Gil was sick. It was heartbreaking when they'd found out. You're not supposed to die when you're 54. It was hard knowing he wouldn't meet his grandchildren, and hard leaving his wife. He'd finished the race and fought the good fight. Goodbye pain. God will welcome him at the gates.
I dedicate this to Dean Anderson
I saw this "mini-saga" idea in a book i'm reading and it's something I wanted to try. Not sure how it compares to others . . . I don't think I'd enter it into a contest or anything. Dean passed away September 5th. He was the father of a dear friend of mine from high school. My heart is broken for their family. Please pray for healing and comfort for them and that they might find peace. I have no idea what they are going through and hopefully won't find out. I have a lot of feelings running through me right now. It's been a seriously emotional weekend.
Carrie would have been 40 this past Friday, September 6th. Aunt Barb, Uncle Jim, Marci, Mark, Mom, Dad and myself went out to dinner to celebrate. It was right after Dean's visitation. We told stories, and laughed a lot. There was a couple seconds that got kind of sad, but Mark brought us back!
Dean's funeral was Saturday morning and it was a very nice service.
Again, it was an emotional weekend and recalling all of this is emotional so I'll stop there. Today has been a good day, very productive. I'm hoping for the rest of the week to go the same.
And, scene
Monday, September 9, 2013
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Babysitting/Journey/Family/Books/More Family
I started my babysitting job last Thursday (15th). It's been pretty good so far. I drive my car to the family's house. There I park my car and take theirs to the school to pick up the girls. I have to be there by 2:45ish so I'm not too far back in the car line. The girls climb in and chatter all the way home about their day. We have a snack, chat some more and then do something fun, like crafting or play a game. This week they'll probably have homework so we might not have as much time to do fun things :(
The most amazingist concert happened on Friday (16th) and I was able to be a part of it all. Journey came to Lampe, MO. It all began (for me) at 8:10 when the stage lit up and "Worlds Apart" was performed, which was then followed by "Anyway You Want It," "Don't Stop Believing," "Wheel in the Sky" and "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" and other great hits. I sat with Grace and mom and dad sat a few rows in front of us. We sang and danced and laughed and it was great. Dad and Grace had arrived earlier in the day so they saw the cover band play and Starship. Mom and I, however, missed all that because I was unable to leave until 6pm and mom was sweet enough to wait for me. We got caught in crazy traffic on the way there. We sat in traffic for an HOUR waiting to park. It was insane!!! And then on the way out, we arrived back at the parking lot at 10:45 and did not arrive at our lake house until 1:00am. That is 3 hours and 15 minutes of traffic I endured to hear Journey. I do not regret a moment of it though because it was JOURNEY. I would have endured 3 hours and 30 minutes just to see them.
Kate and her little minions will be arriving on Thursday of this week and I am so excited to see them. I am still assembling Lucy's birthday present . . . hopefully I will finish in time. I'm making her a little To-Go beauty kit with fake make up and play hair accessories. I've cleaned out some of my old make up holders and painted them with fingernail polish so it looks real (to a two year old, that is). Hoping she likes it. Max is getting so chunky! I love it. He was so skinny when he was born, and I was like "umm, no sir, you need to be fatter. Your sister was a chuck and she was cute so put on some weight please." He's been pounding the breast milk (all for my benefit I'm sure) and he's HUGE!!! I can't wait to squeeze all of his chunkiness!
Grace went back to college yesterday and I'm sad that she'll be away. I know she'll be back for the next couple of weekends, but it's definitely going to be weird without her here. I've never lived with my parents without a sibling before. I'm the middle child. That's the one thing middle children have going for them. No, I'm just joking. It' s just going to be different.
I've been reading a lot more lately and it's been wonderful. I read Diane Keaton's memoir and really liked it a lot. It was definitely surprising, but in a good way. I guess I didn't realize how much I didn't know about her and her career. The one thing she's been known for in my life is Father of the Bride and she does not even mention that in her book. Kind of ironic huh? She wrote a lot about her mother. She said that her mom was one of the main things that inspired her to write a book. Her mother believed that everyone ought to write a memoir. I'm not sure if I agree. I'm going back and forth. What if I were to write a memoir? I have no idea what I would say. Which childhood stories would I pick? And I don't know about everyone else, but my memories are really foggy. Sometimes it seems like whenever I read someone's memoir they are able to clearly write out a lot of their childhood memories and analyze why they are significant. ??? Seriously? I maybe have 5 really CLEAR memories that could be turned into paragraphs. Other than that I have a few sentences, at best. And who would read it? Hopefully I have a few people in my life who would be interested, but in the big picture, what's the point? Would it be considered cocky to even write one in the first place, thinking that my life could actually interest or entertain anyone? (I guess it's a bit presumptuous to be writing this blog too, who says that what I have to say is worthy of being read?) That's just me though. I can think of dozens of people I would like to read about. So maybe her mom was half right. There is something to be said of having your story written down, though. Almost like your life has the opportunity to live on after you. Writing something down is very magical. Everyone should share their magic if they want to I suppose. Whew, let's swim out of the deep end. I'm getting a little winded.
I just finished Girls In White Dresses by Jennifer Close and it was great! I've never read anything by her before, but I'd read another one, that's for sure. It has a few different points of view. Some are re-visited and some aren't. All the stories intertwine and all the girls are friends. Some get married early and some don't get married at all. They're all on different paths and end up with completely different lives than they ever expected to have. They drink, cry, laugh, cuss, sleep with different guys, search for jobs, quit jobs, start new jobs, struggle with their weight and self-confidence, and say things that everyone else thinks but won't say. The characters are extremely easy to relate to, even if you've never lived in NY, or had multiple boyfriends or done half of the things in the book. For some reason I could relate. That was refreshing. It was a fun and quick read.
Next, I plan on reading Women Who Run With the Wolves. I'll let you know how it goes.
Pete played in a golf tournament this weekend (sat) and had a good time. It was a scramble and his team scored 2 over par. He said it was an average score. He then went bowling on Saturday evening and got in so late he didn't even call me to say goodnight :( I'm still recovering ;) He did his laundry this morning (I think he has un-officially declared Sunday his laundry day). His room is hot, he says. I think he's going to buy a fan sometime this week.
Prime is still loving MO way better than NC. We are trying this new brushing technique someone told my dad about. We are brushing him every day for a solid week. Then we'll brush him every other day the next week. Then, apparently, he won't shed as much and we'll just be able to brush him once a week. . . sounds crazy, but I'm playing along.
Adieu
Don't really have time/desire to proof tonight. Sorry for the mistakes! I'm only human.
The most amazingist concert happened on Friday (16th) and I was able to be a part of it all. Journey came to Lampe, MO. It all began (for me) at 8:10 when the stage lit up and "Worlds Apart" was performed, which was then followed by "Anyway You Want It," "Don't Stop Believing," "Wheel in the Sky" and "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" and other great hits. I sat with Grace and mom and dad sat a few rows in front of us. We sang and danced and laughed and it was great. Dad and Grace had arrived earlier in the day so they saw the cover band play and Starship. Mom and I, however, missed all that because I was unable to leave until 6pm and mom was sweet enough to wait for me. We got caught in crazy traffic on the way there. We sat in traffic for an HOUR waiting to park. It was insane!!! And then on the way out, we arrived back at the parking lot at 10:45 and did not arrive at our lake house until 1:00am. That is 3 hours and 15 minutes of traffic I endured to hear Journey. I do not regret a moment of it though because it was JOURNEY. I would have endured 3 hours and 30 minutes just to see them.
Kate and her little minions will be arriving on Thursday of this week and I am so excited to see them. I am still assembling Lucy's birthday present . . . hopefully I will finish in time. I'm making her a little To-Go beauty kit with fake make up and play hair accessories. I've cleaned out some of my old make up holders and painted them with fingernail polish so it looks real (to a two year old, that is). Hoping she likes it. Max is getting so chunky! I love it. He was so skinny when he was born, and I was like "umm, no sir, you need to be fatter. Your sister was a chuck and she was cute so put on some weight please." He's been pounding the breast milk (all for my benefit I'm sure) and he's HUGE!!! I can't wait to squeeze all of his chunkiness!
Grace went back to college yesterday and I'm sad that she'll be away. I know she'll be back for the next couple of weekends, but it's definitely going to be weird without her here. I've never lived with my parents without a sibling before. I'm the middle child. That's the one thing middle children have going for them. No, I'm just joking. It' s just going to be different.
I've been reading a lot more lately and it's been wonderful. I read Diane Keaton's memoir and really liked it a lot. It was definitely surprising, but in a good way. I guess I didn't realize how much I didn't know about her and her career. The one thing she's been known for in my life is Father of the Bride and she does not even mention that in her book. Kind of ironic huh? She wrote a lot about her mother. She said that her mom was one of the main things that inspired her to write a book. Her mother believed that everyone ought to write a memoir. I'm not sure if I agree. I'm going back and forth. What if I were to write a memoir? I have no idea what I would say. Which childhood stories would I pick? And I don't know about everyone else, but my memories are really foggy. Sometimes it seems like whenever I read someone's memoir they are able to clearly write out a lot of their childhood memories and analyze why they are significant. ??? Seriously? I maybe have 5 really CLEAR memories that could be turned into paragraphs. Other than that I have a few sentences, at best. And who would read it? Hopefully I have a few people in my life who would be interested, but in the big picture, what's the point? Would it be considered cocky to even write one in the first place, thinking that my life could actually interest or entertain anyone? (I guess it's a bit presumptuous to be writing this blog too, who says that what I have to say is worthy of being read?) That's just me though. I can think of dozens of people I would like to read about. So maybe her mom was half right. There is something to be said of having your story written down, though. Almost like your life has the opportunity to live on after you. Writing something down is very magical. Everyone should share their magic if they want to I suppose. Whew, let's swim out of the deep end. I'm getting a little winded.
I just finished Girls In White Dresses by Jennifer Close and it was great! I've never read anything by her before, but I'd read another one, that's for sure. It has a few different points of view. Some are re-visited and some aren't. All the stories intertwine and all the girls are friends. Some get married early and some don't get married at all. They're all on different paths and end up with completely different lives than they ever expected to have. They drink, cry, laugh, cuss, sleep with different guys, search for jobs, quit jobs, start new jobs, struggle with their weight and self-confidence, and say things that everyone else thinks but won't say. The characters are extremely easy to relate to, even if you've never lived in NY, or had multiple boyfriends or done half of the things in the book. For some reason I could relate. That was refreshing. It was a fun and quick read.
Next, I plan on reading Women Who Run With the Wolves. I'll let you know how it goes.
Pete played in a golf tournament this weekend (sat) and had a good time. It was a scramble and his team scored 2 over par. He said it was an average score. He then went bowling on Saturday evening and got in so late he didn't even call me to say goodnight :( I'm still recovering ;) He did his laundry this morning (I think he has un-officially declared Sunday his laundry day). His room is hot, he says. I think he's going to buy a fan sometime this week.
Prime is still loving MO way better than NC. We are trying this new brushing technique someone told my dad about. We are brushing him every day for a solid week. Then we'll brush him every other day the next week. Then, apparently, he won't shed as much and we'll just be able to brush him once a week. . . sounds crazy, but I'm playing along.
Adieu
Don't really have time/desire to proof tonight. Sorry for the mistakes! I'm only human.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Now I'm In MO
Yep. I'm here in good ole MO while my hubby is in Brunswick, GA doing his training stuff for his job. We got all moved out of our house and everything into storage. It was not easy. It was actually more of a nightmare than the one I had last night about a cat clawing at my face, but who wants to dwell on the past?! Not moi! Pete and I got to come home for a long time and see family before he left and that was fun. We spent a few days on Amelia Island, FL at Fernindina beach. We had a really swell time. I'm much tanner than I was, and so is Pete. I took a one way flight to Branson, MO from Jacksonville, FL yesterday. Pete and I said our sad goodbye yesterday morning at 7:00am ET. Tears were shed, mascara ran (why I put it on that early I can't quite recall) and the world has continued to spin. I'm looking forward to my adventure here in Springfield and reconnecting with some old friends! I'll keep you posted.
Bye
Bye
Monday, July 8, 2013
No Problem
Boy, I never knew our life could be so . . . eventful! A few hours after I posted on the 4th a big ole tree uprooted in our front yard. I thought it was fireworks and Pete thought it was a tree and it was totally a massive tree. Not only one tree. It fell it hit another tree. Our driveway and the road that curves right infront of our house was blocked by a sea of limbs. This was about 10:30pm mind you. We went outside to check it out and saw all the blockage and got really excited. We didn't even notice that the road was blocked until we saw headlights stopped through the limbs. I went back inside and called the buncombe county sheriff's office, who then transfered me to the fire department. Pete stayed outside to signal cars who were coming from the opposite direction. The fire department worked until early in the morning clearing the road. They did a great job with a chainsaw and their arm guns. It was a big A** tree! I bet they slept well when they went to bed.
The next day our landlord called a tree service and they were able to clean up a bit more, though still not all of the debris (because their equipment is not big enough to handle this tree). This is a picture.
The next day our landlord called a tree service and they were able to clean up a bit more, though still not all of the debris (because their equipment is not big enough to handle this tree). This is a picture.
You might notice here on the left side of the picture that there is another tree leaning to the left. Yes. This tree and the one that fell were attached. So naturally it is unstable and it needs to be taken down because it could fall at any moment. At this point we've already reserved a uhaul truck to move all our big furniture on Tuesday morning, AND our rental insurance has lapsed because I forgot to pay it a month and a half ago. No problem.
I'm going to take a second to add that we've received a butt load of rain at this point. That's why we're having this problem in the first place. There is flooding all over the county, roads closing and washing away. Ya, it's been a pretty awesome weekend at this point. Happy B-day 'Merica! Too many cloudy rainy days makes me depressed . . . so I'm depressed right now.
Now with the unstable tree hanging over the house our landlord suggests (on Sat night) that we might want to stay in a hotel until it can be removed (we're in the middle of packing up our house, moving everything to storage and now we need to find a cheap close by hotel. No problem). We find a hotel and I move all our stuff on Sunday after work.
 |
| Prime chillin on the king hotel bed. |
These events lead us up to today, Monday.
Pete is off and I am working until 5pm. He is in charge of renewing our rental insurance, trying to get all of his work gear in order for FLETC and staging some of our furniture so it's easy to move Tues morning. The day starts off with him arriving home and Prime throwing up on the carpet (one of the two we have in our house full of tile and laminent). We're pretty sure he's just upset with all the moving and packing and now the hotel room stay that he throws up. Nasty.
A few hours later, he informs me that some of his travel paperwork is messed up. No Problem.
*the insurance does get renewed* - this is one of the two positive things that happen today
On my lunch break I decided to check my email and our landlord had informed us that the tree will be taken down Tuesday morning, but unfortunately we can't be anywhere near the house when they are cutting it down in case something goes wrong. (remember the uhaul truck) Also, his insurance won't cover the cost of our hotel stay. No Problem.
*he does say he'll compensate by not charging us for the month of July* - this is the second positive thing that happens today.
Pete has to get the truck pickup time pushed back which luckily he does so without them charging us an arm and a leg. We just have to hope they fall the tree before noon . . . we'll see.
After I got off work we went to the storage unit and double checked some stuff. That was cool.
By this time it's 7:00pm. We're tired, stressed, hungry and we have Prime because we very well can't leave him at home for the tree to fall on him, and we're not allowed to leave him unattended in the hotel room. It's a very mild evening . . . say mid-seventies. So we drove around for a while throwing around ideas for dinner and ended up deciding on Wild Wing Cafe. We rolled down the windows and headed inside for a quick dinner. It was our first time and we're happy to report that everything was great!
They had baseball games on all of their 12,000 televisions, the wings were great, the ribs were superb, my shrimp was delectable and the water was cool and refreshing. We walked out feeling a bit better about life. This was short lived...
We walked out to the parking lot only to see that SOMEONE HAD CALLED ANIMAL CONTROL ON US!!!!!!!! Their outside patio seating overlooks the parking lot. A small crowd had formed outside the front door and everyone was watching. Talk about AwKwArD!!! For those of you who know us, our dog in not mistreated. We spoil him rotten. He is our baby. I started freaking out thinking the guy was going to take Prime away and we'd never see him again. Plus I hated everyone watching. I do not like to be the center of attention! I could never be famous, though I've had many offers.
Anyway, the animal control guy was super nice. He talked to us a bit. He mentioned that there are some people that just sit and wait for someone to leave their dog in a car and immediately call animal control. As a result they respond to between 4-6 calls like ours a day. Seriously? Who has nothing better to do than tattle on people? I do not want their life. He said everything was fine and dandy and left without giving us a ticket or a warning. Animal cruelty? yep. Probably.
So naturally we stopped for ice cream on the way home so we could eat our feelings. They gave us a small cup for Prime which he downed in 2 seconds (someone call animal control).
I really hope you didn't read this whole post cuz it's scooper long. In fact, so long that I have no energy to go back and proofread. Sorry for the typos and improper grammer. This was mostly just for my benefit. I want to be able to reread this one day and remember how awesome this 4th of July weekend was.
Over and outta here.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Re-Vamped!!!
I've not been on this blog in quite sometime! Not really sure what spurred me to return...oh wait yes I do. I got on my computer to check our CC balance (never fun) I quickly left that page so naturally I went to fb. After I checked a few things out on the ole news feed, I started lookin through all my bookmarks and that's when I saw the "Our Blog" one. I clicked on it and was like "yuk!" So I changed a few things.
It feels great! I never really loved our old title (Sometimes Runners, Always Walkers), but Pete thought of it and wanted to do something "clever" with our last name. We used it for a while, but I just don't think it suits us. He did take an interest and helped out so I am super grateful for that, definitely won't complain. I've been reading a lot more blogs lately and I really like how everyone's title reflects what they write about. So I was trying really hard to figure out something clever, but then I thought "what will I be writing about?" I can't commit to a recipe blog, or sewing because let's face it...I'm just not that diligent. "I know! I'll write about our life. Like last time. It'll be soo great and everyone will love it!" So "Walker Stuff" was born. I'm hoping that if I can get into the habit of blogging then I'll figure out something great to actually blog about. Till then...
I'll be doing my best to blog about . . . stuff. Right now we're in a scooper great place in our life where Pete's getting ready to move to Georgia for training for his work and I'm getting ready to move back to MO with my fam and our pup. Yep, we're splitting ways and it's gonna be awesome! No seeing each other every day, kissing each other good morning and good night (Yuck!). No snuggling or laughing at each other's silly voices we like to make. It's finally over for 7 whole months! Won't you miss it you ask? No Sirreee! We both knew that marriage would be tough, and it has been, but we also knew that Pete would for sure be going away to do this FLETC thing so we've just been waiting and anticipating the time apart. Longest 3.5 years EVER!!!
Sarcasm? yeper doodles. I'll miss him a little bit.
Fun fact about me . . . I am very easily distracted. I arrived home around 3:30pm this July 4th and commenced packing up some more of our belongings (we're putting everything we own into a 10x15 storage unit). I've also changed the sheets on our bed, vacuumed, opened a hard cider to quench my thirst (cuz who needs water really?), played with Optimus Prime, searched high and low and finally found the extension to my Mac power cord! Started some laundry, changed our address with the USPS, and now am re-vamping this blog. These are all things that did need to get done, but who the heck jumps from one thing to the other like that with no rhyme or reason? Moi! This is one of the things about me that drives Pete crazy (when he's here to witness them).
Anywho. I should probably get back to all the other stuff that I was doing. Plus, I might want to think about dinner...maybe. It was great posting again! I look forward to tickling the keyboard again soon.
over and out
It feels great! I never really loved our old title (Sometimes Runners, Always Walkers), but Pete thought of it and wanted to do something "clever" with our last name. We used it for a while, but I just don't think it suits us. He did take an interest and helped out so I am super grateful for that, definitely won't complain. I've been reading a lot more blogs lately and I really like how everyone's title reflects what they write about. So I was trying really hard to figure out something clever, but then I thought "what will I be writing about?" I can't commit to a recipe blog, or sewing because let's face it...I'm just not that diligent. "I know! I'll write about our life. Like last time. It'll be soo great and everyone will love it!" So "Walker Stuff" was born. I'm hoping that if I can get into the habit of blogging then I'll figure out something great to actually blog about. Till then...
I'll be doing my best to blog about . . . stuff. Right now we're in a scooper great place in our life where Pete's getting ready to move to Georgia for training for his work and I'm getting ready to move back to MO with my fam and our pup. Yep, we're splitting ways and it's gonna be awesome! No seeing each other every day, kissing each other good morning and good night (Yuck!). No snuggling or laughing at each other's silly voices we like to make. It's finally over for 7 whole months! Won't you miss it you ask? No Sirreee! We both knew that marriage would be tough, and it has been, but we also knew that Pete would for sure be going away to do this FLETC thing so we've just been waiting and anticipating the time apart. Longest 3.5 years EVER!!!
Sarcasm? yeper doodles. I'll miss him a little bit.
Fun fact about me . . . I am very easily distracted. I arrived home around 3:30pm this July 4th and commenced packing up some more of our belongings (we're putting everything we own into a 10x15 storage unit). I've also changed the sheets on our bed, vacuumed, opened a hard cider to quench my thirst (cuz who needs water really?), played with Optimus Prime, searched high and low and finally found the extension to my Mac power cord! Started some laundry, changed our address with the USPS, and now am re-vamping this blog. These are all things that did need to get done, but who the heck jumps from one thing to the other like that with no rhyme or reason? Moi! This is one of the things about me that drives Pete crazy (when he's here to witness them).
Anywho. I should probably get back to all the other stuff that I was doing. Plus, I might want to think about dinner...maybe. It was great posting again! I look forward to tickling the keyboard again soon.
over and out
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
It's been a while since . . .
Time has really gotten away from me. It truly has been a whirlwind. I hardly remember anything that happened in October except that Pete and I were both so busy at work. Him with the rut and me being at Biltmore and October means preparing for Christmas. Once November hit it was full on Christmas until Jan 1. The longest Christmas season EVER! And it wasn't all pine and poinsettias either. It seemed the closer to Christmas it got, the more rude and crazy everyone became. I know this isn't a new thing. I definitely have noticed it before, but never in this magnitude. Anyway, I do not care to re-live the Biltmore Christmas season so, moving on.
We drove home in September because Kate and Will brought Lucy to meet the family. That was the first time we met her. I held her as much as I possibly could. She slept on me a lot. We saw some other family - both sides - it was great to see everyone, but it was just a crazy trip. When we got home we were exhausted and completely drained. We have come to the decision that the next time we go home we are going to plan a LOT better!
I went to two different Halloween parities in October. I dressed up as a rag doll at one and a hobo at the other. They were both really fun. Great eats and fun company. My 24th birthday was one to remember, but I can't quite recall the details.
Pete's parents came to visit in November right after Thanksgiving in order to celebrate Thanksmas. It was so great to see some family around the holidays because we didn't see anymore until January. We went grocery shopping and cooked up our own feast for four and had such a good time! We actually completed all of our Christmas shopping before December so we could send all the Walker gifts back with them. I was pretty proud of us . . . although I do remember not wrapping everything until the hour we decided to exchange gifts :) Oh how we love to procrastinate.
December was a blurr.
As soon as January hit everything really slowed down for me, which made it slow down for both of us. My family came to visit us toward the end of the month. Will, Kate & Lucy flew in. They stayed for almost a whole week. My parents and Grace drove and they only got to stay for the weekend, but it was great to have everyone together even if it was for just a couple days. We celebrated Christmas while they were here. Of course that means everyone watched us open presents :)
It is now February 28th so Prime had his 1 year Birthday and we had our 2nd year anniversary yesterday. We're planning a little weekend getaway in March (during the week). We'll be heading down to Beaufort, SC and camping for two nights on Hunting Island State Park. Our campsite has a view of the beach (that's what it looks like on the map anyway, I guess we'll see when we get there). We're excited to use all the new camping gear we've acquired this last year, eat seafood, and explore an area we've never been to before! Dogs are allowed, but I think we'll be leaving Prime behind with a friend so we have more freedom and no worries. I will miss him though. There's the quick update. I know I left loads out, but I've said before I don't have the best memory so until I get better at blogging right after an event, it'll have to do!
Until next time (who knows when it'll be!)
We drove home in September because Kate and Will brought Lucy to meet the family. That was the first time we met her. I held her as much as I possibly could. She slept on me a lot. We saw some other family - both sides - it was great to see everyone, but it was just a crazy trip. When we got home we were exhausted and completely drained. We have come to the decision that the next time we go home we are going to plan a LOT better!
I went to two different Halloween parities in October. I dressed up as a rag doll at one and a hobo at the other. They were both really fun. Great eats and fun company. My 24th birthday was one to remember, but I can't quite recall the details.
Pete's parents came to visit in November right after Thanksgiving in order to celebrate Thanksmas. It was so great to see some family around the holidays because we didn't see anymore until January. We went grocery shopping and cooked up our own feast for four and had such a good time! We actually completed all of our Christmas shopping before December so we could send all the Walker gifts back with them. I was pretty proud of us . . . although I do remember not wrapping everything until the hour we decided to exchange gifts :) Oh how we love to procrastinate.
December was a blurr.
As soon as January hit everything really slowed down for me, which made it slow down for both of us. My family came to visit us toward the end of the month. Will, Kate & Lucy flew in. They stayed for almost a whole week. My parents and Grace drove and they only got to stay for the weekend, but it was great to have everyone together even if it was for just a couple days. We celebrated Christmas while they were here. Of course that means everyone watched us open presents :)
It is now February 28th so Prime had his 1 year Birthday and we had our 2nd year anniversary yesterday. We're planning a little weekend getaway in March (during the week). We'll be heading down to Beaufort, SC and camping for two nights on Hunting Island State Park. Our campsite has a view of the beach (that's what it looks like on the map anyway, I guess we'll see when we get there). We're excited to use all the new camping gear we've acquired this last year, eat seafood, and explore an area we've never been to before! Dogs are allowed, but I think we'll be leaving Prime behind with a friend so we have more freedom and no worries. I will miss him though. There's the quick update. I know I left loads out, but I've said before I don't have the best memory so until I get better at blogging right after an event, it'll have to do!
Until next time (who knows when it'll be!)
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Bristol Drag Racing
So this last June Peter and I ventured to Bristol Tennessee with Pete's parents to see the Drag Races. We all had a great time. I know this is a late posting, but I've been waiting for Pete to post because he knows a lot more about it than I do. However, he's not really on the ball so I figured I would go ahead and write it before we start forgetting details. First, here are just a few of the pictures we took.
Getting ready to go in the first day. We have all our O'Reilly gear on and we're ready to go!
Pete met his favorite driver and got an autograph. Too bad his eyes are closed.
This is when they spin the tires before the actual race. Sorry I don't know the correct terminology for this.
So true.
Well, we got there on Saturday and were able to see the pro stock, funny car races, and others that I do not, at this time, know what they're called. We also walked around and visited many different pits (?) Where they work on the cars. It was extremely loud and very exciting. It was all a new experience for Cindy and me so the men were very helpful and explained everything to us. There was a rain delay, but we still had fun hanging out together during that time. We first stood under the bleachers then moved to the tunnel. We retired to our hotel Saturday night after a delicious dinner at Chili's (a tradition that the guys let us ladies participate in) and went to bed anxiously awaiting the Sunday finals. However, we were destined to never return to the track. We woke to a stormy rainy day. Watching the weather channel we saw that the rain was not expected to lift anytime soon so then we decided to explore the rest of the town and surrounding area until we had to make the decision whether to stay or go back home. It was at a Crystal Burger in Virginia that we finally made the decision to head back to Asheville. Approximately an hour after we arrived back home and were happily exploring a local antique market we saw that the rain had cleared and the track was being prepared to race on. We were all totally bummed so we went back to the house and watched the finals that we had tickets for on tv. Overall it was a great weekend and we made lots of fun memories together!
Well, we got there on Saturday and were able to see the pro stock, funny car races, and others that I do not, at this time, know what they're called. We also walked around and visited many different pits (?) Where they work on the cars. It was extremely loud and very exciting. It was all a new experience for Cindy and me so the men were very helpful and explained everything to us. There was a rain delay, but we still had fun hanging out together during that time. We first stood under the bleachers then moved to the tunnel. We retired to our hotel Saturday night after a delicious dinner at Chili's (a tradition that the guys let us ladies participate in) and went to bed anxiously awaiting the Sunday finals. However, we were destined to never return to the track. We woke to a stormy rainy day. Watching the weather channel we saw that the rain was not expected to lift anytime soon so then we decided to explore the rest of the town and surrounding area until we had to make the decision whether to stay or go back home. It was at a Crystal Burger in Virginia that we finally made the decision to head back to Asheville. Approximately an hour after we arrived back home and were happily exploring a local antique market we saw that the rain had cleared and the track was being prepared to race on. We were all totally bummed so we went back to the house and watched the finals that we had tickets for on tv. Overall it was a great weekend and we made lots of fun memories together!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Lucy Eleanor Richardson
Born August 4, 2011 at 6:52am central time. She was 9lbs 8oz and just the cutest baby girl ever! Pete and I are so proud and excited. We have two wonderful nephews, that we love so much and now we have a niece too! We've not seen her in person yet, but we have pictures and we've also skyped with Kate & Will so we got to see her over the internet. It was so good to see her, but it was almost like a tease too. She was saying "Ya, aren't I so cute? Here I am, but you can't hold me!" We can't wait to meet her in person!
We're hoping to take a trip in September to Springfield when Kate and Will travel there to show her off to the families. Pete has requested the leave, but it hasn't been denied or approved yet. Hopefully we'll find out before Pete's next off days. We'll probably drive and take Prime instead of fly and board him. We won't have as much time that way, but it's not that much of a difference and it will be cheaper and better for the bank ;) It will be Prime's first big car trip. We're thinking of having him ride in the back seat in his cage so hopefully he sleeps a majority of the way, but we'll see. He has a way of changing our plans if they don't seem to in accordance with what he wants. We'll try and stand firm though!
We're hoping to take a trip in September to Springfield when Kate and Will travel there to show her off to the families. Pete has requested the leave, but it hasn't been denied or approved yet. Hopefully we'll find out before Pete's next off days. We'll probably drive and take Prime instead of fly and board him. We won't have as much time that way, but it's not that much of a difference and it will be cheaper and better for the bank ;) It will be Prime's first big car trip. We're thinking of having him ride in the back seat in his cage so hopefully he sleeps a majority of the way, but we'll see. He has a way of changing our plans if they don't seem to in accordance with what he wants. We'll try and stand firm though!
Megan's first retail job . . . and more :)
Well, I have officially become a proud employee of Old Navy. I completed my 9 hour day of training and they threw me out on the floor to see what I learned. Not to toot my own horn, but I am catching on rather quickly! I am now able to work in the fitting room, on the register and on the floor doing "RAD," which basically means making sure everything is sized and folded all nice on the tables and everything that is hanging is hung correctly. I can also run "go backs" pretty well too, which is taking all the clothes that people have tried on in the fitting room back out onto the floor and putting them in their respective places. It's nothing spectacular, but it is a job and I'm thrilled to be earning money and contributing to our family. It has also been great for Pete too because now he doesn't have as much pressure. It's been a pretty good week. I've settled in and am really looking forward to getting better and better at my new job!
Prime got fixed in July and recovered swimmingly from his surgery. We were so glad nothing went wrong. We had hoped, however, that after the surgery he might calm down a little. Ya know, not be as crazy ALL the time. That, of course, did not happen. About 3 hours after we got home from the vet he was acting like nothing even happened. Oh well, I guess it will be a while yet until our very young puppy starts acting a little more mature. That's ok though. I'm sure if he had settled down I would be wishing he were more puppy-ish :)
Pete and I have officially joined our local YMCA!!! We LOVE it and love going to work out. We're still working on our schedules, and figuring out when we can go, but for the most part we're pretty regular. Today we did a fun little workout that is going to leave us both pretty sore in the legs!
We're looking forward to becoming loyal members!
~ Megan
Prime got fixed in July and recovered swimmingly from his surgery. We were so glad nothing went wrong. We had hoped, however, that after the surgery he might calm down a little. Ya know, not be as crazy ALL the time. That, of course, did not happen. About 3 hours after we got home from the vet he was acting like nothing even happened. Oh well, I guess it will be a while yet until our very young puppy starts acting a little more mature. That's ok though. I'm sure if he had settled down I would be wishing he were more puppy-ish :)
Pete and I have officially joined our local YMCA!!! We LOVE it and love going to work out. We're still working on our schedules, and figuring out when we can go, but for the most part we're pretty regular. Today we did a fun little workout that is going to leave us both pretty sore in the legs!
We're looking forward to becoming loyal members!
~ Megan
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Dog Toys
We have had multiple conversations about what sort of dog toys we should buy for our teething puppy. We've bought rubber Kong bones, ropes, tennis balls and stuffed animals of all different materials. Prime doesn't really chew on the rubber bone, he loves tennis balls when we throw them for him (but only inside), he destroyed one of his rope toys and is working on the other and he has torn up at least 3 stuffed toys. I like to keep buying the animals because they're cute, but they just don't last long. We've also discovered that he loves plastic bottles. They're the cheapest toys we've found and he absolutely loves them!
So every time we go into PetSmart we always end up buying a new toy. Today we walked out with another stuffed toy, but it's like the one he had when he was a little puppy. We called it his "green monster" and it actually lasted a couple of months. We bought a new red one because they were only $2 with our pet perks card and I'm really hoping that he doesn't tear through it as quick as he has the last two. So far he's being really good with it. He is mostly just carrying it around in his mouth and making it squeak. I guess we'll see, but I'll never hear the end of it if the "red monster" doesn't at least last a week.
~ Megan
So every time we go into PetSmart we always end up buying a new toy. Today we walked out with another stuffed toy, but it's like the one he had when he was a little puppy. We called it his "green monster" and it actually lasted a couple of months. We bought a new red one because they were only $2 with our pet perks card and I'm really hoping that he doesn't tear through it as quick as he has the last two. So far he's being really good with it. He is mostly just carrying it around in his mouth and making it squeak. I guess we'll see, but I'll never hear the end of it if the "red monster" doesn't at least last a week.
~ Megan
Friday, June 10, 2011
Making a House a Home
We've officially moved! All of our belongings are either put away where they belong, or shoved in one of the few storage spaces we have. Our place now is about the same size as our old one, but we have a lot less storage. It has been great for us because it's making us go through everything we have and decide if we really want to keep it or give it away (we are purging!). We've already loaded up the back of my car once and taken a load to the Salvation Army and we haven't even gone through everything yet. I also took a load of books to a used book store and got $55 worth of credit. If you know me then you know how excited I am about 55 free dollars to a book store!! It was so hard going through my books and choosing which ones to get rid of. But it was all worth it when I knew I'd be able to get new ones that I haven't read before. This is not really the attitude I should have. We're not getting rid of stuff to make room for new stuff, but they are books so I have to make an exception!
Work at The Swag has been really slow lately. I only work one day this week. Which is great for getting the house in order, but awful at the same time because moving is very expensive and we need some more money! I've applied at a few other places a bit closer to home so hopefully some changes will be made soon. Also, Pete's parents are coming in about a week and my goal would be to have the house in a presentable state. At least I know I'll have plenty of time this week ;)
~ Megan
Work at The Swag has been really slow lately. I only work one day this week. Which is great for getting the house in order, but awful at the same time because moving is very expensive and we need some more money! I've applied at a few other places a bit closer to home so hopefully some changes will be made soon. Also, Pete's parents are coming in about a week and my goal would be to have the house in a presentable state. At least I know I'll have plenty of time this week ;)
~ Megan
Monday, May 30, 2011
Joel Osteen
Anyway, I got home from work last night and was starting to pack a few boxes when Michelle from dispatch called and said Pete would be home late (the night before he had been out till 3am so that's what I was expecting) So I packed for about 1.5 hours and then called it quits. I thought I might be able to wait up for Pete though, so I sat down and turned on the tv to watch whatever was on HDTV (my new fav channel). Well it was Holmes Inspection which is my least favorite show plus I was exhausted so I started searching for something a bit more entertaining and gripping.
When I got to ABC family I saw Joel Osteen was on and since I'd never watched him or read his books (I've only ever heard things about him) I thought I'd see what he was speaking about. I had only watched about 5 min before I was in tears. I truly cannot believe what this man is doing to the gospel. It broke my heart to see him standing before thousands of people and leading them astray. He was talking about building your inner circle, telling people to only surround themselves with others who will lift them up and make them a better person and help them pursue their dreams. To cast off those who are lazy, negative and bad influences and love them from a distance because that's what Jesus did. If this were truly the case then we would all be condemned to hell because Jesus would never have saved us. He would never have surrounded himself with the disciples. I sat on my couch at 12:45 and wept because I heard the devil preaching the gospel in his own way.
This has been on my mind a lot today so I thought I'd write about it. I've been praying about it too, but I am unsure what to say. Since I don't know a lot about Joel Osteen I'm not sure if he truly believes what he is preaching, and if that's the case I pray that the truth will be revealed to him. Or if he just likes the fame and knows that what he is doing is wrong. If that's the case I can only pray that God's will be done and that I might see him through God's eyes and not just my own.
Megan
Monday, May 23, 2011
We Found a Place!!
Well we found a townhome and we'll be moving in June 1st. We definitely had a huge change in our time frame. A guy came by our house we live in now and decided he wanted to move in by June 1. We, luckily, had just gone and looked at a place in Arden (SE Asheville) that is available for June 1 and we loved it. So it has all worked out and we'll be moving in next Wednesday! We're so excited to be moving to the city :) We'll post pics later...when we have time.
Megan
Megan
Monday, May 9, 2011
Moving
Pete and I have decided to move to Bumcombe county (this means Asheville and the surrounding area for those of you who might not know). Right now we live in Haywood county and let me tell you, there's a load of difference between the two. There are some great people here and we've made some wonderful friends, but overall we don't really feel welcome or a part of this community. We think it probably has something to do with Pete's job, but it's that kind of place that is hard to fit in to because most people have been born and raised here or are married to someone who is. Another factor is that we're intimidated by the long relationships everyone else has with one another. Anyway, we're really looking forward to getting closer to a bigger city. We're young and want to be in a more urban setting so we can be encouraged to be more active. We also want to be closer to friends we make which will make it easier to have people over. Asheville is perfect for all of these things. It's a really artsy town (not that we're artsy, it's just nice to pretend sometimes) with tons to do! And *Bonus* It's in the top ten "pet friendly" cities in the nation. Now, our current lease doesn't expire until the end of June so we still have a couple months. We've been house hunting for quite a while now and are still earnestly searching for something that's as close to perfect as we can get. Our wish list is not so demanding that we won't be able to find something, but we don't just want to live anywhere for any price.
We'd love a fenced yard for Prime, but it's not a deal breaker. 3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms and a bonus room would be great so we could have a guest room and also have another space for my quilting hobby that's really taking off (that's another blog in itself). 2 baths would be a dream, but again it's not a deal breaker. We really only NEED one. Basically, we like the house we live in, but it's just sooo far away from anything! Location is the one thing we won't compromise on. We want to be within a 10 minute drive to the grocery store and in a place where we can take evening walks with Prime that doesn't require us to walk on a gravel road. We want to see our neighbors, but not have them so close you can touch both houses. Just a normal neighborhood would be wonderful! A decent kitchen (not necessarily new appliances) with counter space, storage and a pantry would be great too. Again, not a deal breaker. A lot of the houses we've looked at so far have had almost everything except for maybe one or two things. We've also recently changed our focus from strictly the West Asheville area to really anywhere in Asheville. It has given us a lot more to choose from, which is a blessing and a curse. The biggest problem we've had so far is move in time. We can't move in until July 1 and most properties are either available now or June 1. As we get closer to our deadline I know we'll have more to choose from that will be available in July, no worries about that. I guess that's it. Did I mention that we're really excited?! :)
We'd love a fenced yard for Prime, but it's not a deal breaker. 3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms and a bonus room would be great so we could have a guest room and also have another space for my quilting hobby that's really taking off (that's another blog in itself). 2 baths would be a dream, but again it's not a deal breaker. We really only NEED one. Basically, we like the house we live in, but it's just sooo far away from anything! Location is the one thing we won't compromise on. We want to be within a 10 minute drive to the grocery store and in a place where we can take evening walks with Prime that doesn't require us to walk on a gravel road. We want to see our neighbors, but not have them so close you can touch both houses. Just a normal neighborhood would be wonderful! A decent kitchen (not necessarily new appliances) with counter space, storage and a pantry would be great too. Again, not a deal breaker. A lot of the houses we've looked at so far have had almost everything except for maybe one or two things. We've also recently changed our focus from strictly the West Asheville area to really anywhere in Asheville. It has given us a lot more to choose from, which is a blessing and a curse. The biggest problem we've had so far is move in time. We can't move in until July 1 and most properties are either available now or June 1. As we get closer to our deadline I know we'll have more to choose from that will be available in July, no worries about that. I guess that's it. Did I mention that we're really excited?! :)
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Whistling Man
Before I get started, I should state that I have nothing against whistling. In addition, I am able to whistle, so the frustration from today does not stem out of jealousy. Its where people whistle that creates the problem.
So, today I was out with my beautiful wife in Asheville looking to pick up a few things at Bed, Bath and Beyond. While we were in the "Beyond" section of the store I heard whistling. Now, This was not quite "to yourself" type whistling. This was full on concert style whistling. I tracked down this whistler and found him to be an older gentleman, apparently also in need of something "Beyond". The whistler didn't stop whistling the entire time that he was there. Who constantly whistles so everyone can hear them? Granted he was a very good whistler, but I am in a store not hanging out with the 7 Dwarfs while they whistle while they work. Obviously my frustration continued to grow until the whistler left the store.
So, you would think that this story is finished right?.........no
So we left B,B and B and decided to get a bite to eat for lunch. We decided to go to Cheddars and get some spinach dip and whatever else sounded good. So, we placed our order and we were enjoying some sweet spinach dip when a couple was seated in the booth next to ours. As anyone would do when their surroundings change I glanced at the couple. I then looked again.... because seated next to us, amazingly enough, was the whistler!! At first he did not whistle, so I felt safe, but then his wife got up from the table...... and the whistling started...again with the concert style....and it did not stop until his wife returned.......and she was gone for....well lets just say too long.
Looking back at it now I should of just went with the table the hostess offered instead of requesting a booth.
-Pete
So, today I was out with my beautiful wife in Asheville looking to pick up a few things at Bed, Bath and Beyond. While we were in the "Beyond" section of the store I heard whistling. Now, This was not quite "to yourself" type whistling. This was full on concert style whistling. I tracked down this whistler and found him to be an older gentleman, apparently also in need of something "Beyond". The whistler didn't stop whistling the entire time that he was there. Who constantly whistles so everyone can hear them? Granted he was a very good whistler, but I am in a store not hanging out with the 7 Dwarfs while they whistle while they work. Obviously my frustration continued to grow until the whistler left the store.
So, you would think that this story is finished right?.........no
So we left B,B and B and decided to get a bite to eat for lunch. We decided to go to Cheddars and get some spinach dip and whatever else sounded good. So, we placed our order and we were enjoying some sweet spinach dip when a couple was seated in the booth next to ours. As anyone would do when their surroundings change I glanced at the couple. I then looked again.... because seated next to us, amazingly enough, was the whistler!! At first he did not whistle, so I felt safe, but then his wife got up from the table...... and the whistling started...again with the concert style....and it did not stop until his wife returned.......and she was gone for....well lets just say too long.
Looking back at it now I should of just went with the table the hostess offered instead of requesting a booth.
-Pete
Domestic Animal Murder
Well I ran over a cat today. I've ran over a squirrel, rabbit and chipmunk in the past (all wild critters) but today I've become a domestic animal murderer. I've never felt so awful! I don't think I'll ever forget the "thump thump" when I hit him/her :( The worst part was that I was on my way to work (and already running late) so I couldn't stop and try to find its home or say sorry. I just had to drive on like some heartless person who didn't care that they had just killed someone's pet. I was miserable my entire shift. I told myself that I'd try to do something on my way back home, but it was gone by that time. I just know some little kid got off the bus and saw their cat dead in the middle of the street and started screaming. They probably had a funeral this evening, a memorial during dinner and cried themselves to sleep. If I NEVER hit a cat again it will be too soon. I'm not even that fond of cats. I can't imagine what would have happened if it had been a dog...I can't even imagine!
- Megan
- Megan
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Decision
We've never really considered ourselves the blogging kind. I've always enjoyed reading other blogs, but I never imagined we'd be making one of our own. When Pete and I first talked about creating one, we kinda laughed and ended the conversation with, "who would ever want to read a blog about our life?" This is still a pending question, but we decided that even if no one reads our posts, we just want to blog for ourselves. Years from now, if the Internet hasn't been replaced by then, we thought it would be nice to have some sort of documentation of these early years. Before we grow up too much and kids start popping into the picture. We want some tangible evidence that we were young once. So we can have something to go back and read and laugh at and say, "did we really do that? Really? What were we thinking?" I will still do my occasional journal entry because I love the idea of our grand kids being able to read hand written entries about their grandparents' lives, but this will be something new and fun. I just hope we can stay committed. I hear age does nothing to aid the memory, so we're deciding to entrust yet another thing to technology, the record of our early years. The memories we gather from here on out. Please guard them well!
- Megan
- Megan
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