Why am I so terrible at this blogging thing? I don't really know the answer to that but I know it's definitely true! I can't believe it's been 3 months since my last entry...that's horrible...you would think I didn't have anything to talk about or something.

Anyway, here's a quick update of what we've been up to since my last post. We have made a couple of trips to visit with family and are getting ready to make another one. We went to Dallas the weekend before Thanksgiving to see my family...they all spent Thanksgiving in Dallas so that was fun. Then we went to Denver to spend Thanksgiving with Jim's family. It was cold!!! We had a great time though. It was nice to get to visit and catch up.

We are leaving on Saturday to go to New Mexico for Christmas. We will get to spend a whole week hanging out and Jim will get to do some skiing (which he is very excited about). This will be a special trip for both of us since neither of us has seen where the other grew up. I am so excited!!! Plus, it's always nice to go "home" and let mom love on you and take care of you!

I think my New Year's resolution will be to get better at this blog thing. Maybe it will happen, maybe not...we will just have to wait and see.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Randomness

So, here I am...I am really getting good at updating every 2 months or so...have I said that I am really bad at this? I am sitting here in the church office and am bored which is very unusual here. I am usually very busy but for some reason this week has been extremely quiet and I am caught up for now so I thought I would blog but don't really know about what. I thought maybe if I started typing something would just come to me...so far, not so much.

We are going to Dallas this weekend. I am really excited about it for 2 reasons. Jim's mom is closing on her house in The Colony this week so we will get to see it...I love new houses...she has been sending pictures of the process along the way so I really can't wait to see the finished product. The other thing I am extremely excited about is getting to see my friend Jennifer's new baby boy. He is a month old and I haven't seen him yet...it is horrible! Anyway, that should make for a fun filled weekend. We still have not sold the house in Irving...so, y'all keep praying. I know it will happen in God's timing, not ours...but I am so not patient.

We went to OKC last weekend to the Parade of Homes. It was awesome! We went to some middle of the road houses that were just beautiful and then we decided to find the biggest, most expensive house on the tour and check it out. Can I just say it was AWESOME!!! I think our entire families could all live there and never run into each other. I told Jim that I would get lost in there. It was so fun just to look. We both really love doing that kind of stuff and it's really cheap entertainment. Love that part too! We had a great time.

Guess that's about all for now. Until next time...

Update

Well, a whole lot has happened since I last blogged...I am so bad at this...anyway, I will just hit the highlights for you.

We made a weekend trip to Amarillo in June and met some friends...it was so fun to spend time with them...we went to see TEXAS at Palo Duro Canyon...it was Awesome!!! Then we went to Wonderland (a small amusement park). We were supposed to go to the water park but it was not warm enough for them to open...the kids were very disappointed (as was I) but at least we got to swim at the hotel. It was just a great time of fun with friends. We really enjoyed it and it was a little get-a-way out of town for a couple of days.

I started a new job last week as the secretary at our church...I absolutely love it so far. That has been the really big news this summer. We really haven't been doing much else...we made a trip to Dallas to do some work on the house as we are still trying to sell it (please pray that it sells soon), and we have gone to OKC a few times. We got a new computer (a laptop) because our hard drive crashed on the old one. The new one is so great and I love that it's a laptop (you know, I can sit in front of the TV and use it or better yet, the hubby can...I don't lose him to the dungeon of the office). Anyway, last Friday, we made a trip to OKC to get the CD/DVD drive on the new computer fixed and Jim was so sweet and took me to Joe's Crab Shack for an early 6 month anniversary dinner...it was so good, y'all...YUMMY!!!! I can't believe we have been married for 6 months on Saturday...wow, time sure flies!

Everything else is going great...we are gearing up for some trips to see friends and family this fall so we are definitely looking forward to that.

The Weekend

We had a great time with lots of family this weekend. First, on Saturday, we traveled about 2 hours to Hugo, OK for some great time with my extended family. My mom & dad & sister were there along with my mom's brother and sister and their families and my grandparents. It was a good day of visiting. Then Saturday night we traveled back home along with mom, dad, and Tore'. Mom and dad had not been to our house in OK yet so they wanted to come see "the farm". Jim's mom also drove in Saturday night. So, we spent Sunday at our house with all the family. We went to church and then just hung out and grilled hamburgers. It was such a great time just relaxing and catching up. It was so fun to have everyone in our house. Yesterday, Jim had to work so his mom and I headed to OKC with mom, dad, & Tore'. We took dad to see the OKC Memorial and then we dropped mom and dad off at the airport and Tore' headed back to Dallas while Rose (Jim's mom) and I headed back home. Jim was there by the time we got home and we all sat down to relax...we all ended up taking a nap (YAY!) then we relaxed the rest of the day. It was such a fun weekend!

Mouse Update

OK, it occurred to me this weekend that I never finished the mouse story so here goes.

Jim came to town that afternoon and looked for the mouse...didn't see anything so he drove my car to church and then home and never saw the mouse. We stopped and got some mouse traps on the way home and set them in the car that night. Jim came in the next morning and said there was good news and bad news...good news - caught the mouse...bad news - there were 2 of them. Double EWWWW!!!
Then being the wonderful husband that he is, he let me drive his truck to work while he kept my car at home and thoroughly cleaned it out to make sure there weren't any others (all this on his day off - isn't he the best?). He then set the traps one more time that night to make sure they were all gone. There was nothing in the traps on Friday morning and we have seen nothing since then so I am confident they are gone.

That sure was some excitement for this city girl!

My Heart Attack

OK, so I think I had the ultimate experience in country life...or if not, this is not something I wish to experience again. I was driving to work this morning in a huge rainstorm (raining so hard you can barely see) when I stopped at the end of our road getting ready to turn on the highway. I looked left and then right and when I looked right, I saw it, scurrying across the floorboard on the passenger side of my car...A MOUSE! Oh my gosh, I about had a heart attack right then and there. I called Jim (yes, on my cell phone, in the pouring rain) and told him I found the mouse...well, I think we must have a family of them living in our house because we have seen evidence of them and Jim has found 2 floating in the dog's water bowl in the garage. I think he was a little surprised that it was IN MY CAR...yeah, so was I! Anyway, he said he would look for it tonight...but in the meantime, I have to get in the car and go to lunch and then to church tonight...maybe I will let him drive it home after church and I will drive his truck. I drove the rest of the way to work with my feet up off the floor. I know they won't hurt me, but they are just so NASTY! Anyway, I think I am scarred for life after that one...I think my heart has just now slowed down and that was 2 hours ago...I feel like I need to have my car fumigated! YUCK!!!

Bad Blogger & Last Month

So, I think that I might be officially bad at this blogging thing. I haven't posted anything in almost a month...and I never finished putting up the wedding pictures. Not to mention that I have some other new pictures that I want to post. Part of the problem is that out in the boondocks we have slow internet speed so waiting for the pictures to post takes an eternity and I simply don't have the patience or the attention span for it. I do have some great pictures that I took of cows right outside our back door and Dottie (our dog) chasing the cows. My goal is to get them posted this week. Jim starts receiving a new batch of pigs on Wednesday which means long days the rest of the week and he will be exhausted so I will have plenty of time in the evening...ok, enough of that.

We have done some fun things this last month...we went to a hockey game, a baseball game, and spent a weekend in Dallas with Jim's family and Tore'. It has been a busy month but so much fun! We went to a baseball game on Saturday...Oklahoma City is home to the Redhawks, the triple A team for the Rangers...it was so much fun...our seats were in the first row above the dugout on the 3rd base side...awesome seats! And when we walked in the gates, I told Jim that this is a sure sign that summer is coming...we had a great time! I meant to take the camera with us so I could take pictures but of course I walked out of the house without it. Oh, well, there will be plenty more games to come as we both love baseball! The other great thing we did (well, really, I did and Jim was just patient about it) was get my first pedicure of the season...yippee! It just makes you feel pretty to have your toes done...can I get an AMEN???? Anyway, my toes are now ready for summer and of course then it is barely 60 degrees today...oh well, I feel pretty anyway.

I AM SO BLESSED!!!

OK, y'all I have to have the sweetest husband around...here is what happened. I am not what you would call the brightest person sometimes...I can be very "absent-minded" as Jim likes to call it. Well, anyway, we have this new coffeepot (which is the best wedding gift ever, might I add - it grinds and then brews the coffee)...anyway, we love this coffeepot and are very spoiled by fresh ground coffee every day. Jim is the one who usually sets up the coffee every night so it is ready when we get up in the morning. Well, Wednesday night, I thought I would be the good wife and do it since he had worked hard all day and was very tired...so, I got it all ready and turned on the program and we went to bed. Yesterday morning, we woke up to the sound of the grinder and thought nothing of it...I got up and got in the shower like normal. When I got out and was getting ready, I heard Jim doing stuff in the kitchen and wondered what he was doing...he hadn't brought me my coffee yet (yes, I am super spoiled...my husband brings me my coffee every morning after I get out of the shower). So, I finished in the bathroom and went to get dressed. Jim said, "I have some bad news...there's no coffee." And he has this grin on his face...so I knew it was something I did wrong...I asked what it was...he said I didn't want to know...then after we went through this a few times...he said it was the caraffe...it immediately occurred to me that I hadn't put the caraffe back in after I filled the pot with water. So, yes, the coffee went all over the kitchen and yes, Jim had cleaned it up without saying a word...I asked him if he was cursing me the whole time...he said no...I'm not sure if I believe him...he said that the "absent-minded" thing did come to mind, though. I told him that the coffee pot was his job from now on. Then, last night after I cleaned it all up...it wouldn't work when he went to set it up...oh, was I scared...this wasn't a cheap pot, y'all and we've only had it a couple of weeks. He unplugged it and left it overnight....it worked this morning...WHEWWWW!

So, to sum it all up...I am so blessed to have such a PATIENT man love me and I thank God every day for him.

OK, here it is...this is my favorite picture out of all 355 that were taken on our camera...too bad we aren't looking at this camera...oh, well...I still love it.

I have finally gotten all the wedding and shower pictures onto the computer but have figured out that our internet speed way out here in the boonedocks (did I spell that right?) is not super fast so it might take me a while to get some pictures put on here. I did want to share this one with y'all.

Jim asked me today if I had posted anything new on the blog lately...I said no and asked why...he said he was just wondering if I had told y'all about the chickens...I said no so anyway here goes. There are 2 places along the highway where there are chickens that just roam freely along the side of the road...I found this very strange at first and was worried about them running out into the road in front of me. Jim said not to worry because he has never seen them out in the road. So, I no longer worry but still find it weird that they know not to go out into the road...maybe chickens are smarter than we think...something to ponder. That's my story about country life for today.

Settling In

OK, it has been a couple of weeks since my last post and I must say that I think I am getting used to the small town life (a little bit). I have now adjusted my thinking to the fact that we just have to save all of our errands for Saturday and make a day of it, which is exactly what we did this last Saturday. We went to "the city" on Saturday to take care of all of our errands at once. Sidenote, Tore' really cracks up when I say that we went to "the city". She thinks it is absolutely hilarious. Anyway, "the city" is actually Oklahoma City and it is about and hour and a half from us so it really is a trip when we go. We left the house about 10 and didn't get home until almost 9pm. We hit all the high points though. We went to Target and Linens & Things to spend some leftover wedding money. Then we went to the mall for Jim to get a chair massage. This is his reward for being a patient shopper...ha ha ha. We also went to Sam's for Jim to spend his birthday money. He got a whole shelving unit and workbench set for the garage. He was very happy. Then, of course, we had to do the dreaded grocery shopping on the way home. The nearest Super Walmart is about 30 miles away so we had to hit it on the way home and by that time we were both wasted and not the best shoppers but we still managed to come out of Walmart much poorer than we went in. How does one end up spending much more at Walmart than you really intend to? Oh, well, part of it is I am still not used to doing big grocery shopping. I have to think in terms of 2 to 3 week intervals now...that is hard! Anyway, we made it home just in time to relax on the couch for a while before bedtime. We are so not night owls...we are always in bed by 10. You would think we were old or something, oh wait, we are.

On Sunday, we worked on the house some...I finally feel like I live there. All the suitcases and boxes are unpacked (for now - until the next load from Dallas). Tore' is coming for a visit this weekend to help me decorate...YEA!!! Then it will really feel like home. So, I guess you could say we are settling in to married life quite well and I am adjusting to the country just fine.

I am going to try to work on the pictures this weekend (when my computer guru sister is visiting so she can help) so hopefully I will have some pictures posted next week. Better get back to work now. Love to all!

Culture Shock

Well, as some of you know, I have recently married the love of my life and moved from Dallas, TX to the thriving metropolis of Wetumka, OK. OK, let's talk about culture shock. I knew this was going to be different and take some getting used to, but I don't think I knew exactly how different it would be. Anyway, that is what led me to start this blog...to share my experiences with small town life (and to vent some of my frustration with the same.

I had been here for about a week when I had my first real experience with how things operate out here in the country. I was trying to get all of my things changed over to my married name when I discovered first of all that the nearest Social Security office was an hour away...a whole hour...now, ladies who have had the pleasure of changing your name know that most of these things do not go quickly anyway so if I have to drive an hour there and an hour back and sit there and wait for another hour, there is half a day gone, but I did it and I was proud that I got there and back and could check one thing off of my list. The next item was my driver's license...so, I am on the computer the same day that I did my Social Security card looking for the nearest driver's license office so I could go there the next day when I see that all of these offices are only open one day a week...that's right, folks, one day out of five. My loving husband, being the wonderful person that he is, just laughed and said, "Honey you're not in the city anymore. Things are different in the country." Something he might could have mentioned prior to my one hour trip to the nearest civilized place where things are open every day...don't ya think?

Anyway, I am happy to report that after much frustration and travelling, I have officially gotten my Oklahoma driver's license and changed my name. YEA!!!!

And on another note, I start a new job tomorrow in a nearby town. I will only have to drive about 20 minutes, which is great compared to what I thought I would have to drive to find a job. That is truly an answer to prayer.

That is all for now...I'm sure I will have many more things to share as I try to simplify my thinking and get used to living in the country. I also will try to post wedding pictures soon.