I hardly ever make cakes because Cody doesn't really like cake.  Secondly, whenever I do make cake, I don't ice it because he also doesn't like icing.  So.  Needless to say, I'm far from an expert as icing even a regular sheet cake.  This double layered round cake was unexpectedly quite difficult!  Seriously.  I felt ridiculous getting icing everywhere and all over me... I couldn't figure out why it wasn't spreading smoothly as I wanted it to.  I ran out of icing; there were bare patches all over lol.  It was probably the funniest/worst looking cake you'd ever see!  I will say it tasted wonderful though!  Not a show cake by any means, but still delicious.  Unfortunately I'm claiming that as a failure, because I've made cakes before, that was no big deal.  My goal was a pretty and perfect iced double layered round cake... and I failed at making it pretty like I wanted!  That was my main goal with that attempt, and I definitely failed.  I will try again at some point.  I need another birthday for someone who appreciates cake!

Now... to the title of this post.  Recently Cody and I have been on a game kick again.  We go through phases of finding a game we like, playing it every chance we get, and then burning ourselves out on it and not wanting to play that again for a year.  But for now we're still in the 'play every chance we get' phase.  And yes, believe it or not, we're playing Yahtzee!  Also Ultimate Yahtzee, which I'd never heard of before.  It does make the game much more strategic and exciting.  I will also say, the dice absolutely like me better than Cody.  I posted on Facebook a while back that I finally found something I'm better at than him! Sadly it's just a non-skill board game!  We're having lots of fun with it though.  It was a random purchase one day that I forced Cody to go with me to HEB.  Of course it was him, not me, that saw it and grabbed it to add to our mass game collection.  But we are enjoying it a lot, so I'm not really complaining about the impulse buy.

And now to the Nerf guns, which is probably way more exciting to read about than Yahtzee!  This was something we did A LOT last summer, and played again for the first time in a long time this week.  Hopefully (I have a feeling we will) we will start to play this again more often.  So, last summer we bought two Nerf guns at Target, and we said it was the best buy all summer that we made!  Anyways.  Our Nerf gun fights have several varieties of style that we go through.  We do duals, ranging from a full barrel of bullets to just one.  We do minimal forts... where we have only a chair and toss pillow as protection.  And we do fortified forts, which includes the basic chair and pillow, but then adds a bar stool, more pillows, possibly the bench and some couch cushions, and various other things we find and add to our barricades.  Let me tell you, we highly recommend this activity if you your spouse (or just friend I guess) are bored and either happen to have Nerf guns, or have like $10 to go buy some.  After building our forts we proceed to count off and start our fight.  The first person to successfully shoot and hit the other one 5 times wins.  A head (we don't aim for the face though it still accidentally happens) shot counts as 2 hits.  Our rules are that you don't have to stay behind your fort, if you want to charge the other person's fort you can... it's just very risky.  Unless they happen to be out of bullets, and you know it, which then makes it an easy and swift victory.  Anyways!  That's something we really enjoy and have recently rediscovered!  Again, we highly recommend it to other couples who find themselves bored mid-afternoon or are just looking for something fun to do together.  Seriously.  It's way fun.  You should go buy Nerf guns and try it out.

I guess that's it!  I'm off to go eat breakfast/lunch and start being productive for the day.  Thanks for reading!