Sorry

To those of you who do stop and read, I am sorry. I just can't do it right now. There is nothing huge and overwhelming going on right now. But there are some smaller things, smaller things that sometimes feel big and overwhelming. But God is good, ALL the time. And so is my husband. Thank God for my amazing husband. That boy can handle my ever-changing moods like there's nothing to it.

I will write again sometime soon. First I have to finish my thesis. And then I have to work through this other stuff. Honestly, I don't even know what all it is yet. I just know I have to deal with it. Chris and I will be making some decisions and they're going to be tough decisions to make and follow through with. But again, God is good, ALL the time.

Take care, my friends.

Unmotivated

So I haven't felt like blogging at all lately. Could be that there's a lot going on. I'm not sure what it is, but I just haven't wanted to write much of anything lately - my blog, e-mails back to friends, or even my thesis. On that last one, I must get my tukus in gear if I really want to graduate in December. But like I mentioned, it's just very hard to write right now. So I'm going to share some photos with you and a little bit of what's happened over the past few weeks.

We got to see my sister Roma and her husband Rob and their little guy Ryan a few weeks ago. Here's Ryan and Chris having fun. I think Ryan was afraid that Chris was going to take his book home with him!

Below are some of my favorite guys in the world. In the back is the world's greatest husband, Christopher. Beside him is Mike, Dan and Arlin. In front are Kenny and Dave. These guys are all in our small group and are a lot of fun to be around and study with. This photo is from our Father's Day celebration/challenge. They're gathered around the chair they had to build and got judged on. This group was the winner of the challenge.
Katia and Ian came out the weekend before the 4th of July. We spent one of their evenings here out at our friend Cherie's house. Here's Chris with Ian and Griffin playing swords. Here's Chris and I with Katia and Ian.

It's been so busy lately; I feel like time is just flying by. I got sick in the middle of July with a combination of a sinus infection and bronchitis. I ended up missing several days of work trying to shake them. Finally recovered enough to go back to work only to head to Florida for a work conference. Had a great time there although the plane rides there and back didn't help my sinuses. I got to spend some time with my friend Tami and meet the precocious and adorable Cori. Also got to see my friends Mike, Robert, Damarys and others. It was nice to catch up and quite fun to meet new people. Unfortunately, there was no time to go see or visit any of the local attactions in Orlando but I had still had a great time. I was able to go on a conservation tour to The Nature Conservancy's Disney Wilderness Preserve which was very cool. We went on a hike through a nature area, canoed in a lake that is part of the headwaters of the Everglades, and took a swamp buggy tour over some rough terrain. Definitely a cool ecosystem!

Got home from Florida on Friday afternoon and had a wonderful weekend with my husband. And then it was back to work. Seems like Chris and I have been running ever since. Spending lots of time with church friends and catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while. We're getting excited too - Chris' brother Mike and sister-in-law Carrie and their little guy Marshall are coming down to spend Labor Day weekend with us. We can't wait! Marshall is now walking on his own and we especially can't wait to see him! My sister Robyn is also due with my niece on September 2nd. We can't wait to hear about Baby J's arrival! I'm thinking it could be anytime now. My friend Sharon and I went garage saling on Saturday and I found a bunch of cute little girl stuff, along with some fun Iowa Hawkeye stuff for Ryan (Mommy is a big Hawkeye fan) so I need to wash all of it and get it ready to send. I love the fact that my sisters aren't garage sale snobs so I can get stuff for them and the babies. :)

We are planning a weekend trip out to Denver in October to see Robyn & Erik and Baby J, and Roma & Rob & Ryan. It's nice that I have 2 sisters in Denver and we can see them all the same weekend. We're actually planning on going out on Amtrak - something neither Chris nor I have ever done so we're cautiously excited about that. I'm just hoping we are both able to sleep on the train.

That's about all I've got for now. Oh yeah, I've been noticing some interesting paths on my stat counter - some local, some not. I don't mind people reading my blog (obviously since I haven't password protected it or hidden it) but I do like to know who's reading. If you're reading, and haven't commented yet, drop me a line. I'd like to know who my audience is. :)

ABCs

ABC's from Rachel

A is for age:
32

B is for booze of choice:
Kaluha & Milk over ice

C is for career:
Soil Conservationist with USDA NRCS

D is for your dog's name:
No dog – no indoor pets due to allergies

E is for essential items you use/love everyday:
Current favorite CDs, water, hair clip, lip balm, Werther’s original chewy

F is for favorite song(s) at the moment:
“While You Were Sleeping” – Casting Crowns & “Dance, Dance” – Fallout Boy

G is for favorite games:
Settlers of Catan, Crazy 8s, Yatzee (with Chris), Liverpool Rummy

H is for hometown:
Sioux City, Iowa

I is for instruments you play:
None, would love to play piano or guitar

J is for jam or jelly you like:
Grape jelly, strawberry jam

K is for kids:
None yet

L is for last kiss:
Christopher, this morning

M is for most admired trait:
Being able to befriend anyone

N is for name of your crush:
Christopher

O is for overnight hospital stays:
When I was sick as a baby, with Chris when he was sick in January

P is for phobias:
Spiders (esp after my infected bite this summer)

Q is for quotes you like:
“Always give your best. Never get discouraged. Never be petty. Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then, you destroy yourself. And so we leave, with high hopes, in good spirit and with deep humility and with very much gratefulness in our hearts.” Richard M. Nixon, upon resigning the Presidency

R is for biggest regret:
wanting others to like me, need the approval and acceptance of others – really working on this.

S is for sweets of your choice:
Chocolate chip cookies – trumps almost anything else.

T is for time you wake up:
6:00 am

U is for underwear:
Hipsters, fun and cute

V is for vegetables you love:
Green beans, corn on the cob

W is for worst habit:
Habitually being late.

X is for x-rays you've had:
Ankles, wrists, elbows, knees, ribs, skull – have I mentioned that I am a major klutz!?

Y is for yummy food you make:
Rosemary chicken, lasagna, Grandma Ford’s peanut butter frosting, spinach rosemary roll-ups, Lust cups (Remember these, Deed? Haven’t made them in ages!)

Z is for zodiac sign:
Cancer

Now you know my ABCs... Won't you play along with me!Do it on your blog and then leave me a comment that you did it.