lowercase life

Thankfulness

2009-11-16T19:35:00.001-08:00

Hello my friends, don't think that I have forgotten about you. I am so busy the next couple of weeks, so I will have to make this brief! As most of you know, through prayer Cameron and I have made the decision for me to be a full time mom. So I am training my replacement at work this week and next. It is so hard to train someone when you have a 5 and 1/2 month old burying his head in your chest trying to get his lunch!

I am so thankful for a husband that is not fearful of losing one income. I listen to my husband and I fully believe in following him, so if he were to tell me that I needed to work I would. But when I approached Cameron about my heart aching at the thought of leaving Rhyan, he committed the decision to prayer. We firmly believe that God has told us that he will provide for us and reminded us of all that he has done for us before.

I am so thankful for a God that hears the prayers of a new mother, the prayers of a mother that so desires to be at home to raise her son. I am so thankful for the opportunity to make a home that is open for people to come in and see the work of the Lord. I am thankful for the most amazing husband and sweet little son.

It pays being nice

2009-11-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

I decided that I would go online to write several companies that I thought were great and tell them how much I appreciated their products. I went to their online websites and filled out a simple comment page along with my mailing information. I made sure to tell them that not only was I stay at home mom, but one on a budget! I was so surprised to hear back from ALL 4 of them!

1. Newman's Own- Awesome company with a great new organic line. They sent me 3 coupons totaling $20 in savings! I love the fact that Paul Newman has given so much of his profits to many different charities...it makes you feel not that you are only eating quality foods, but that you are helping someone out in the world!

2. Tide- You have to admit, Tide does the job! Really good at stain treatment and my clothes get MUCH cleaner with Tide. They sent me a $1.00 off coupon, which I can add to the $1.50 coupon I got from Good Housekeeping!

3. Purdue Chicken- This is by far my favorite chicken, I only buy this brand. No hormones or preservatives! I told them that I really appreciated their chicken and the quality of it! And they responded by sending me $1.00 off coupon!

4. Scott Tissue- Now I know that some people love to wipe their butts with pillows, and I have to admit that it does make for a more pleasurable bathroom experience. Scott Tissue has made adjustments to one of their tissues and it is so soft. Scott Tissue will last me FOREVER...and my husband loves to use tissue for everything! I can buy a 4-pack and it will last me all month! They were so kind to send me THREE 50 cent off coupons!

See, it does pay to be nice!

In Rhyan news, we are putting him in his crib for the first time tonight! My baby is growing up and I am sad that I won't be able to reach over into his bassinet at night. Now I will have to trudge down the hallway into his room. I am sure that it will be an interesting week for all of us, he loves being close to us, so I hope he will be able to adjust to this without much crying.

I have been placing him in his crib for his naps and some play times. He does a great job of sitting up at 5 months, fairly early for that feat! So I am posting a few pictures from his playtime in his crib. I will let you know how tonight goes. Say some prayers from my not-so-little boy and for my aching heart!

Freezer Cooking and Root Canal

2009-11-06T19:14:00.000-08:00

I have done a bit of research on this method of cooking, called freezer cooking. I know you are thinking, "I did not know you could cook in a freezer!", hang on, I will explain.

I follow a few stay at home mom blogs and they all seem to be discussing this method of menu planning at the same time, which peaked my interest in this subject. Basically, you take a 8-10 hour day and prepare all of your meals for the next 30 days. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. *gasp* However, when you start to think about the time you spend each day preparing meals and multiple that by 30 days, wow, you can really save some time here. You are also able to buy in bulk, which can save you quite bit of money. One blog that I follow said that she only spends $130 dollars in groceries per month for her family of 4! My current budget for Cameron and I is $260 a month, if I could slash that in half we could be saving a lot more money each month.

I will keep you guys posted on what my first monthly menu will be. I will implement this for the month of December, so if you guys know of any good recipes let me know! I am really good in the dinner department but I always rack my brain for god breakfast foods that are also healthy for you too!

As far as the root canal, I got it preformed today! Whew...that is some major stuff. It is my second one, but my dentist is so lovely and very encouraging. At one point he came into the room, I was watching TV while sitting in the chair (high class stuff) and he chuckled to himself. I thought, "What is he laughing at?"...then he began to wipe drool off my cheek that was dripping into my hair. Novocaine....

If anyone is looking for a AMAZING dentist, call up Dr. Leeks at New Image Dentistry on Highland Ave. Tell him I sent you.

Great Deals!

2009-11-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

As an *almost* stay at home mom (I finish working from home in a month), I am always on the hunt for a good deal. In my opinion you never have to pay full price for anything. There is always a coupon, discount code or promotion that you can save some major dollars with.

While I am new at the coupon clipping, I am a fairly experienced at saving money through the Internet. I used to buy the supplies for my company ranging from basic office supplies, clip art to down loadable music. I never would purchase any of these without first finding a promotion code, which ended up saving us hundreds of dollars each year.

Through my Internet searching I have run across some amazing websites that either offer you great deals or show you how to find these deals. I wanted to share some of them with you:

1. http://www.retailmenot.com/ This is a wonderful site if you are purchasing anything from an online store and you want either a discount or free shipping. I even order pizza and use this site to help save a couple of bucks!

2. http://halfoffdepot.com/ This is a KILLER website that helps you to find gift certificates and gift cards in cities across the United States. Not only do they offer ones for restaurants, but also for gyms, spas, zoo's, museum's and shows! A great tool if you are looking for a cheap night out or if you are going on vacation to on the the cities that is listed.

3. http://www.moneysavingmom.com/ This is a great mom blog, she is a fantastic blogger! She finds great freebies, coupons and deals and gives you step by step instructions on how to access them. She also gives creative ideas on how to save money for the budget conscious family.

4. http://www.citiesonthecheap.com/calendar/ If you go to this site you can click on the city in which you live in. They provide a calendar of events for each day and help you to find cheap things to do in the city. I love this site, because they also let you know of restaurants that are offering a free menu item that day. A great tool to find free things to do, see and eat!

5. http://www.restaurant.com/ I have been using this website for years now. It provides a listing of restaurants near your zip code. You can get either $10 or $25 dollar gift certificates for $3 and $5. Be sure to search for the promo code through Google , as they always have one! You can also register for free with them and they will email you special deals. I have gotten them for as low as $4 dollars before!

Happy savings and deal hunting! With this economy we can still have fun if we search hard enough for great deals! If you know of any that I have not listed here, fill me in!

Jewish Coffee Cake

2009-11-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

I love to cook, hate to bake. Cooking is so relaxing to me, to get into the kitchen and only focus on making a meal that will hopefully make everyone feel loved. Cooking is the way that I show love to people, I might not always pick up the phone to have a conversation but I will tell you how much I love you by making sure you are always full of food. Cooking is great because it is not a science, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Is it too salty? Add a dash of sugar to counterbalance it. Don't have any eggs? Use applesauce. I love cooking because it is the grey area, no rights or wrongs, just good food.

Baking on the other hand has been an enemy of mine for many years now. You have to be so precise, exact in all your measurements. Who knew that there was a difference between flour that is sifted and flour that is not? Who wants to use measuring spoon, measuring cups, bake for a certain time at a certain temperature? A CLEAN TOOTH PICK MEANS ITS DONE? What happens when you don't have a toothpick...

This was until my aunt Trisha taught me how to make the best and easiest cake in the world. I was visiting her at her home in Mississippi this summer and she just threw me in there. And she told me the best thing I have ever heard, "Don't worry if it is lumpy". Ahhhh....I have made it 12 times since then.

Jewish Coffee Cake

2 sticks of butter (room temp)
2 eggs
3 cups of sugar
3 cups of flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 16 ounce tub of sour cream (room temp)
3 cups of flour (NOT SIFTED)
3 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 cup of sugar (mix with cinnamon)
Greased bundt cake pan

1. Mash 2 sticks of butter with 3 cups of sugar, keep it lumpy.
2. Add two eggs, sour cream and vanilla.
3. Add flour one cup at a time until blended, keep it lumpy.
4. Pour a layer into a bundt pan
5. Add half of the cinnamon sugar mixture, use a knife to cut into the cake
6. Another layer of batter
7. Add remaining cinnamon sugar mixture, use a knife to cut into the cake
8. Top with remaining batter. Be sure to cover all of the cinnamon sugar mixture so it won't burn.

Cook in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Let cool and then turn over onto a plate!!!

Thank you Aunt Trisha, I can bake now!

Genetics

2009-10-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

I pray that my son does not share my teeth genes, I have always had problems with my teeth since I was a little girl. I have spent countless dollars, many days in pain and have even had 5 teeth pulled (with no gas, wide awake)! Luckily my husband has fantastic teeth, not one cavity, ever.

Don't get me wrong, I brush my teeth AT LEAST twice a day, usually three times a day. I floss regularly as well as use a mouth rinse. I also try not to drink bottle water so I can get the fluoride from the tap water. But for some reason, my teeth are of poor quality. My dentist told me that because my genetics (parents did not have the best teeth also) and because we grew up on well water (no fluoride in well water), those were the main causes of my tooth problems.

Last night while I was rocking Rhyan to sleep I got a shooting pain on the right side of my mouth (usually when I have had toothaches before they are concentrated in one location). But this seems to be my entire right side of my mouth, making me think that it must be an upper AND lower toothache. Needless to say there was not much sleep last night and I have been in pain all day. The worst part is that it is Saturday, Halloween and my dentist has not yet returned my phone call to the emergency line.

You know when people always ask "If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?". Well, for me it is my teeth. I would cry to be able not to have to worry about having another toothache ever again!

Super Baby Food

2009-10-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

I know it has been a long time, but this blogger must be forgiven! It is hard to believe that since I last wrote I went through 10 1/2 months of a long pregnancy and had a healthy baby boy! Rhyan Scott Ford was born on 5/31 at 7:11 a.m. weighing in at a HEFTY 9lbs 7ozs! It was a long labor, but I am so glad he finally came after being 11 days late.

Rhyan will be 5 months on Halloween and I have stared to feed him solid foods. I went to Whole Foods to get organic sweet potato's for his first food. I found organic potato's from a local Georgia Farm that were $2.35 a pound. I got 3 fairly good sized potato's for a total cost of $2.39, just over a pound. When you consider the cost of 1 oz of organic baby food, which was five jars for $3.00 dollars, I got a great deal! I would have had to buy 15 jars for almost 10 dollars to equate to what I was able to get just buying the sweet potato's!

The next day I baked the potato's in the oven for 45 minutes at 400 degrees. I simply peeled off the skin and put them in the blender with enough water to make it slide off the spoon while feeding.

I ordered these super sweet food cubes, for 5 dollars a tray. They are much better than regular ice cube trays because they are BPA free and will not leech any chemicals into the food during the freezing process. I filled the cubes up at the 1 oz. mark and then froze!

All I do for his feeding is pop them out of the cube and microwave them in a BPA free feeding bowl! Food for Rhyan!

I have been very interested in organic foods and what is the best to feed not only Rhyan, but our entire family. Being a family on a budget, buying ALL organic is not within our abilities. So with a little research I have discovered that there are 12 things that you SHOULD always buy organic and it would eliminate 90% of pesticide consumption you are eating....these are called the "Dirty Dozen":

1. peaches
2. apples
3. celery
4. peppers
5. nectarines
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. lettuce
9. grapes (imported)
10. pears
11. spinach
12. potatoes

So I am going to try to stay away from these and still buy my other produce just like I would have normally bought! I have also considered buying a share in a local organic farm, in which I would pick up our produce each week from a location in downtown Atlanta.

I will keep you informed!

Its Positive!

2008-10-09T12:04:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness, it has been a long time. To those of you who have faithfully looked at our blog for months on end, wondering if we were ever going to post again, we are back! Sorry for the hiatus, there is no reason other than I am not good at keeping up with journals! I warned you!

Big news! We are pregnant! It was a big surprise. We were planning on trying in January next year after our big ski trip. So when I thought that I could possibly be pregnant, I was so nervous. It started around Labor Day (oh how funny), when I was at my moms house. I knew that there was one night in question with Cameron and I, since we did not follow the rules of natural family planning. So, when I went to my moms house, I thought it could be a possibility. I opened her freezer to get some coffee out and a strange smell came out and I gagged. Hmmmm...could that be a symptom of pregnancy or was it really that bad of a smell? I took a test as soon as I got home from the long weekend and it was (-) negative.

The week progressed and I began to notice some strange cramping, and it was unlike any other cramps that I had had before. At one point, I stood up from the couch, and had a shooting pain in my abdomen. I had that thought, "Maybe I AM pregnant", but I had a negative test.

The day I decided to retest, I was at work and had a shooting pain in my breast (sorry guys if you are reading this). It was like my boob was going to jump off of my chest and shrivel up into nothingness. I had to find out! So I went home, waited until Cameron ran out to pick up a wheel for his bike and took a test...as the picture shows, I was PREGNANT! I was freaking out...I took the test and put it into the dresser drawer and opened the drawer 13 times to look at the test to see if it had changed. Did the (+) sign me "Yes, I am pregnant" or "Yes, I am not pregnant"?

I did the only thing I knew what to do, I told Tina as soon as she got there. We laughed, cried, hugged, laughed, cried and screamed. And took another test. It was positive before I even had enough time to wipe...I am having a baby.

I had bought these little baby Converse shoes a few months ago because they were so cute. So Tina and wrapped them up and I gave them to Cameron as soon as he got home. He was so SHOCKED...he thought that they were pedals for his bike.

Now we are 2 months pregnant, as you can tell by first picture. And I guess I have a bigger reason than myself to blog for!

Hot Model

2008-05-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

My husband is so HOT! Check out this photo taken while he was waiting tables! A clothing company in Atlanta, Esperanza, came to his restaurant and they asked him to pose for a picture of them. We got hooked up with some sweet shirts and Cameron was able to speak with the founders of the company about his own t-shirt printing ideas. Cameron has been learning how to screen print shirts and will be going full force when we move into our new place in June. So cute!

Check out their site, www.esperanzaclothing.wordpress.com/

Home Run

2008-05-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

What is Atlanta without a Braves baseball game? We were able to go to the game this Wednesday, the Braves were playing against the Padres. Cameron's parents got AMAZING tickets from his grandmother, which she gets for free from her investment company! I tell you what, she has got to be investing a lot of money, because these tickets were killer. Not only did we get to sit on the 25th row behind home base, we got exclusive tickets to the 755 Club. The Club is an enclosed area on the top of the stadium, lots of food, drinks and air conditioning. After hanging out there for a bit we decided to go to our seats (who wants to watch a baseball game in an air conditioned room, you might as well go home!). When we got to our seats there were a lot of menus in the cup holders around our area. Turns out you can order food from your seat and they will bring it to you! Since we had these special tickets we all could use them for $10.00 off any food, drinks, or merchandise. I bought a hot pretzel with mustard and a bottle of coke....yummy. Cameron made his way around to 15 stores looking for a special Braves shirt (my picky husband), he ended up settling for a normal shirt.

At the end of the game, which the Braves won, we walked out to the front of the stadium to the valet service where our car was waiting for us. Yes, folks, we did not have to walk out into the crowd and drive in traffic. We made a clean exit and went home.

So, if you want to have an experience like this, I suggest you get on Grandmother Ford's good side. She hooks it up!

Dingo Bones

2008-05-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! It was a good weekend although I was a little under the weather. We had a lot of people out at work this week. 4 guys took at least one day off because they were sick and then a few still came in. I have decided that our office is a Petri Dish. We have 15 full time people in a 1556 sq. foot space. Whew, we grew so fast from the original 5 that started last June! So, it can be a bit of a germy space. One person goes down the whole team ends up with the same ailment!

Before I crashed and burned, Cameron and I were able to hang out with our best buds Chad and Tina Pritchard. We are so lucky to have friends like them, they are so easy to talk to and there is no pressure around them. I could have no makeup on, my hair stuck up in the air and morning breath and I would only be slightly embarrassed! Chad is a 7th grade teacher for a private school in Atlanta that is primarily African American students. It is so beautiful to see the love he has for his students. I really wished that I had more teachers like him growing up. He and Tina really invest into their lives.

Cameron and I will be leaving this Friday-Monday to help chaperon a trip to Panama City Beach for his students. There will be about 15 of us going and I am looking forward to meeting his kids. It will be so rewarding for us to meet them and really get to know all about their lives. I remember how awkward 7th grade was for me and I hope that we can make them feel comfortable and speak into their lives. Pray for us!

I had to post another picture of KC, she is the cutest little puppy. She is so smart! She knows how to sit, lie down, shake and give a high five! When we do these tricks with her we give her "Dingo" bones, she LOVES them! She will eat half of the bone and walk around to find a place to hide it. I joke that we will find little bones all over the apartment when we move next month!

The Worst Blogger in History

2008-04-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am officially the WORST blogger ever. Don't say that I did not warn you. I was off to a great start, putting pictures up each week, writing funny things. Then nothing....crickets chirping.

But I am back! Things have been MASSIVELY busy in the Ford household. Cameron went to New Orleans last week to help teach a class about church planting at New Orleans Seminary. I really missed him, but he had an amazing time. I let him take our new digital camera to take pictures of the trip. He was so funny and took pictures of all his food, because he knows how much I love to cook. Him and his friend Thomas Busby ate a platter of crawfish....it looked so amazing. I used to be freaked out by those little things back in the day. Some of me still is. I think that it is because of all the tentacles that stick out everywhere. I mean, you are looking them in the eye as you break them open to eat their delicious body. A little creepy....

Work has been SLAMMING for me, we have hired a few new people so I have been helping to transition them into the office. I am really thankful for all the people I work with. They are all my family and I love them dearly. So many different personalities, I have never worked with so many creative people. It was Professional Admin week and everyone was so sweet to me. I got a beautiful basket of flowers and also a cool coffee mug. It is a picture of a hen sitting on eggs and says Mother on top of it. I think it is so awesome that they think of me as the Mother Hen. That makes me feel so wonderful. I want nothing more than all of them to feel comfortable and loved.

Cameron is delivering the message at church this Sunday. He has been so busy. I am proud of all the hard work that he is putting forth with learning about church planting. He really has embraced all the opportunities that our church has given him and has glorified God through it all. He is so faithful and a wonderful husband. It has been hard not seeing each other. You would think newlyweds have all the time in the world. But, with Cameron working nights and our weekly commitments we see each other about 2 nights a week. But, God is good. I know that he is really teaching Cameron and I right now.

Man, if I could share with you about God's provision. My family and I have been praying for help from the Lord for some financial difficulties. It was really coming down to the wire for these issues and once again God provided. He is so faithful and knows all of our needs. He touched my bosses hearts and really laid it on them to help my family. With that leading they decided to give me a raise to cover the additional costs that we were facing. Praise God! Cameron and I were so excited that we sent the picture above to my boss saying "Thank you"!

Love you all so much. Sorry for not being the blogger I should...I will work on it!

Crowning Glory

2008-03-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I have done the most retarded thing ever. I actually "did" the deed about a month ago and now I am regretting it. I cut my hair. I had wanted to cut it before the wedding because it had been long for such a seemingly endless period of time. I was sick of having the lengthy hair, I thought that I would look more "edgy" with an updated do. I made the appointment with my stylist Tiffanie right away. Granted, she is an AMAZING stylist and has been doing my hair for years now. She always does what I want her to do, and I have found out that I am the problem when it comes my own hair.

So here I am now, with a do-rag. Yes, a REAL do-rag, my husband's to be exact. (You might wonder what Cameron is doing with a do-rag, you will have to ask him about that one). I have to sleep in one every night because if I don't I look like Alfalfa from the Little Rascals. I have all of these cowlicks and they literally stand straight up after a full nights sleep on them. All the blow drying, hair straighting, pomade using, hairspray spraying, hair slicking in the world won't keep it down.

I have been lamenting to Cameron that I am so depressed at what I have done. I am reminded now that my Grandma Faye always said to me, "Don't cut that hair girl, its your crowning glory". And I also found that in the Bible it says the SAME THING... 1st Corinthians 11:15 "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her."

So I am hoping that with God's help and my do-rag I can get my long hair back. The good news is I feel really tough with a do-rag.

Animal Lover

2008-03-25T12:19:00.001-07:00

For those of you that don't know me that well, I have never been an animal lover. People, like my sister (that are animal obsessed), can't fathom not being in love with an animal. I have a theory that my sister sucked all the animal loving genes out of me. She has always been crazy about our pets. I remember when we were little girls we would be outside in the the backyard with our dog, Doofus. He was a bit of a doofus; a basset hound, with dopey eyes and a loud, constant bark. It was one of those hot Memphis days, the kind were you can't really play or you will faint of heat exhaustion. Mom had given us Popsicles and told us to beat it, she did not want us to get it all over the floor. Melissa stood by the fence and alternated between licking the Popsicle and letting the dog lick it. They shared the whole thing, lick by lick. I wanted to vomit and told her so. She looked up at me with a round stained clown face and seemed puzzled, "He is hot too!" she said. This has never changed. She still lets the dog lick in her mouth. I hate to call you out sis, but I still am not sure why do that!

So, I have never been the one to have the animal loving gene. That was until I got married. There is something about marriage that makes you feel like you need something to care for. And since Cameron and I are not quite ready for a kid, what does this mean? A DOG!

I had gone over to our technical team office, which is located a short walk from our own office. This sweet hippie girl had informed me that the dog under her desk was for adoption. He was dopey eyed, had a loud bark and reminded me a lot like Doofus. I thought this was the chance to redeem my past annoyance at our childhood dog. I immediately called Cameron and gave him the scoop on the dog. Cameron came by the office and took one look at the dog and said "He is dopey looking". You see, Cameron always had dreams of owning a dingo. Yes, a baby eating dingo. This dog did not quite measure up to the spastic dog of his dreams.

He began looking around at other dogs at the Humane Society. I was a little ticked. I had finally made my mind up to potentially like a dog and now I was cheating on the dopey eyed thing! I reluctantly went with Cameron to the shelter after I checked out some of the dogs online. As we walked around the poop infested cages, I was thinking to myself "No way I am getting a dog from here". They were jumping at us while we were walking by, scratching at the cages, sometimes falling back in their own pee. In fact, did I want dog at all?

As we circled around one last time, I noticed this sweet little fluffy thing in a bin of shredded newspapers. Now this dog was cute. In fact she was the only one online that I saw that I liked. Could it be that I found the dog I saw online?

It was her, and we adopted her that day. She has been awesome. We named her KC, which was a little more fitting than Kimbo (Cameron wanted to name her that).

I am beginning to find out I do like dogs. But not enough to share my Popsicles with them.

Tornadoes in Atlanta

2008-03-17T16:11:00.001-07:00

Tornadoes hit Atlanta this weekend, a lot of devastation, but no lives lost. It was by the grace of God that Cameron and I were out of town for the weekend. Cameron was asked to play music at a Disciple Now in Buford, Georgia. Since his parents live 5 minutes away from the church we decided to make a weekend of it. We went to dinner, came home to play a game together and turned on the 12:00 evening news to be shocked at what were seeing. The Georgia Dome is not even 2 miles away from our home, the CNN Center the same distance. I could not believe that a tornado had ripped through the city of Atlanta.

Driving to church on Sunday morning on North Ave., we could see the windows that were blown out of the Equitable Building and the Westin hotel. It was shocking to see what seems to be indestructible looking delicate and fragile.

I could not imagine what the people felt as they saw there roofs being ripped off. I can't even began to imagine the fear that overcame them. The loss of control. 20 houses in Cabbagetown were crushed. Cabbagetown is a neat little area near Memorial Drive, it was mostly a community consisting of mill workers until the mill closed.

I love my city. I desire to help my city. I am not sure where to turn, which seems ridiculous. In times like these you wonder what to do while people crying out for help. Our church, 1027 Church, is trying to see what needs can be met in the city. I will keep you posted on the effort. Until then pray for the people that lost homes, pray for our country and pray for us! We desire to be the hands and feet of Jesus here in Atlanta.

Prophecy

2008-03-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

A Good Egg

2008-03-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

I got an iPod! I am so excited, I cannot believe that I am now inducted into the world of iPods. I used to make fun of the guys at work because they all have their headphones in and I have to practically scream at them to get their attention! I told everyone that I would never do that, that I was connected to the real world more than them.

That was, until I got my iPod.

It is so sweet. A 30 GB. That means it can hold tons of music and movies. I have 2000 songs on there now (thanks to a music head husband) 2 movies, 1 SNL skit and I have not even used half of the memory. Oh, and I downloaded a game of Scrabble too!

You might ask how I got hooked up with a sweet deal like this. I will tell you my friends, it is because I am "a good egg". Literally. My company's name is Good Egg Studio's. My boss, Liz, gave it to me because of all the hard work I have been doing....

And now I am cool...

Cameron's 26th Birthday

2008-03-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Cameron's 26th birthday this Saturday, March 8th. If you know me at all, you know that I love surprises. I thrills me to plan surprises for people, especially Cameron, and try my hardest to throw them off track. I will tell stories, make embellishments, and distract anyone from knowing the surprise (don't worry I don't do this outside of birthdays and major holidays). So, I totally made Cameron think that it was just me and him on his birthday, a little dinner, dessert and some cash for a new bike for him. I could see the disappointment all over his face when I told him our "plans", he (being a gentleman) did not say anything even though I knew what he was thinking. "MAN, its my birthday and we are only going out to dinner with EACH other....I know she is my wife, but dang..."

I thought I had it all planned, while he was taking his typical 20 minute bathroom break I decided to look up directions from the restaurant to Midtown Bowling Alley, which was his big birthday surprise. I had planned all along to have our friends meet us there and surprise him. One of his buddies, Greg, even drove over 3 hours (one way) to come! After I heard the toliet flush, I quickly began looking at my email instead of the bowling website. Right as Cameron plops down beside me on the couch I realized that I HAD LEFT THE BOWLING ALLEY NAME IN THE WEB BROWSER!!!!! As soon as I began to erase it, I looked over and realized, he read it. He knew...

Surprised ruined....

But don't worry folks. A smart girl like me is always prepared with 2-3 surprises. So, I totally blew his socks off when I gave him his present. All along he was expecting $50 dollars for a new bike for him. I really got him his dream present. A massive screen printing kit, inks, and 14 American Apparel blank t-shirts. He cried.

I won.

Natural Family Planning

2008-03-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

Cameron and I decided a month ago that we were going to make the switch from birth control to natural family planning. For those of you that have never heard of this form of birth control, join my club! This birth control is based on the awareness of a woman's fertility, which provides the knowledge of when you are able to get pregnant or postpone pregnancy. Did you know that a woman is fertile only 24 hours in a month!

I started taking birth control when I was 18 as a way to help with my cramps. Every time that I would start my period I would immediately get very sick to my stomach, have intense throbbing pain and have to throw up. After missing a day of school each month, missing work, and my mom having to come to my apartment to take care of me , I decided to make an appointment at the doctor. I don't remember much being said about my options, I was happy to be on birth control and it really seemed to work.

Fast forward to 2005, I was 24 years old when I gave my life to Christ. It was shortly after that, that I decided to get off of birth control because there was no need for it. I did experience some of the symptoms that I had when I was younger, but I began to find ways to alleviate the symptoms. I would take ibuprofen, grab a heating pad and make sure that I was avoiding caffeine. I felt pretty good, for the first time in a long time I could actually feel what it feels to be a woman. I know that sounds strange, the female body is amazing!

Cameron and I were very hesitant and prayerful about getting on birth control when we got married. We had a couple of friends that practiced natural family planning, but the thought of having to put limitations on our new marriage did not seem as appealing. Besides, a baby? Don't you get pregnant with natural family planning? So with the decision made, I scheduled an appointment at the doctor. She seemed very nice, I met her in her private office where she was excited about our upcoming marriage. I think that she was happy to see a girl that was not currently having sex before marriage. I felt great about our decision, it was an easy answer. But as I began to take the Pill I really felt that I was putting something toxic in my body. I felt different. But, as a new bride, I put it out of my mind.

About a month into our marriage, I really began to feel that there were a lot of problems associated with me taking the birth control. Especially with, gasp, my desire for intimacy with my husband. How could that be? We waited so long, is there something wrong with me mentally? Needless to say, this put an unnatural strain on our fresh, new marriage. After a few months of this, I decided that it was time to go visit the doctor again.

When I spoke with her again, the woman that I had felt so comfortable with the first time, about natural family, she chuckled, "Sure, if you want to get pregnant" was her reply. I then asked her if that was something that we choose in the future could her practice help educate me about it and she stated matter of factly, "No, you can Google it if you have any questions". WHAT? Google it? Taken aback, she began to review my choices for me. I could go in the IUD, switch the pill or take the Nuva Ring. With a purse full of new birth control and a unsettled heart, I left more confused than before. Why was she so unwilling to discuss natural family planning with me? Am I solving the problems before by switching to another hormone birth control?

It was that weekend at a church retreat that I reached out to several of my married friends. I told them, with great embarrassment that I thought my birth control was ruining my sex life. To my amazement, they echoed the same problems when they were on the Pill too! I was so thankful to hear that I was not the only one with this problem. They encouraged me to pray to God and see what he would want me to do. The most important thing that I heard that night was for me to write down all the negative things that occur with birth control and then the negative things that could happen with natural family planning. I told her that my list for birth control was quite long, but the only negative thing that I could think of about natural family planning was getting pregnant. She then looked at and said that she realized that it was not a negative thing to have a child, that children are gifts from the Lord and she would gladly take a blessing from him any day!

So, now Cameron and I are now approaching our second month of natural family planning. I feel like I have regained my marriage, health and trust in the Lord back. I feel that there is more communication in my marriage, respect and intimacy. I am excited to see what the Lord will bring in our future. I would like to plan our first child, not have it be a surprise, but I will take any gift the Lord gives me!

It feels good to understand how God made me, the beautiful workings of my body and the importance of trusting him. If you would like more information on this type of birth control please visit, www.ccli.org/!

My husband is a gentleman

2008-03-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

My husband is a gentleman. I don't know if many women know what it is like to be around a true gentleman. Gentleman in the sense that he is chivalrous, courteous and honorable, as best put by Webster's Dictionary. From the moment I met him he was always opening my car door. After the 5th date, I was think to myself , "Okay buddy, I get it, you like me. You can stop opening my door". But he never stopped, he still to this day makes sure that I am safe in the car before he even sits down.

Grocery shopping, he hates it. Not just dislikes it but it drives him nuts to go with me to the store. I love food, I love to shop for food, I love to look at food, I love to walk down every aisle just to see the new products, ethnic selections and nice cuts of meats. However the reason he truly dislikes it is because I never make a list. I pretended to make a couple back when we first got married, but I would always forget them at home or add 50 more things to the list once we get in the story. Despite this, Cameron, in his gentleman ways, will still go to the store with me. Usually without arguing too much. And on our return home, when we are trying to lug the groceries up our 6 flights of stairs (yes, there is no elevator), he makes sure that I carry the bread, eggs, and paper towels.

Our sweet dog KC, she is a loveable widdle puppy, only if she did not have to go to the bathroom all time. I used to take her outside half of the time, down 6 flights of stairs, out into the cold parking lot with miniature patch of grass, back up the 6 flights of stairs, 17 times a day. But somewhere in the midst of it all, Cameron has been taking her out most every time, without complaint. I tell myself that he does it because he doesn't like for me to be outside late a night, but in reality, he is being a gentleman.

My husband, a true gentleman.

Sobriety

2008-03-05T18:24:00.000-08:00

This is a spoken piece I gave to my wife to celebrate her 3 years of being sober.

Sober

not affected by alcohol; not drunk.

Serious, sensible, and solemn.

Free from alcoholism; not habitually drinking.

3 years sober today!

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

... and remember this.

Eyes wide open, awake as can be,

you used to feel numb, but thats history.

Sobriety is here your senses are keen.

Awake and Alive, your life has been revived,

your clean.

Sobriety.

What does this mean to me?

A friend who is here, who listens, who cares.

Its the story my wife tells of how she medicated the pain

and how God saved her and put her on the road of recovery.

Sobriety is knowing that nothing has a hold on us!

That God is greater than any substance or fear.

Sobriety is my Wife here and now,

given a second chance.

No secrets,

just honesty.

Wide open. Living life together.

Scripture uses the word "sober" when it says this:

"For by the grace given me i say to every one of you.

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,

but rather think of yourself with sober judgement

in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you"

-Romans 12:3...lowercase life!

We do not live as manic depressants live,

but have lives that are sober.

Manic being that of grandeur, defiant, and wildness.

Depressed being alone, and paralyzed, angry.

lowercase life is the perspective that God is greater and that this life is not about us.

We are not Giants running around doing as we please,

but we live sober lives in reverence to God.

This is lower case that we die to ourself and live in Christ.

Passionate, sensible, risky, Holy, adventurous lives.

Melanie! I love you!

-cameron

Acts 17:28

2008-03-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

Acts 17:28

"For in him, we live, move and have our being..."

little girl

2008-03-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

So I am blogging now, I am not sure how this will work out. I have never been the type of girl that kept a journal, I realized that it was awfully dumb to put all of your secrets in a little book only to be found by your parents (my little sister taught me that). Nor did I have the time to write all of my feelings or thoughts into a little 6" x 6" book. I would start to write and my hand would do this weird cramping thing while I was trying to hold the book open to keep it from slamming back shut. So I thought that I would move to writing in a Word Document on a laptop that my sister gave me. My thinking was that since I think faster than I could write, I could attempt to keep up by typing. This proved incorrect since the computer my sister gave me was not virus protected and would keep popping porn up in the coffee shop. Needless to say, I quit my attempts at journaling until now.

My friend, Callie Rich, a lovely wife and mother, is my inspiration for doing this blog. While over at her house a couple of weeks ago, she asked me if I would like to view her pregnancy/birth video, I jumped at the chance. It was amazing to see life unfolding (literally) right before my eyes and the documentation of their journey. I begin to yearn for a story. As you may know, I am not a verbal person. Sure I can be chatty, but I often don't open up or even know my thoughts enough to share them. Some how communication has been arrested in my life....but I know that the Lord has really been changing my heart the past few years.

Tomorrow is my 3 year anniversary of sobriety! It is funny when I think back to all the years that I drank and used drugs. Sometimes they feel so far away and the day that I finally gave it up seems just as far. But then I realize, it was not that long ago. So much has happened these three years, I am thankful for the changes that have happened. I have a wonderful marriage to my husband, a warm clean home and a relationship with God. I can remember being sober and waking up in the morning, not throwing up for the first time and cooking breakfast. MAN, that was the best thing ever! I finally loved the mornings. I would make eggs, bacon and toast, brew fresh coffee and sit down with all the windows open enjoying the cool of the morning while reading my Bible and praying. Those were the best times, I really felt God moving in my life and knew that I was truly changed. He made me new and healed my addictions.

I do long for those times now, it has been hard working full time. Those mornings are not easy to wake up to anymore with a sleeping husband in bed and the darkness of the day. I know that God is calling me to a different place, a place that I have to seek him, to be disciplined. So, I have been trying to wake up earlier to squeeze in a few minutes with him each day. But it is not enough, I need more of him and less of me.

I need a lowercase life.