The Love for Things That Grow

“Hobbits share a love for things that grow”.

I laughed to think, well of course! It’s because they can’t grow themselves!

So, Brad and I have expanded upon our garden inventory. My tomato plant has withered some but produced 4 tomatoes, one of which we were able to cut up. The cucumber has done well, there’s one huge cuke that looks about ready to pick, but some bugs have had a hay day on the leaves…it looks terrible.

I picked 3 peppers off my jalapeno plant and used them in a fish and grits dish after Mikayla’s baptism. Even the hot heads said they were pretty spicy. I assured them they were, in fact, jalapenos and I called them all babies. Then Brad noticed a red pepper growing off the plant, so we have now deduced it is a chili pepper plant, which rivals the heat index of the jalapeno….sorry Chris. You were right.

All my herbs are doing great. (thyme, sweet basil, and rosemary.)

We’ve been working on the grass in the backyard and will most likely lay some sod next month. It’s looking better all the time back there!

Brad marked out a flower bed and we’ll put two gardenias and some monkey grass in that.

He planted a baby plum tree, pear tree and dwarf orange, this week we’ll plant the raspberry bush on the side of the house under the kitchen window.

Mr. John (Whit’s dad) said he’ll let us have some blueberry bushes that he’s bringing down from his relatives’ in Tuscaloosa. I had some of those blueberries over the weekend and man they are good! It brought back some good childhood memories.

Next year we wish to plant a fig, lemon and lime tree.

 

Whew! We should be good on the fruit once these start producing. You know…one less thing to buy, right?

 

Games 2008

on’t you just love the Olympic games?

My favorites are swimming, diving, track and gymnastics. I also love watching the opening ceremonies. I’ve always had a fascination with China, but ever since Mikayla has been brought into our lives, the interest has grown. I loved the artistry and technology displayed on Friday night. My favorite was the countdown with the drums, and the little girl singing with the entrance of children. They were all so beautiful and many of them seemed to be the same age as KK.

I can’t wait to hear her talk about what she thinks of the gymnastics. She was just 4 during the last Olympics and I remember trying to get her to watch, but she kept falling asleep. She’s grown in her gymnastic abilities since then and she loves to compete. Mom put some great pics of her in action on her blog, see the link to the Family Blog to the left.

But Brad and I have stuff going on some evenings during the games so I may miss out on a lot…boo.

 

Still anxiously waiting.

There's not much news concerning the job market. I've interviewed some more, passed my resume more, and I have another call to make tomorrow. I'm not freaking out yet. (today)

I have been very down some days because this isn't normal for me to not get up and go to a job. I am enjoying it with a slight hesitancy. I'm spending more time with the kids and that's been fun. I'm taking KK and Hannah to see Kung Fu Panda tomorrow. I'm just as excited as they are! There are so many movies I want to see this summer. 

I'm leaving in a week to go to Texas to see Brad. Myself and the other Seraph wives and one girlfriend are all riding together and staying for a few days. We are all so excited!

I'm staying up later these days, getting caught up at night on Scrubs, Jon & Kate Plus 8, and Good Eats. I can't sleep in though. I did the first few days, then I couldn't do it anymore. I am however trying to keep my eating and exercise in check. I haven't had sugary desserts in 1.5 weeks. This is really hard. So, no cereals (w/ added sugar), muffins, biscottis, cake, etc... To satisfy my sweet tooth I'm having sugar free Jell-O and various fruits, some with honey on top. I'm trying to back off of unhealthy dairies as well right now. Brad is doing this with me and knowing he is making the sacrifice as well, it helps me to say no even when no one is looking. 

I swam laps yesterday and I am sorta feeling it. I loved it, I am hoping to do it more. It was such a nice change from the normal bike or elliptical at the gym. 

That's all for now. 

Mini Getaway

I'm at the beach now. I came down here to paint my friend's condo for her, but I'll only be here by myself until Friday night when the family drives down. But this solitude is starting to irk me already. I had to leave the pups at home; my neighbor is looking after them for me. Brad left for his summer camp trips this past Sunday. I'm still not working anywhere right now and I've discovered that alot has changed within myself since my high school and college years. Used to, I could sleep in til noon, eat cereal for brunch, sometimes dinner too, and watch MTV or SNL reruns until the cows came home. Now, I am having a hard time sleeping in late, and I have to "do something productive". I've been away from work for a week and a half now and I've only spent one day doing nothing. I have painted the bedroom, primed and sample painted my guest bedroom, ran a gagillion errands, kept my house top notch clean, tended to my garden and now I'm painting some more, but away from home. So now I'm forced to either paint or chill out. My right hand is so sore from the work of today and I'm chilling watching re runs of Jon and Kate Plus 8. 

So, there's a temporary position open at my previous employer and I would be working for my friend who is going on maternity leave for 3 months. I would start in late June and finish in late September. So, this sounds great, given the places I've applied are taking their time arranging an interview. It's just a long frustrating process. 

This is off the subject, but Mattie, the twin of Jon and Kate's is just like Mikayla, in my opinion. Anyway...I did watch Across the Universe tonight. Oh mah gah.... it was amazing. I absolutely loved it! 

I'm trying to wind down and get sleepy. So, that's it for now...nothing too exciting going on just yet. 

A few things I've learned

So, Friday night and Saturday were pretty rough. I was pretty emotional, but I don't think I let it show much. I know I was quiet and distant, but Brad was very patient with me and just let me deal with it all. He did give me great encouraging words, and still is. Friday night he told me that I should read Philippians. There are very challenging words in those four chapters. I've decided to re read it over and over and over. There are too many things in there that I still need to learn and put into practice.
So, with this whole job thing...
I'm working hard trying to get my resume out and set up interviews and such, but it's a slow process. My first concern about that isn't whether I can find a job or not, it's whether I can find a job that I liked as much as what I just had. I don't want to drive to other side of Mobile either. I've been miserable before and I don't want that again. But I have prayed that if there is a specific place He wants me, and it's not my ideal job, that He'll give me the grace to handle it. I know that everything doesn't revolve around me, but I also know that to seek happiness isn't always a selfish venture. There's a balance and I believe it comes from motive and attitude. I understand that God wants me somewhere else. I still have no clue where, so I am praying for direction and discernment.
I need to use this as a great learning opportunity. On Saturday when I was leaving the campus from cleaning out my desk, the thought occurred to me that in all things God is seeking to teach us. I said out loud, "This is not how I want to learn a lesson of faith." Oh well. I'm learning it anyway! And now I'm learning with joy and expectation. I'm beginning to look forward to what happens next. Yeah, I'm nervous because job seeking just makes me nervous. You know...the whole interviewing and follow up calls and waiting for "the phone call" just make me nervous. 

Well, I had a lot more to say today, but now my mind is wandering in a bunch of directions and I need to get ready to be somewhere. I'll be back later when the words occur to me again.

Yes, life has thrown has a curve ball.

Brad said it's more like a different play call, than a curve ball.

Two days ago, one hour before time to knock off for the weekend, I was called into the office of the VP of Business Affairs, who is my boss. He regrettably told me that my job was one of several that had been eliminated. UM doesn't have the student body to support the current functions of the school and restructuring was one answer to the problem.

I had no clue it was coming. I knew cuts were being made, but my job is kinda important, and I didn't make much anyway, so surely it wouldn't be mine. The thought never even occurred to me. So, needless to say I lost it. Not in the office, I asked to be excused, walked outside, called my husband and cried. He told me to just come on home. I did.

I went back Saturday morning, made a copy of my resume, cleaned out my desk and took a look around. I'm really going to miss it. I'm more heartbroken than anything because I loved being there so much. Sure, the job wasn't all that challenging. But I loved being there. I loved my coworkers, I loved the atmosphere there. All good things (except for Christ's love) come to an end.

So I'm just going to have to start over. I've already sent my resume to one source, I am interviewing tomorrow. I'm currently inquiring on three other jobs as well. I have learned mounds in the past three days that I will share later tonight. There's just too much in my head right now. So please come back for the next post. In short, I will say this:

My husband is wonderful.
My friends are such an encouragement.
My family is supportive.
My God is so good.