One more little thing...

I know I'm pale. What's a girl to do? It's the middle of winter. Plus, I try to do the responsible thing & use moisturizer with sunscreen. I've been doing this for the past couple of years & my complexion is noticeably fairer, especially in the winter. It annoys me that doing the healthful thing makes me look unhealthy to others (and to myself). So what's the compromise? What do all of you guys do? Sunscreen on your face year round or are you tanning it up?

WHAM!

That's the sound of me getting bulldozed by the Mac Truck of Sickness yet again! I don't understand it - I don't even have little kids & yet I seem to be sick a little too often for my comfort. I should have known it was coming b/c last week several people remarked to me that
I was looking very pale and had I been sick? Nope, but I was fixin' to be sick! Just didn't know it yet. It officially started Thursday morning when I woke up. I had a deep painful ache in my chest. One hot steamy shower later the ache was mostly gone so I shrugged it off & bolted out the door for a two-job (i.e. 14 hour day). I ended up driving almost all day for my full-time job. Every time I got in and out of the car I wondered why my legs were so super achy. And I just felt out of sorts. But I just dismissed it as tiredness & headed off for job #2. By now it's 3:30 p.m. & my armor is wearing thin. I got to job #2 & saw the schedule for the next week & started to cry b/c I was scheduled for 4 days. People, that is way more than I can handle! 51 hours a week is enough; 63 hours a week is too much! We are converting to a new computer system & so there are additional hours to cover training sessions, etc. What I didn't know at that point is that the schedule was open to adjustments. I think before the shift was over I had cried about 5 times. Not sobbing or anything, but definitely tearing up. At this point I didn't even feel all that bad - no fever, just achy & out of sorts. Mike & Beth were texting me Bible verses to encourage me - it was so sweet! I went straight home after work. Mike was there working on the kitchen. I took my temp. & it was starting to climb. He administered some rapid release tylenol, told me good bye & I went to bed. And that's where I stayed all day Friday. I wasn't any better on Saturday (actually a little worse) so I had to go to the urgent care clinic. They did a strep test, it came back positive, & they gave me a shot. I headed home, had a snack, went back to bed. I woke up a while later with a horrible stabbing pain in my right side that went up through the right side of my chest. I could hardly draw a shallow breath. I made about 8 phone calls, Mike got there & we finally just decided that maybe I was having a bout of pleurisy. I could breathe, it just hurt a lot. After a while it subsided but it took almost the whole rest of the day for it to go away completely. It was very frightening. So the rest of Saturday was spent mostly in bed. I was starting to feel like the grandparents in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Remember how they never got out of bed? Anyway, yesterday I still struggled some with fever but I felt well enough to go over to mom & dad's. They fed me & let me do all my laundry. Wow, it had been about 3 weeks since I had done laundry. I was grateful for my ginormous wardrobe (mostly accumulated when I was a mall employee & I could scope out the sale racks three times a week).

Anyway, thanks be to God I'm upright & at work today. However, I am taking the day off from job #2. I didn't think I could pull a 14-er today. Too much!

I just gotta say, if you are sick, my people are the ones to have around. Mike's momma is a sweetie. She sent me a pot of delicious homemade chicken noodle soup on Friday. Mike spent countless (I'm sure boring) hours with me. While I cried, while I slept, while I lay there like a slug. He worked on the kitchen, ran errands for me, & held my hand. What a sweetie! My parents were awesome, too. Checking in on me, taking me to the doctor, buying me McD's. The list goes on & on. I may not have been blessed with super good health lately, but I surely have enjoyed God's blessing in how I have been cared for.

Anybody out there have immunity boosting tips???

A Wedding Planning Update

Here's an attempt for me to get my head straight about what I've done & what I need to do as well as an opportunity to fill you in on the planning (if you are curious about my progress). Right now I feel as if I have 6,438 things Half done. Not such a great feeling. Anyway, little baby steps every day, right?
* I just ordered our cake topper. It looks like this:

I love it. I love birds & these two just look so cuddly & adorable. We also have talked through our ideas for a cake & decided what we want for sure. NEXT STEP: call the cake lady & make sure she can do what we want.

*I have e-mailed the lady we want to be our photographer. She actually does the cleaning at my workplace. She will graduate in May with her degree in photography & she has already done several weddings. I'm excited about having her take our pictures b/c she is going to give us a disc with everything on it & then we (i.e. Mike) can play around with it & create our album.

*I have my hair girl booked. DeAnn does great work!

* I have my beautiful dress. And shoes & veil. So pretty...can't wait to wear them!

*I have my flower girl booked. My friend Abby is doing all the flowers & I get to meet with her on Tuesday evening for dinner, flower planning, & a super fun visit. Can't wait!

*The wedding party has been decided.

• Maid of Honor - Beth (my sister)
• Best Man - Stew (Mike's brother)
• Bridesmaids - Stephanie A. & Becky L. (sweet friends)
• Groomsmen - Jason & Stevie (Mike's brother-in-law & cousin)
• Greeters - Amoke' & Sandy G. (sweet, friendly friends)
• Ushers - Von & Victor (Mike's cousins)
• Piano player - Joyce (even the music is all picked out!)
• Vocalist - Gwen, accompanied by Jackie (Mike's sisters)
• Flutist - Aunt Ruth (she plays so beautifully!)
• Reader - this is still undecided. I have someone in mind that I would love to have involved & I would love to have a passage of Scripture read during the ceremony, but it hasn't been officially decided.
• Cake & Kitchen helpers - I have four lovely ladies in mind, but I've only actually asked one - my sis-in-law Valerie. Still need to ask Roxi, Virginia, & Janet.
• Reception Host - I really want someone to be the person in charge so that there is a natural flow to the reception. I want my brother to do it. He's very charming & is good at being in charge. Still need to ask him.
• Reception music - I asked my g-ma to record a little lovey-dovey song that could be played while we cut the cake. I love to hear my g-ma sing & I have so many sweet memories of singing with her, I really wanted her voice to be part of the wedding somehow. We need to pick a song & record it.

* The guest list is coming together very nicely. Except for the fact that it is HUGE! I'm a little worried about the facilities being big enough but my family keeps saying that the ceremony is going to be short, blah, blah, blah. I guess if we have people standing in the back & in the foyer that will just make the whole thing more memorable, right? Note to anyone reading this that is coming to the wedding - get there early! This is your warning that you may not have a seat if you don't!

* Meet with the girls to have their dresses fitted & ordered (looking forward to that - girl time!)

*Tentatively scheduled counseling sessions with Pastor Jeff.

So, that leaves me with a list of things yet to do...

*Engagement pictures & announcement for the local newspaper

*Selection of tuxes

*Selection & ordering of invitations

*Select & purchase wedding rings

*Finalize decisions regarding set-up & decorations for reception.

*Make final plans regarding the honeymoon.

*Call two hotels & reserve 2 small blocks of rooms for out of town guests.

That's enough thinking for right now. So exciting, so tiring, & so much fun. Only 142 days to go!

Good Morning!

Those of you who know me well, know that waking up in the morning is an arduous thing for me. I used to be one of those sleep in until noon kind of people. I'm not that bad anymore, but I do have a hard time dragging my sorry carcass out of bed (especially in the cold winter-time) to get to work by 7:00 a.m. The last couple of weeks I have needed to be at work by 6:30 a.m. That little half hour is a cruel thing. As a result, I need to get up somewhere between 5:15 & 5:30. I have to give myself a little leeway & a little snooze button time. The problem is, I kept turning my alarm off in my sleep. So I moved it across the room. Then I just didn't hear it at all b/c it's really not frighteningly loud. I also use my cell phone alarm. It wasn't doing the trick either. After several more-hectic-than-I-want-to-admit kind of mornings, I decided I MUST have another alarm clock. So I bought a beauty similar to this one:

Of course, mine is much more stylish b/c it's a brushed nickel kind of color instead of the bright gold. And boy, can that baby howl! Let's just say that it is a bizarre symphony in my bedroom early in the morning. The old alarm clock, the new alarm clock, & the cell phone are all in an insane chorus together, begging me to turn back the warm covers & start my day. Here's to no more running, screaming, hectic getting-ready-for-work sessions!

Answered Prayers!

Since I posted about my tax fiasco & resulting financial woes, I just have to post these two answers to prayer:
1. Mike will have a 40 hour work week next week! Hallelujah, I hear the angels singing! The plant manager guaranteed them all that he was doing whatever he could to keep it that way. We'll take whatever we can get.
2. My car has been making a strange rattling noise ever since we had that huge dump of snow. Let's face it, when you plow the streets with your front bumper, you're bound to do some damage up underneath. I've been putting off getting it checked out b/c I was worried it would be expensive. Mike & I kept saying that it was probably a chunk of ice stuck up underneath. This week we couldn't say that anymore b/c it's definitely been warm enough for all of that stuff to have melted off. So I took it in this morning. I have to say, the Lord has really blessed me with a trustworthy garage to take my car to. We take all of our company vehicles there, I know all the guys & they know me, & they always give me a great price. Anyway, turns out that there were just 3 trim clips missing from the right front inner fender. $16 later, I'm good to go. Thank you, Lord!
Isaiah 65:24 says,
It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
I saw this verse referenced on someone else's blog, & I thought it was a wonderful promise. I am grateful that the Lord I serve is actively at work in my life, anticipating my needs & hearing my prayers.

Training Update

In her comment a few posts back, Alicia asked if I was still training for the Indy Mini. Yep, I'm still slogging away. I did not realize how lazy I had become. The problem is that there is just not time to fit a workout in when we are going to be doing a lot of work on the house or if I am working an extra shift. I just got really lazy about it. Then training started. I have managed to stay new-injury-free (for the most part). This last Saturday we did five miles & I have to report that I have had sore shins all week. Hello, shin splints if I'm not careful. I'm following basically the same training plan as last year. Through the week I do all of my miles on the elliptical with a treadmill or bike warm-up & cool down. On Saturday when we are supposed to put in the long miles, I walk. Super duper fast (about a 14 minute mile, which for me is super duper fast). At the beginning of March I will start running on the treadmill through the week. Hopefully this progression will keep me from really aggravating the bone spur on my left heel & keep my right ankle from getting too tendinitis-y. It's never been officially diagnosed with tendinitis, but it sure acts like that is what's wrong with it. I hope to work on putting in some cross-training, too. I would like to be toned up for the wedding (hello, Madonna arms!) but I don't want to sacrifice too much on the cardio or I won't do as well as I want to on the race. I'm trying not to give myself too much mental pressure. I really would like to beat my time from last year, but truthfully NO ONE CARES but me. No one else will even know unless I post about it. And I probably will ;-)
So yes, the training continues. In fact, I've got a hot date with the gym this afternoon!

Yummy New Snack

OK, I'm probably totally weird b/c I have never eaten a fresh pear until
this week. When I was a kid I was a super finicky eater when it came to fruits & vegetables. If it felt funny in my mouth I wouldn't eat it. For a while I would eat canned pears but then I decided that didn't like them b/c they were mushy. The grocery store had red organic pears on sale this week so I decided to give one a try. And I liked it! It's good to have another yummy healthful food to eat. Plus, they are pretty to look at in your fruit basket!