like a kid at Christmas

This is the first year in a number of years that leading up to and after Christmas I was super happy and just pleased. The last few years I felt like the "child like wonder" of Christmas had worn off and I would be excited to spend time with family but usually was so worried whether everyone would like their gifts or not and after Christmas would just feel so disenchanted. But this year I am pleased to say was not that way.

Firstly I was excited leading up to Christmas for our plans. Tom's family was staying at their Avila house so we spent the night there and had Christmas morning and then we all went up to Cambria for a Christmas lunch with my family. We are so blessed to get to see both our families for the holiday and not have to drive forever. I also went shopping early this year and felt like I got gifts people would like. I hate going last minute because then I feel like the gift was just a last minute "just buy something gift" which generally those are. I like to have time to think things our and really get gifts people want and/or need.

Needless to say it was a wonderful Christmas with our family. And if that wasn't enough we got wonderful Christmas presents. I actually did a Christmas wish list this year and started it early so whenever I was shopping and really wanted something but knew I wasn't suppose to I put it on the list and I thought I would be disappointed by getting things on my list but since it wasn't a last minute list and it was things I really wanted I didn't feel that way at all.

Some of our really cool gifts included an Xbox 360 which came with Kung Fu Panda and LEGO Indiana Jones. We loved the LEGO games on our old Xbox so really excited about that, also we didn't think anyone would get us them. My parents got us a bunch of board games but the ones that are shaped like books so they sit on your bookshelf (or wherever) and look all nice and neat since they are all the same size. We also got some warm clothes which has been nice (its 30 degrees when we get up) and for our January trips to Colorado Springs. We also got gift cards (YAY!) since we will be VERY short on money the first few months but love to eat our its perfect for some guilt free date nights.

So everyone got us really cool gifts but I have to say the most awesome gift was from Tim (Tom's twin bro). He made us a game, Veggie Land. Yes made us a game. He is uber creative and its a cross between Mille Bournes card game (also a fun game) and good old Candy land. I can't explain but next time anyone visits we can pull it out and play. Here are a few pictures though...

The box and board

Some cards, and the winner is the "Salad King"

more fun cards

So this was the first WHOLE game from TimFun! There have been extention packs and there was a TimFun! Interactive in Monterey where he made a scavenger hunt for us. Needless to say he is very talented. Oh and thats Tim on all the cards, he is a raw vegan so there are some cards that kind of go along with that lifestyle. He has a great sense of humor and we have had tons of fun playing this game. Yay for GREAT in-laws!

And for an update tomorrow is Tom's last day at work! We can't believe its already time! Starting with the new year he will be working on our fundraising letters and other things along that line. Tomorrow will be just packing up his stuff from his office. It will be weird but we totally feel like this is God leading us and everyone at the church has been so supportive, we really are blessed. What a great Christmas, can't wait till next year ;) hope everyone had a great Christmas and have a happy and safe (.... guess those would go hand in hand...) New Year!

A good start for December

I think the cold weather more than the Holiday season has inspired my baking kick. This morning I left for Church around 8:40 and my car was all icy. Tom said the ice was still on his car when he got to work this morning.

Peppermint bark and peppermint meringue (had a few issues with this one, my oven is very frusterating)

Friday I babysat for our friends, their kids are so cute and were so great. On my cell phone when I'm taking a picture of someone the subject can see themselves, well this amused the kids forever! They jumped, they smiled, they looked at their teeth, they licked me..... I suppose it was an attempt to see their tounge but they got to close and got my hand instead. I love this age for kids, everything is exciting. I can't wait to take care of them again! Their dad is Aaron who married Tom and me and also started a new church in November Vintage Community Church which after the New Year is where Tom and I will be attending church. I have been going whenever I'm not helping in the nursery in SLO, I got to go today, it was great.

Abby and Elijah

Today we had our phone interview with the Navs, it was pretty basic, they had already talked to Mark and Mark is well known in the Navs so his comments really took care of most of their questions. I'm so excited for the training. It's in Colorado Springs at the Glen Eyrie Castle which looks beautiful and when we go it will be snowing! I can't wait!

A bright future

Hello family and friends,
It has been quite a year and there are some changes that I wanted to let you all know about. For awhile now Tom and I have felt like God has had a different path in mind for us so after tons of prayer and seeking to determine what and where He wanted us He answered our prayer. Through a good friend we heard about a group called the Navigators, and most specifically their college ministry. We were really drawn in when we heard about how they disciple students and really are a part of peoples lives in the day to day.

We spent tons of time praying about it and talking about it until we both felt that the Navigators collegiate staff is where God wants us to be and where our talents will be best used. It's an exciting time but not without some sadness. Tom gave his notice to First Baptist church where he has been working for the past 5 years, but everyone we have talked to has been so supportive and happy for us, it has been such a blessing. Another blessing is that Cal Poly/Cuesta College campuses is where we are most needed which means we will get stay close to family and friends.

If you are interested in hearing more and/or supporting us please contact me and I can make sure you get our updates. Also if you know anyone who might be interested in hearing about what we are doing or supporting (friends, churchs etc) please either give them our contact information or visa versa . Tom will be leaving FBC as of January 1, 2009 and as we transfer into Navigators we will have a few tight months so please pray for us as we enter into this new adventure. Also if you have moved in the last year please email me your new address so the letter will know where to find you.

Thank you so much, God Bless
Nicole and Tom Nelson


If you are wanting to know more about the Navigators check out their website at http://www.navigators.org/us/

My first knitting project

So I have finially completed my first scarf ever (just in time for the cold weather), below is a picture.... don't look to closely, it only looks good from a distance. I figure not to bad for my first try, however if my second is this bad then I will be very frustrated and will have to seek more lessons but I have good feelings that things will go better next time.


Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving

I'm so excited for thanksgiving tomorrow, good food, great company! My favorite meal too by the way. And we have so much to be thankful for, yesterday and today it has been raining, I love the rain, the sound, the smell, I love to go walking in the rain and then returning to a nice warm home. Tom and I have so much to be thankful for, there are many changes coming up in our lives right now (no I'm not pregnant).

For those of you dying of curiosity..... someone is right? Well on Sunday they will be announcing that Tom will be leaving by January 1 and at that time (and already some prep work) Tom and I will be training to join Navigators staff. And as of right now we believe that God wants us working at Cal Poly. Yeah, not exactly what I was wanting, but there are positives and negatives to both. I'm eager for a change, but at Cal Poly we will be working under some great people and get some awsome training. I will be getting some change obviously, I will be picking up more hours while Tom will get started on our fundraising. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Navs, its sort of like missionarys, we will be supported by individuals who wish to donate either a one time amount or a monthly amount that will allow us to work full time with the students. So there will be a few tight months for us while Tom is not working but meeting with tons of people and explaining our ministry and seeing if God's placing it on their hearts to support us. Like I said I will be picking up more hours at the store and maybe another job depending.

So needless to say we are so excited in God's plan and can't wait to get started. Everyone has been so amazingly supportive when we have told them about it. Tomorrow will be a big day telling my grandparents, aunts, uncles and whoever else is there. Anways pray for us as we go into this next step and praise God for just being so cool and letting us get to participate! Have a wonderful thanksgiving!

Egypt

Egypt was amazing! After a week of being back home I am still adjusting to the 10 hour time difference, and even though I really enjoyed going to Egypt it's definitely a place you only visit once. It was a tiring but fun adventure. Most mornings we woke up at 5 or earlier to beat the heat and crowds, the history was amazing, and what they were able to built was incredible. All the pictures I have seen of Egypt really don't do it justice, the monuments are so much larger. We also go to learn about local culture, we had two tour guides from the area who were really great. One guide had the best laugh and called us all habibah which translates as sweetheart but they use it like we use bro. To be a tour guide they have years of formal training and refresher courses all the time. They work for the government and if they told a local seller to leave us alone, they disappeared.Shopping there was an adventure. The vendors are very aggressive and are constantly calling out "HEY LADY". As we were cruising down the Nile as we were slowing down to go through a lock about 7 small row boats roped onto our boats and shouted up to people in their room windows and people on the top deck. My mom loved this and was dealing with on boat. They throw merchandise up on to the boat and then you have to try to bargain with them then put money in a bag and throw it back down to them. It was definitely an interesting experience.

My favorite was the Temple at Dendara. To me it seemed to be the most intact temple. It was beautiful and there were fully enclosed staircases that we took up to the roof. From there you could see what was left of the walls surrounding the temples and the gateways. On the back of the temple is one of the few reliefs of Cleopatra the VII and her son Caesarian. That is the Cleopatra most people know about.

We got to see where Nubia once was. The Aswan dam has caused what once was Nubia to be completely underwater. We also saw two temples that had been moved so they would not be flooded. Egypt is definitely different then America, it was dirty and polluted. You can smell the chlorine in the water and we were advised to even brush out teeth with bottle water and not to eat lettuce. The average age in the city is low and when you see the conditions you understand. We also talked to our guides about political views that people have and their government, they would only talk about these things when we were alone or only around people who didn't speak english. It was extremely eye opening and for people who think America is horrible, well it's not perfect but they need to see some of the alternatives. While we were there California was voting whether or not gay people could marry.... in Egypt if you are gay you go to jail. We have so many more rights we really are blessed. Also in Egypt there are armed military men EVERYWHERE, like I said before tour guides work for the government and also all the religious leaders are government appointed there which is very interesting.

But back to the history there was so much it was really amazing and hearing about Ramses II who it's pretty well believed that he is the Pharaoh during Moses time. We got to go to a papyrus store and see how it was made, we went to a Nubian perfumery and watch the perfume vases be made. We got to go into different tombs at the Valley of the Kings, including King Tut's and got to see his mask at the Egyptian museum. At the Valley of the Kings we also saw a large group that believes they are close to finding two more tombs.

I actually didn't buy as much as I thought I would, if you so much as look at something you will have three guys trying to grab you and pull you into their store, others will come up to you and try to put things on you. They will try to give you things saying its a gift and then 5 min later demand payment. Our guides warned us of all these things and at the pyramids they told us not to accept camel rides because they give you a price, take you out to the desert and then if you want to get back you must pay tons more. We had the option to do a camel ride at a specific place where it was safe but we decided to skip it. My dad on the other hand had a ball shopping. The guy that organized our trip, John, said he bets all the vendors hated my dad and were glad when he left. He also said dad was "tighter than a rusty lid on a pickle jar", there was more than once that everyone waited while dad finished haggling with someone. Dad loved it. He also had tons of people saying he looked Egyptian starting with the immigration guy at the airport. And I'm not sure if it was that or his height or just his friendliness but while at one of the pyramids he had about ten kids standing around him asking him questions to practice their english and getting pictures with him. He even had a family ask for a picture and the kid grabbed dads arm and put it around him, it was hilarious, Tom, John and I stood to the side just watching and cracking up.

Riding down the Nile was beautiful, the green and then the desert mountains. Oh and the fine sandy deserts you see in the movies, not very common, we were in rocky dirt. But floating down the Nile was so nice and hearing the multiple calls to worship overlapping, the only negative was the horrible smell of burning garbage. Whatever efforts we are making in America against global warming are being undone there, that's for sure. Oh and the kids on the bank would call out to the boat trying to get the boat to honk at them and to get all the tourists to wave and call hi back.

Well there is so much I can say but it's already a long enough post, but it really was a once in a lifetime trip, it was so amazing and I am so thankful that my parents took Tom and me on the trip. It was so much fun getting to experience it with my husband and also with my parents, it was amazing!

Computer, knitting and cupcakes

Today Tom came home with a new laptop for me! We have decided to cancel our tv and I said how I would really like a laptop in order to stay in touch with the world, especially since I mostly work from home now. We looked and then today he brought one home for me! So here I am on my new computer which by the way in it's first month of being in the Nelson family will get to enjoy a trip to Egypt. Lucky computer ;)

I have started knitting again. I had tried before but being overly critical I kept pulling out all my work. I decided this time I am going all the way no matter what happens, I am making a full scarf. It is coming along much faster than I thought, apparently all the practise before has helped me with the cordination of knitting. Once I am finished I shall post a picture (even if it ends up ugly).

Also I have recently found a blog about cupcakes, the lady makes all flavors and with amazing decorations, I'm inspired to try some myself. I'm making strawberry cupcakes for Halloween... this is largely due to the fact that there was a case of strawberry cake mix going out of code next month and so my dad sent me home with some. I'm looking forward to it. I'm going the down the easy road and doing something basic, hey people will actually see this, I will try something more daring when it's just me and Tom seeing them. Speaking of Tom, I promised to stop playing with my new toy and tuck him in, so until tomorrow ;)

Dinner with the Navs

Tonight we are going out to dinner with a couple who work for the Navigators in our area, we also are meeting their advisor.... not really sure what his correct title is but he oversees an area which includes slo. We had lunch the other day with the couple, they go to our church and their children have been in the children and youth programs with Tommy for years. They told us about the Navigators and what they do and Tom and I are going to find out more. We don't know what God's plan is for us, we are trying to be open to all possibilities. It is more what Tom is desiring, more discipleship based, less program and paper work stuff. People are usually changed by relationships not programs. But anyways, nothing decided yet we just want to check things out. If you know anything about this group, let me know, we really want to hear all sides.

2008 National Youth Workers Convention

I am home, we had such a busy weekend, it went by so fast but it was so much fun, it really was just an amazing time. We had a group of 7 and it was so nice to have meals together and actually take the time to talk about the speaker we had just heard.

We got in Friday and for our first general session got to worship with Lincoln Brewster and also Mercy Me. Throughout the weekend we also got to worship with Starfield, Shane and Shane, Hawk Nelson, The Glorious Unseen and someone I had never heard of named Kendall Payne who had the most amazing lyrics. There were tons of speakers at the general sessions and at the seminars, I got to hear Shane Clairborne and Tony Campolo (again). I also really enjoyed Mike Pilavachi, a youth worker who is British and he was dead on what you think of when you think British humor, he definitly had some funny stories. Also we had some great comedians there, ever heard of the Skit Guys? I never had but I totally recomend checking them out. Also Ron McGehee was hilarious!

Even though there was so much and we generally were going from 8 until 11 or later I feel so good coming out of it (this is also me talking after a full night sleep) it was so cool to hear real people talking about mistakes they had made, things that worked, things that didnt. It was amazing to worship God with a huge room FULL of youth workers. I bought some books to read and look forward to just thinking about all I learned. I'm so glad I went and that I got to share the experience with my husband.

Melanie Renee's Fashion Show

Here are a few pictures of Mel's fashion show, it was great! It was so fun to see mel's stuff being walked down the runway, I'm so proud of her!

My cousin noelle in the middle

My husband and I

Preview

Check out our Wedding Trailer

I did not know that they did this for weddings. We asked our friend if he would video tape our wedding, just the ceremony. Well he is a professional and as a gift filmed our WHOLE wedding and is making us a wedding video. How awesome is that? Love this video, can't wait to see the rest of it!

Melanie Renee

Below is the information for my cousins trunk show, shes had one before but this one is much larger, more exposure and as you can see a part a fashion event. She is so excited and so are all of us! It will be her new line which is really exciting, I have only seen it online and I can't wait to see it in person. Up until this line she has always used 100% cotton but now she is getting into some more expensive material. I'm so proud of her!

No longer a newlywed

I can't believe it, I have been married for over a year now. This anniversary came up so suddenly. Shouldn't be surprising with everything that's going on, it definitely has been a rough year, I am hopeful that this year will be better. Poor Tom had to spend most of the year being a support for me. I have been so blessed to have him. Tom's mom was in town the night before and took us out to dinner at AJ Spurs, she had never been to Templeton before so that was fun. For our anniversary we went out to a nice dinner and bought the newest season of the office. We had planned on going somewhere for a night but instead agreed to go to Oklahoma to visit friends and some of my Texas family who drove up to visit. It was so much fun to see them.

Well I have not posted in a long time, in the middle of August our dog JW went missing after a thunderstorm. We were all very worried and mom called the local animal shelters which gives a list of animals picked up. After a few days JW's description was posted and where he was found (down the highway from our ranch) and the family he was staying with. Apparently if you pick up an animal you can help the shelter by keeping the dog at your home. Also if it's a dog you like then I would suppose you could keep them.

Anyways mom called them and the man said yep, JW had his head in his lap that very moment. The whole time JW was missing our other dogs had stopped eating, they had done this before when our other dog died. My mom took the dogs with her and was sitting in the back of the truck with them while waiting for the guy to show up at the meeting spot. As soon as they saw JW, Micah started whining. When the man let JW out, he ran and jumped in the truck where the other dogs started giving him kisses.

My mom said something about how she hoped he didn't mind JW's talking (if anyone has ever meet our dog he "talks" to you by barking and growling, hes totally friendly but if you didn't know he was just saying hi it would be intimidating). The man gave my mom an odd look and said JW had not made a sound the whole time he was with them. Poor guy.

We are so thankful to that family, they had seen him running along the side of the highway and are so awesome that they stopped. JW immediately ran to them. I'm so thankful for people who will go out of their way for others.

Ok I need some coffee before church...

VBS, Hume, Monterey and more

Well it has been CRAZY! I finally feel like I caught up on some husband time. It started with VBS decorating, followed by a week of VBS, a week at Hume and then three days at monterey. And the job of a pastor means that people don't believe in weekends. It sometimes seems like everyone waits to call Tom until Saturday. It's easier to handle though when we have time during the week and so while all of that was fun, its so nice that it's done.

VBS was awsome, below is a picture of crew #2, beneath all those kids is Andy, Rebecca and me, the crew leaders!


Our group was so awsome, they are preschoolers so TONS of energy and after Mike encouraging screaming contests they were all hyped up and loud. My nephew Joseph was in my group and his new best buddy Josiah. So many fun memories, the kids definitly enjoyed it.

My mom and I helped drive the kids up to Hume lake, and then left them. No cell service so only conversations with my husband were on a payphone that I called at a specific time and we hoped noone would be on. My mom wanted to go up and stay two nights at a cabin. I told Tom about the Friday night but for Thursday told him to get to the phone at the same time. I was there waiting. He was VERY surprised. It was good to see him and I got to go to the service they have at night. The rest of the time mom and me read, walked around the lake (and everywhere else) watched some office and just had a fun time.

Got back from Hume Saturday, Sunday Tom worked, Monday we were off to Monterey. Dad, mom, Nathaniel, Dora, Joseph, Tom and me.... because it is necessary to have that many adults when taking a child to the aquarium. :) needless to say we had a blast. And for a couple hours Tom and I went off with Tim to take part in "Tim-fun-interactive" Tim is huge on making games and extension packs and for us he made a scavenger/mystery hunt. It was awsome! There were secret drop offs, pick ups, movie clips with directions, newspaper story's, puzzels and mystery phone calls. It was so much fun!



Even though I'm pouting in the picture I'm having fun, I just didnt want to be all alone in the giant shell.

Sunday me and Rachel drove to Gilroy to meet up with Kristin, it was so cool that we were able to meet up. We got to catch up some, she really needs to move closer.

Saturday we are doing an August babies birthday party, my mom, my uncle and me, yay us! all three babies of our families. And hopefully at the end of this month Tom and I are going to go visit some friends of his who I still have never meet. I can't wait!

old email from Kristin

1. What is your occupation? whatever someone wants it to be
2. What color are your socks right now? ones white with pink, the other white with purple. missing their parnters and they are the same sock so they are now the new couple
3. What are you listening to right now? the voices in my head
4. What was the last thing that you ate? today I have only had a latte, last night for dinner I had a chicken sandwich and fries, SO GOOD!
5. Can you drive a stick shift? yep
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? hmm, today I would be tan with a dull tip
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? A lady named Marie, looking for my price changes
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? dude, totally, just wish she lived closer
9. How old are you today? 23. A month until my birthday
10. Favorite drink? lemonaid, lattes, water
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? on tv womans soccer, in real life hockey is fun
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? yep, gotta cover that grey. Actually started in high school but now I have no choice
13. Pets? Lupin and Lily (cats)
14. Last text message? From Dora looking for my pink wig
15. Last movie you watched? The Dark Knight
16. Favorite Day of the year? well thanksgiving has the BEST food! I'm looking forward to our first anniversary
17. What do you do to vent anger? lol cry and/or vent to Tom
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? playmobile and legos
19. What is your favorite season? benefits to all of them
20. Hugs or kisses? hugs and kisses from my husband
21. Cherry or Blueberry? Fresh cherries
22. Do you want your friends to email you back? yep, love getting mail
23. Who is most likely to respond? lol kristin thought it would be me, glad to prove her right
24. Who is least likely to respond? kristin, she sent it to me
25. What happened to Peter Pan? he started making peanut butter
26. When was the last time you cried? last week
27. What is on the floor of your closet? shoes, a box full of flip flops, own way to many but can't decide which ones to get rid of
28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? well just posting it but of the people reading this Tracy has known me my whole life
29. Who is the friend you have had the shortest that you are sending this to? whoever stumbles upon my blog and reads it... guess they are not my friend but they might send me a message and who knows where it would end, we could become friends
30. Favorite smells? water on cement, Tom's cologne, my hair stuff, its called grund but smells wonderful. And freezers, dont know why but most freezers smell so good.
31. Who inspires you? Tom and Mara really are great encouragers who believe in me. they encourage me to be a better person
32. What are you afraid of? being raped. So many women are, so sad.
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Spicy friend chicken burger
34. Favorite car? I miss my bug but it's so nice to have a four door
35. Favorite cat breed? all of them
36. Number of keys on your key ring? oh geeze no idea, four for house, mail, garage, two for work, one for a lock and who knows what else
37. How many years at your current job? like 3 years full time? but have worked off and on part time since i was 14
38. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
39. How many states have you lived in? 1
40. Do you think you're funny? well I'm a klutz and run into and drop things all the time. Seems to amuse my husband ;)

The calm before the storm

Well tomorrow starts VBS. I guess the storm actually started last week with decorating, Tom has been so busy and focused but it really has come together so great! I'm with the preschoolers, they are so cute. Oh forgot was suppose to get out my knitted pink wig and my other pink wig so me and Dora can awsome! ... or just weird like usual, it should be fun.

I just felt like posting but really don't have much to post about. Just wanted to say hi but now it's time to get out of pj's, get some coffee and run some errands. Hope everyone is having a great weekend

Random photos of my life

he was having fun

So I think before Dora even got here, my mom and I were cleaning out my old bathroom. I found some lipstick and asked Joseph if he wanted to put some on, it was pink and my mom told me he couldnt wear pink lipstick. Honestly, hes a kid, he don't care. Well I then found blue lipstick, who can argue with that? Oh and don't ask me why I have blue lipstick, I have a faint memory of being in Claires when I was in junior high and thinking it was a good idea..... ok still like the idea, my taste has not improved. But anyways Joseph loved it, later found the wig to add to his "look". No my mom did not approve of the wig either but by the time she returned he had it on and was loving it.



precious face


he was loving giving kisses with the lipstick, going to have to let him play with it more often ;)


charming smile


he put it on all by himself, after kisses looks more lace facial hair lol.

VBS next week, I'm Joseph's crew leader, yay! Been decorating this week, looks AMAZING! The theme is Science lab and the decorations include black lights, fog machine, giant computer screen, bubble machines and more. Will post some pictures soon, cant wait to get some pics of it with everything running!

July

I can't believe it's already July, and well into it! The fouth was good. Mike, Merry, Tom and I went to the Cayucos parade, our Morro Bay Scan Coordinator was in it because she is honorary mayor of Cayucos. It was fun, there is no walkways so basically anyone watching was standing on peoples driveways and the entire length of the parade people were walking through. Didnt bother me but there was an old lady on the property behind us that I guess got annoyed and shoved a lady and was going off about how its her property. I'm sorry but you either have to rope of your space or deal because they are either on your property or a part of the parade. Later I heard a guy saying he had to put his mom in the house because she kept starting fights. So then I was thinking maybe she had dementia or something.

It's so sad how many elders end up so unhappy and angry. We are really missing out as a society. I have loved getting to hear stories about how things "use to be" and yes sometimes they are elaborated but just getting a glimps into their lives..... anyways where is that track that I left? oh there it is, the 4th. After the parade we went to my parents. The weather was amazing and we spend the whole day swimming. After that we went a BBQ that was Mike and Merry's friends, beautiful house and 2 sweet labs. It was in templeton and basically the type house I hope to someday live in.

The backyard goes up to an empty lot and then down into a creek. Tom wanted to go see the view, once we got to the fence we see a kitty take a squat. Very charming ;)

Dad's birthday was Tuesday, mom, dad, nathaniel, tom and I got him a BC (its for scuba). Well mom paid the main portion but we did help out. Oh and when we went to dinner for dads bday I got to meet Nathaniels new girlfriend Melissa. Not sure how serious it all is. She is very nice. Very strong Christian, she was married before and has a child. Told Nathaniel that she has made mistakes in the past but hopes to continue to get better. Also that God will always be number one in her life. So whatever the outcome it's in God's hands.

Insanity starts saturday with the youth doing an all day car wash. Dora and I are only there for half the day because then we have to go to a dog training thing at Woods Humane Society so we can start working with the dogs. Not that I havent enjoyed spending time with the kitties. And the kittens. So many kittens and absolutly adorable. But anywho. Next week is all VBS setup/decorating, following week mon-fri vbs itself. Yours truly will be leading a group of approximately 6 preschool kids (joseph one of those) sat is cleanup then sunday Tom and Dora leave until the following sunday for Hume lake and the day after they get back two nights in Monterey. I think Tim (my brother-in-law) is creating a scavenger hunt for us. He is always doing things like that. anyways hope everyone else had a good 4th

Weekend in San Francisco

So I somehow manage to get my entries deleted a lot. I was writing one the other day and then it just closed, I was so annoyed. Anyway we stayed at Maxwell Hotel in San Francisco. It was so cute (sorry didnt have a camera and couldnt find a picture online). I'm bummed though because they are currently working on remodeling it and it will no longer have the 30s look but a modern art look, as if the city isnt already full of hotels that look like that. So sad, but they didnt ask my opinion.







We also checked out the Conservatory of Flowers which had the butterfly exhibit and the Legion of Honor











We did some shopping too, a pretty casual weekend overall so that was nice. Tom made it home safe and sound.

It's been so crazy around here. Computer problems at work are driving me nuts. And then just tons of other stuff. Friday we are heading up to Tom's parents, we are all going to a baseball game Saturday. But leaving Friday also means we are missing out on two events, AHHH! Thursday Tony Campola is speaking at our church.

Yesterday Tom met Peter Gall, author of My Beautiful Idol. He was pretty excited, he just read it recently and really enjoyed it. Oh and yesterday Dora and I went to Woods Humane Society and now can volunteer. Very exciting and definitly looking forward to it. The guy is really nice, and he mentioned he needs help coordinating fundraisers, SWEET!

Came across this verse this morning: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
Its comforting. I have had so many troubles the last year and a half but it's nice to know that God sees it and loves me. That someday these issues that are causing me so much hurt will seem so small. It's still hard in the here and now but I just have to have hope and faith that God has a plan and that things will get better.

San Francisco!

Going to San Francisco this weekend with my cousin and mom, I'm so excited! Trying to think of good places to take my cousin. Shes been to all the main tourst things but I want to do some random stuff. Like that pirate shop, any other suggestions?

where are those darn pc's?

How many bathing suits do you own? way more than I need, and most my 2 pieces don't match

What woke you up this morning? Tom cuddling me before leaving for work. He is so sweet

Who is in the room with you right now? Um well at work :/ I know, I'm bad, but what else am I going to do waiting for the dumb pc's

Have you ever been in a college dorm? yep lived in one for a year, spent the night at one in berkley and went into one at cal poly..... all look bout the same, cement cells

Have you seen all six star wars movies? saw the old ones when I was a kid, so didnt really pay attention, want to watch them again.

When is the last time you were in a tanning bed? a few weeks before my wedding, didnt want to be whiter then my dress

Have you ever been given an engagement ring? yes a beautiful one! I still love it

Where are your siblings right now? Nathaniel's probably in AG working, hate it, I never see him anymore

What is your hair like right now? a mess, got it dyed last week so that looks good but it's up in a crappy bun, to lazy this morning....

Who was the last person you were in a car with? Tommy

Have you ever stolen a sign from a street? ... don't think so...

Do you own a gun? nope

When is the last time you went fishing? it's been a long time, probably over 10 years

Are your toenails painted? might be some paint left over from a long time ago but I hate painting nails I'm always too impatient to let them dry so they are all chipped and look bad.

Name 3 things you drink regularly? water, latte with 1/2 pump mocha and lemonaid are my most common

What is in your pocket right now? no pocket :( just fake ones on my jacket, very frusterating

What is the last thing that made you laugh? Lily being crazy as usual

Who is in the bathroom right now? probably a giant spidar

Who did you hang out with last night? went to a friends surprise bday party, but tom and I left early with chris

When are you going to bed tonight? Dunno, probably later then should but want to hang out with Tommy some before he leaves

Have you ever shut someone's fingers in a door? no don't think so. Rolled my cousins arm up in the window.

Do you know how to change a tire? Never tried but I think I could figure it out

Where did your last hug take place? my side of the bed, I was still waking up

Do daddy long legs freak you out? as long as they are not on me

What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Checking emails, on the phone fixing a billing issue for the store

Do you use smiley faces on the computer a lot? I wouldnt say a lot

Where is your mom right now? either at home or at the gym

Look to your left what do you see? close range, boxes on my desk, past that Erin and her desk, much neater than mine

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? The poor lady, we had ordered cookie jars from her, unfortuanlty she billed us through her parent company which sounded very odd so they thought the card had been stolen and canceld the charge. She was very happy I called her back since we basically have the cookie jars and got our money back too. Lol told our end to not cancel it this time

When was the last time you went swimming in a pool? bout a month ago, didnt really swim, got in to about my waist. SO COLD!

Have you ever wrote a coded message? yep

Do you currently have a hickey? I don't think so

What was the last reason you cried? overwhelmed I guess would be the easiest way to describe it

What are you seriously wearing? work clothes, mild plaid patterned capris, black top, and pea coat.

Have you ever talked to someone when they were high? yeah, in college, I don't think I ever talked to bobby's roommates when they werent high

How many red lights have you ran? maybe one

Is there anything that you are craving for right now? surprisingly not really, I know me and food, I must be getting sick

Do you drink tea? sometimes

Is anyone on your bad side right now? a few, all work related. One more just annoyed. if you work in an office with other people you should really ask before opening the window on a freezing day, and she's in long sleeves, grr, thank goodness for space heaters!

What jewelry are you wearing? boring post earrings, and my wedding ring

Do you clean when you’re upset? it depends on my mood

Whats the one thing that always gets you through a bad day? Praying, second is Tom

Would you kiss an ugly person for $1,000? Depends on the requirements of the kiss, it it was a basic one and Tom was ok with it, sure why not.

What are you doing right now? Wishing I had pc's listening to the radio online, checking email, working on our email list

Do you usually tell people when they hurt your feelings? I might tell Tom if he did but otherwise probably not, I tend to find people confrontational to that type thing and usually makes things worse

Do your initials spell out a word? njrn ... doesnt look like it but does look cool

How often do you give high fives? not often, jsut when Tom has no one to watch sports with

Have you bought any clothing items in the past week? no

Do you sing in the shower? not really, more just around the house

Where is the last place you went shopping for clothes? Target

Do you prefer a call or a text? text

Have you ever been on television? when I was young

Do you trust people easily? not really

Who was the first person you talked to today? Tommy talked to me, I mumbled back, hope it made sense

Looking forward to something this week? well not looking forward to Tom being gone but looking forward to a trip to SF with my mom and cousin

another one

Kristin emailed me this one

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE
yes, there was an actress who played a waitress named nicole, I can't remember her name in real life buy my parents thought she was pretty. Jeanette is my grandmothers middle name and then Rose was added when my other grandma pouted.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
can't remember a specific time but been crying a lot the last two years.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING
no, it's so bad

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
honey roasted ham

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
not yet, I'm looking forward to it though

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I don't know, depends on what other person I am. If I'm still me then most likely

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A Lot?
sometimes

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS
yeah

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
heck no, hate heights, don't trust those people that set it up and it's SO bad for your back

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
oh though one, I like lots of them but I usually want Frosted mini wheats

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
no

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
ha ha yeah right, my arms are so weak, my legs are only a little bit better

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM?
Cold stone cake batter with brownie, marshmellow and peanut butter

14 What IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
their smile

15. RED OR PINK?
Red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
I'm lazy, I get easily bored, I tend to get down easily

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
I miss Tom whenever I'm away from him

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Sure

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
I'm wearing pants that have browns in them and then tan shoes

20. What are you looking forward to in 2008?
Growing closer to God, my cousin Dora living out here, going to Egypt in November and jsut learning more and growing closer to my husband

21. WHAT ARE YOU listening to RIGHT NOW?
my thoughts ;)

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
ugh I hate this question, I dunno, vomit color

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Right after a rain, my husband, ok and this is weird but frezers smell good

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
my momma has called me twice this morning, before her my grandma

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Kristin? Shes alright I guess, lol just kidding she is a great person, always fun to hang out with, darn girl had to move to Oregon :(

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
I like womans soccer or fastpitch softball. Baseball is ok. But only in real life not a fan of it on TV

27. HAIR COLOR?
Natural, next tuesday I'm going in to do a really dark brown and hopefully cover up all that grey

28. EYE COLOR?
Brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
yep

30 FAVORITE FOOD?
All food! lol ok REAL mexican and Thai are prob my favs

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Gotta agree with K funny movies!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
I watched Drop Dead Gorgeous while Tommy watched basketball

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
salmon color. it was one of those mornings getting dressed

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Kisses

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Berry crisp, made some last night yummy, oh and with some vanilla ice cream SO GOOD!

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
dunno

38. Least likely to respond?
everyone

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Daniel and galations in the bible. Beautiful Idol (just started) and currently looking for some light and fun summer reads, need recomendations

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Dell computer

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
I told you Drop Dead Gorgeous. But lately it has been Top Cheif

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Lily's noises, she is so cute. Babies coo'ing (sp?), the rain, a fire burning.... now I want it to rain so I can cuddle with lily and a book by the fire.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
whatever

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
um Thailand i think

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I wish I did, unfortunatly I'm just a plane jane

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
San Luis Obispo, CA

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Anyones

bored

-Do you sleep with socks on or off? Off, drives me nuts to wear socks
-Do you flip your pillow to the cold side? nope
-Do you want a small or big wedding? always thought I would have a small wedding, but had a large one instead, it was great though, just wish it lasted longer so I could spend more time with all my family and friends
-Would you rather be rich and unhappy or poor and happy? who would answer rich and unhappy?
-Are you trusting of new people? depends on the vibes I get from the person
-What is the most money you would spend on a pair of shoes? depends on what they are for... and how cute they are
-If you were a crayon, what color would you be? peach...
-Do you have more friends or more acquaintances? acquaintances, I don't feel like I'm a good friend with someone unless I can share personal stuff with them. I would rather have a few meaningful relationships then a lot of surface ones
-Would you rather help someone out or be helped out? depends on the situation
-If you found out you couldn't have kids, would you adopt? that would be so hard to hear, the thing I want most is to have children. But if I couldnt then I would definitly adopt
-Where are you? California
-How was your weekend? it was good, drove out to go to my cousin's graduation party and mostly just hung out with family from florida that is visiting
-Did you kiss or hug anyone today? yep, my husband
-What is on your mind RIGHT NOW? I'm hungry and bored, how much longer till lunch?
-Would you take a bullet for anyone? I hope so
-Where would you like to live? I don't know, I'm not sure what I want
-What kind of house would you like? Well a small townhouse type place with a small yard, guess that could also be called a condo. I would really like to have a washer/dryer and a walk in closet, how awesome. Oh and in the small yard some sweet pea flowers, those are so beautiful
-What do you want to be when you grow up? a mom
-Last person to text you? Tom, I tend to bug him all day long with questions and comments via text messaging, he is nice and responds to me whne he can
-How often do you log in to myspace? If i'm online I tend to have one tab on local news, one on email and one on myspace
-Do you like candy necklaces? they are fun to play with, the taste is ok
-When was the last time you fell or ran into something? I always run into stuff.
-What was the last thing you drank? a latte
-What are you doing this weekend? big family BBQ on Saturday, Sunday my husband is preaching at big church and then all the fam is going to the boat for lunch
-Whats your favorite kind of soda? root beer, but I like lemonaid more
-How many times have you eaten sushi? not super often, I think the last time I had it was the night I got engaged to my husband.... that is so long ago... we need to go again. But no raw fish! God gave us fire so we can cook out all those bad germs
-Are you listening to music right now? yeah, not sure what it is
-What time is it now? 11:06 SO HUNGRY
-What do you like to listen to before you go to bed? nothing
-What makes you happy? my husband, family most of the time ;) reading.
-What are you wearing? boring stuff, was to lazy this morning
-Do you have a bad habit? yeah I eat to much when I'm stressed, bored or depressed

Family

our florida family arrived safe and sound yesterday. My cousin immediatly started setting up her new room and took her new car for a test drive, not a new car but new to her, it's my grandma's old car..... it runs so shes not complaining. I'm so happy to have them here! Tomorrow we are going to the valley for the day, my other cousin just graduated high school! YAY so my mom rented a 15 person van to get us all over there in one car, so that will definitly be fun! Hurray for the weekend! Ok I'm going to start listing prayer requests and praises at the end of my posts. Feel free to email me or comment your praises and prayer requests. I'm not super good about praying consistantly but I'm working on it and I like praying for others better than praying for myself. I have really enjoyed taking prayer requests at bible study, anyways gotta get back to work, not the weekend yet :/



Prayer Requests
Praise: Family made it safe and sound! Cousin Kody graduates! I have a wonderful family and an AMAZING husband!
Keep Tommy in your prayers he is preaching at big church the second and third weekend next month and pray for my cousin Dora as she settles into her new home here and starts making new friends and getting involved.

Fun if your bored

Found a fun webpage where you put in your name. The first part didnt fit me well but the second half was dead on. Kinda fun, check it out if your bored http://www.paulsadowski.com/Numbers.asp

A Soul Urge number of 7 means: With a number 7 Soul Urge you are very fond of reading, and retreating to periods of being alone and away from the disruptions of the outer world. You like to dream and develop you idealistic understandings, to study and analyze, to gain knowledge and wisdom. You may be too laid back and withdrawn to really succeed in the business world, and you will be much more comfortable in circumstances that are tolerant of your reserve, your analytical approach, and your desire to use your mind rather than your physical being.
You are very timid around people that you don't know very well, so much so at times that casual conversation and social situations can be strained. You tend to repress your emotions to the extend that some people have a good bit of difficult understanding you. You tend to be very selective with friends and you don't easily adapt to new environments or to new people very quickly.
The negative traits of the 7 include becoming too much the introvert and isolated from others.
An Inner Dream number of 6 means: You dream of guiding and fostering the perfect family in the perfect home. You crave the devotion from offspring and a loving spouse. You picture yourself in the center of a successful domestic unit.

Chris Simning

Tom and I got to go on a college retreat at Mount Herman and listen to a speaker named Chris Simning (check out link below). Such an amazing guy, he was just so honest and real and has a great sense of humor. It was cool getting to hear him speak.

http://www.obscureministries.com/home.aspx

So I helped start a new bible study that meets at my house every tuesday, we have only had 2 meetings but it's been really great. We do an appetizer, salad and dessert and then study the book of Daniel. It's a massive group of.... 3 lol. But it's all good, I think we have one or two new people this week. It's neat to be small though you feel like everyone is more comfortable to really talk.

Oh and please keep my cousin in your thoughts and prayers, I think I mentioned in an earlier post that she was pregnant, she lost the baby a few weeks ago. I couldnt even imagine what she is going through. My mom who endured miscarriages said the hardest thing was that noone understood that for you it was a baby. And not just a baby but a perfect baby, one who had never messed up or done wrong. In the movie Juno one of the characters say "A woman becomes a mother when she becomes pregnant, a man becomes a father when he holds his child the first time." So just keep her in your mind and she mourns the loss of her child. Thank you

Lonely

Its been a long few weeks with TONS of overtime, this week though I think I should be back to all 8 hour days (enough of this 12 hour crazyness). Bla with me working so much Tom and I hardly cross paths in the beginning of the week, me having to get to work at 6am (meaning a before 5 am wake up) and him working till 8 or 9. I'm just so grateful that it's done and it went well. The grand opening turned out great, and training is going well. I somehow managed to pull off two jobs at once.... ok I know how God blessed me SO much by giving me a great scan coordinator to train and tons of other amazing people who helped me pull it off. We had tons of great people who had lots of great things to say about us..... we also had some bad tomatoes..... well a guy stole a tomato, before store hours, and a few complainers. Nobody is perfect and they definitly let us know where we were flawed... at least in their books. And I don't know what is hard to understand about "put it in the box" I had more people asking where to put their entry forms as I stood literally right next to it (actually a little behind it) and it had signs and balloons, I'm not sure what people were expecting..... something bigger I suppose.

With my odd hours it has been common for when I am home, I am alone. Its weird how you can feel so lonely after being surrounded by people all day. Of course all that talking was questions and instructions, not much personal, emotional talk. I have been having weird dreams and missing my grandma so much more then I thought I would. I don't know if I mentioned in my last post but my mom, Doreen and I were out to lunch and mom was talking to her some about my grandma's final days and how it was so hard to watch her slowly deteroate. She mentioned how she realized a while before my wedding that my grandma wouldnt be able to go. My mom stopped mentioning wedding stuff around my grandma unless asked. Well about two weeks after my wedding my grandma said to my mom "I missed Nicole's wedding didnt I" and when my mom told her yes, she cried. I had never heard that and almost lost it when I heard it, now as I write it I can't help but cry. I miss her and I wish her end could have been different. I remember growing up she would stay one night a week with us, in my room, I would read aloud to her until she stopped correcting me because she feel asleep. She loved to swim and many nights we would go to a local hotel to swim. More recently I remember her showing my cousin and I her old college yearbook and a picture of her and a group of friends, they had invented a club to get a picture in the yearbook..... and if the dean knew what the initials of the club stood for, he would have never allowed it to be in there. Sorry to go off, this has been one of the hardest years of my life, there was a few weeks that each week I heard of another person I knew who passed away. One day my dad had to leave right after my great uncles funeral to go to a longtime friend and business associates funeral. Perhaps I am still morning them all and everything else that has been going on. I can only thank God that he blessed me to find Tom, I don't know what I would have done without his arms to fall into.

At least the stress and responsibility of work will be shrinking some. Next month our office manager is going out of town for 3 weeks and I will be picking up some of her duties for that time but it shouldnt be anything too huge.

lol so I meant to make a short and light post but where better to vent all your emotions then online right? Expecially when the only other living thing in the house is kitty cats, well and if you want to count the bamboo, it's still hanging on, but forget about the spidar plant and funky catus. The new scan coordinator told me I will teach her what she needs to know and she will teach me how to not kill a plant. I'm training her for one of the hardest jobs at the store (the other being store manager) but I still think she will have the harder job of teaching me to keep a plant alive. Oh and Tom finds it cool that I am training her because she is currently running for honorary mayor of a local town, he said if she wins I can say "I trained the mayor!" But truley she is such a blessing, and training has been going great. She went to my alma mater and her daughters are currently attending, kind of fun.

Anyways I babble. I guess I'm going to bore you all since I have no one else too..... he he. I have the CUTEST nephew. And saturday I get to baby sit! He is such a ham, he winked at me the other day..... well he closed one eye at me and I thought something was wrong with it then realized and asked him if he was winking and he did his smile and giggle that reminds me so much of his mama, adorable. He is just growing up too fast.

ok enough chattering. feeling better now that I talked about my adorable nephew. :)

Itchy feet

I hate when the bottom of my foot itches. It always happens at work or in church where its not exactly appropriate to take off your shoes. Today it was at work and I had my knee high boots that I had to unzip. I started just itching but my nails were not doing it so I grabbed a pen. I hate how it feels deep down in the foot like you can't reach it.

It's Monday! Over the weekend I was informed we are doing another "Open House" for Cookie Crock Family (employees). Thankfully I am not involved, I just have to show up and enjoy..... well that's what they tell me now anyway. This morning I drove straight to Morro Bay and decided to get coffee through this new drive through, its so cute looking. So I pulled in and the lady was SO friendly (and not in a fake, I want to get a good tip kind of way). She noticed my car had no license and so asked me about my new car and just was super friendly, I definitely will stop there again. But my nice coffee lady buzz was slightly diminished when I unintentionally slaughtered a bird :( he just flew right in front of me. I looked back and all I saw was swirling feathers. I forgot to see if he is still on the front of my car. Kind of worried actually. Course I am probably scaring children if it's poor little body is still there. I feel so bad, I hope you died quickly

The stores soft opening starts wednesday. It's super exciting but also just a crazy mess. Our tech people that were SO great and made us all kinds of promises have become flakes. Suppose to be there tomorrow so fingers crossed!

Ok so I'm going to make a confession, I'm not wearing any green (no cyper pinches please). I just totally forgot, it came up so quick. And me being the oblivious person I am didn't figure it out until I got online to look something up and noticed google all done up in clovers. Oh yeah, St. Patrick's day, that explains the girl with the green antennas... well sort of.

Ok, breaks over, hope everyone has a good St. Patrick's day. Oh and in case you were worried my foot has been itched and is no longer annoying me

Rambling

http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/2008/03/theyre-thrilled.html

Ok so I am TERRIBLE with grammar (among other things) but it's fun to see I'm not the only one that makes mistakes. There are some pretty funny ones. The thing is a lot of these are at job sites..... I am in charge of writing signs and flyers and such but I always have them reviewed before going out (and not by my dad, he is worse then me).

The new store is doing a soft opening next week! It's so crazy! Every day I get another thing added to my list of things to do. There are two of us in charge of PR, Grand Opening, and our community outreach event. I'm more on the lines of making sure we have people to work things, getting decorations, facilitating stuff, answering questions, etc. Today I got another job task. The scan coordinator is having a hard time so now i get to go and be her shadow and see what she is not getting, hopefully help, checking over her past work and fixing stuff. And if that's not enough I'm having issues with our price change system. Its frustrating me and of course when you call the help desk its "someone will be in contact with you someday" ok so they didn't say some day but last time I called they didn't get back to me until lunch time, which doesn't work because i have to go to the new store..... bla. Ok so yeah its crazy and every day getting calls and its just insane. I would enjoy it more if I had more of an idea what I'm doing but there are times where I feel like I am trying to find something with my eyes closed.

Yesterday was fun I went to the Other Boleyn Girl with Leanne. I know, I can't believe it took me this long to see it either. It was good, it of course strayed from the book which the book also strayed from history so it was more of a interesting story then really based on fact. I heard someone say it was a depressing movie.... I guess they didn't know the story before because I really didn't think any story about Anne Boleyn would be anything but dark. I won't say anything in case someone reading this isn't familiar with the story. I will just say it's super interesting and if you ask me a question about Henry the VIII and his court be prepared for a long conversation. It's just all so interesting and crazy how things were back then.

Anywho, tomorrow Tom and I will have been married for half a year! I can't believe it, at times I feel like we have been married for only a month and then other times its like forever (in a totally good way). The wedding seems ages ago. It's been so fun though just getting to know Tom more and more every day and just building our marriage. I feel so blessed and God just blessed me so much by having us meet when he did. God's timing is perfect. The last year has been so full of things and I don't know how I would have got through it without Tom to hold on to.

Bla, just waiting for the dude to call me back. That's the hard thing at work is so much right now is hurry up and wait. I can't move forward on what I am working on until he calls, which means I also have to stay at my computer until he calls. But the only thing I have to work on here is the problem I am having. It's a catch 22. Oh and another good news Tommy is taking today off! His second week in a row with two days off! It's so awesome to know that we have all night together and tomorrow we can sleep in! Yippy! Anywho hope everyone has a great weekend!

any suggestions?

I'm trying to think of a new name for my car, anyone have suggustions? It's so cute, I'm thinking maybe something hippie like Daisy, Dawn, or something like that. Any ideas? Or anyone like either of those two names?

New car!

We picked up our new car today, it's a honda fit sport in Tidewater blue! So cute! Good timing too, I have been driving the van since my car died and yesterday it was giving me issues. Got to sit on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere at 8 pm and wait for my daddy to come rescue me!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v668/puppyfeet5/?action=view&current=FitTidewaterBlueMetallic.jpg

Daylight savings monday

Yesterday someone in the office mentioned that daylight savings is this Sunday coming up. So I was completely surprised and responded with much more feeling then necessary "WHAT?!?! THIS SUNDAY?!?!?" well needless to say everyone in the office looked at me in shock. It was still early morning and anyone that has been near me in the mornings knows its hard enough to get me to speak at all, but to have any emotional response is out of the question. In attempt to save face I shrugged nonchalant and said "oh that's cool." Sometimes even I think I'm weird. But honestly already daylight savings? And this is the evil one where its light later so you have a hard time going to sleep and then you have to wake up earlier which is just sucky.


But I have good news, next week (fingers still crossed) I will most likely be driving my new car! HURRAY! After tons of research and test driving I decided on the Honda Fit Sport http://automobiles.honda.com/fit/exterior-360-view.aspx in Tidewater blue (basically as sky blue). Apparently I tend to pick the least common color. I had done the same with my bug but settled for the blue but this car, nope, getting the color I want, YAY! It also comes in the blue of my bug but my mom was already making fun of me because we all had to agree that this car is basically my bug with four doors. But what really sold me is the seats. They lay down for the large trunk, which is common, but they also flip up so in the middle you can put stuff.... I know my dad asked me when it would ever be necessary but who cares it's awesome! http://automobiles.honda.com/fit/interior-photos.aspx?num=FT7-26 He also kept calling the car color sea scum, pond water and the like. He is getting closer though, at least he is no longer calling it pond or sea scum. So tomorrow if all goes well Tom and I will go pick it up! I'm so excited!


In other news, the store will probably be doing a soft opening in about two weeks. Grand opening plans are going great, keeping me busy but I realize I definitely enjoy coordinating events, well fun ones like grand openings and weddings. It was frustrating last week though, a friend of my grandparents got a News letter from the elderly community center in Morro Bay that mentioned the store.... in a bad way. Its so frustrating that they can attack us and on things that are so far off from the truth. What happened is they wrote us a letter asking us to donate to them. Well at the time we were still not in possession of the store and not 100% sure if we would ever be. And with over 1000 applications, hundreds of interviews and not to mention just all the legal hoops one has to get through to open a store we were all pretty busy. Well we never responded to the letter and once we were in the store, busy cleaning and getting it up to health codes (yeah Vons was missing the mark on multiple health codes.... never shopping there, at least Albertsons is clean) they came in and rudely addressed our new store manager Randy, and anyone who knows Randy knows what a great guy he is.


Randy told them that the food scraps that are left and not fit for humans goes to a pig farmer. So in the News letter they mentioned how Cookie Crock has a contract with a pig farmer and we only give to them and we have no community spirit..... what the? honestly if they did one step of research they would see we donate to more charities and in more financial amounts then any of the chains here. Its so frustrating, I mean our whole grand opening is also being a community service exhibition. We opened it up to local non profits to have a chance to talk to people, give handouts about what they are about and just become more recognized in the community. We have joined the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce and hopefully the Los Osos one as well. Our Cambria store has donated since its beginning to Rotary, Coast Union Boosters club, Camp Ocean Pines and many more. Our list grows yearly! Ok enough venting but its just so frustrating to see people so dumb. They are trying to screw us when we are really the ones that could have been a large supporter of them. My dad wrote them a letter that was much nicer than I would be. He is so calm and collected.

My mom always told my dad you have to toot your own horn and she was right. If you see an article about a large company donating, that is exactly what they are donating, no more than that because if they can't get press on it, they wont do it.

But anyways I'm sorry for the word vomit. It's been awhile since I have posted. We have had networking/internet problems. Finally got everything put back together. The Morro Bay store is looking so great, and the grand opening is going to be awesome. I am really looking forward to it.

Oh and how could I forget, some great news, my mom got an inheritance from her mother when she passed away and since she didn't need the money she wants to do a trip. Nathaniel of course is not interested but Tom and I are stoked. 2 weeks in Egypt! Egypt is in the top 2 of places I have wanted to go! It's not until November, but I can't wait! We are doing a river cruise on the Nile for 7 nights and then the rest of it is spent in different parts. It's put on by the travel agent downstairs and he is really about getting his tour groups to get to do things different and fun. My parents went with him for the first time last year. Also when we are on the boat, each night after dinner there will be an Egyptiontologist which will tell us some history but also have plenty of time for questions.


So exciting! I had hoped to go to Egypt but thought it wouldn't be until much later. It's very exciting. And Tom got a raise when we got married and with that he gets 3 weeks vacation time so it's perfect. Also exciting is this week will be his first week with two days off! He is for the most part going to have two days off from now on and we are so incredibly blessed that they are two days in a row and even more so that its a Friday and Saturday! We are so excited. It will make trips to visit his family much easier (before he had a kids program until 8 friday so we would be able to leave until after then would have to come back saturday night so he could work sunday).

It's pretty exciting, and in 2 or 3 months my cousin from Florida is coming out and will be living with my parents for the year! She will be interning with Tom which is so exciting, she is really just such an awesome person and I am excited about getting to spend more time with her.

I need to get a link on here for this site that has a really cool resource for reading the bible. It has different translations, commentaries and a dictionary, I will try to remember to get it, it's pretty darn cool. Anyways, to whoever is reading this, hope your week is going great! God bless

I'm feeling well.... can I please go home?

Yesterday I spent the first half of the day at the store. Everyone is sick. There is a cold going around, and unfortunatly everyone has it.... except for me.... so far.... knock on my Odwalla C-Monster.

But even being in the midst of germs I was ok because we finally got ahold of someone to fix a computer problem. It's not like we pay them to be our IT support, or that they promised to always be reachable. It's frusterating when you are paying someone to help and you can't get anyone to call you back. So basically our Scan Coordinator and I sat and took turns calling every half hour.

Hurray for being able to annoy someone until they help. I have used this method at stores. I hate when you go in and they are chatting with co-workers and don't even acknolge the customer. I usually start picking stuff up and almost dropping it or knocking things over. Or just be one of those loud talkers. I'm cool with the fact that people like who they work with, thats awesome but honestly and least through me a hello.

Tom and I...... ok I am finally taking the steps to combine our bank accounts. I finally went in yesterday to close out my account (what I thought would take 10 min tops, took almost an hour). And today I am taking the final steps. YAY! Then car shopping.

For those of you who don't know Angie (my VW bug) is on her final leg. Our mechanic told me don't drive it or something will explode or burst or something that just didnt sound good. So Tom and I have moved up the car hunt. We were looking at the end of the year but now we are looking in the next month or so. We are hoping to get a family type car, four doors, enough trunk space for a stroller. We are thinking of kids not too far off in the future and we want to have a car thats all paid off when we are ready. Kids are expensive so we don't need car payments on top of that.

Went to our bible study last night, I really like our group. It's 5 couples including us and everyone is just honest. Even when it's something they failed on. We are really enjoying it.

Tom will be out late 3 nights this week. He usually doesnt get off work wed. and fri. until after 8 and then tonight we is working till 9. This hopefully will be the only week he will have to do 3 nights.

Did I mention that Tom's parents cat passed away, it's going to be sad to go to there house and Mimi not be there. Mimi was kind and passed on all her personal belongings to Lupin and Lily. They got a really cool cat tree which they are nuts over and some cat nip toys which Lily was freaking out and I was starting to get concerned for her health, she was flying high. But even funnier is Lily when we have the lazor pointer out. When we put it out of her reach, she chatters. It's so funny. I need to get a video of it. Anyways I'm rambling, what else is new ;)