sick day

i am home sick today.

my throat is super sore and scratchy, which makes it hard for me to talk. and my head feels like it's full of cotton balls.

so i was curled up on the couch thinking about going out to pick up my monthly prescription, when daniel called from school. it was his lunch break, and he wanted to check on his sick wifey.

what a nice guy =)

i told him about the whole prescription thing, and how i really felt like i should to it, because i'm completely out of my medicine. but our insurance situation has been crazy so we weren't sure whether it would work if i went... and then it would cost way more money. so we just weren't sure what was the best thing to do. (part of the trouble is my lack of insurance cards... they keep saying they've sent them... we have yet to receive them.)

so THEN, when we hung up, he called the pharmacy, arranged everything, and called me back to say: "heather, everything's set up. you can just pick it up in an hour."

hooray! i was the one doing nothing on the couch, and he was the one in the middle of a busy school day. but he took care of it. he took care of me.

can you see my smile through your computer screen? 'cause it's THAT big.

happy belated thanksgiving!

i hope your holiday was as superfun as ours =)

my dad's mom was in town, so we had an AMAZING polish dinner with her the tuesday before turkey day. it was fabulous. pierogies. golumpkis. kielbasa. heaven.

then, on thursday morning we got some more grandma time in, before heading up to silver spring for a big dinner with a whole bunch of daniel's mom's family. we saw so many people! that's the best, i think. the more the merrier. i totally buy that.

uncle pete and aunt diane were our fabulous host and hostess. we also got to see 2 or their kiddos - kim and matthew. kim is just starting out college, so it was exciting to hear all about this new chapter of her life. we also got to meet aunt diane's sister and her whole family.

then there was daniel's fam - all 5 of 'em! brian, lucy, older brother, and both sisters. daniel's sister rachel is preparing for a study abroad next semester, so i really enjoyed hearing about that.

then there was chuck's whole family - i told you this was a big group! so there was chuck and his three kids. one of those "kids" has a hubby and two little ones of her own. they live all the way up in upstate new york, so it was a real treat to see them. plus, her husband teaches high school science, so he and daniel got to talk science-teacher-stuff!

i particularly enjoyed talking to chuck's youngest daughter, angie, who is finishing up her internship toward becoming a registered dietician. i am kind of living vicariously through her - it's a field i've always been super interested in. so that was a major highlight for me.

and i can't forget grandpa, or pauline and her son. pauline is our "aunt" from congo, who has been completely enfolded into daniel's family. it's great, and her son is too stinking cute.

then, back in naptown, we got to spend time with our cousin's on MY mom's side on friday night. we saw "the men who stare at goats" - good, offbeat comedy - and hung out for a while.

then, saturday morning before i went into work, i got to drop in and visit with my dear friend melissa and her sweet baby girl, bryleigh! hooray!

::sigh::

i love family, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. this is such a great holiday!

we have lift off

or internet. whatev.

at any rate, having internet in our new apartment means that i'll finally be able to post photos! hooray!

see you soon =)

our one week anniversary

we have officially been in our BEAUTIFUL new apartment for one week today!

we love it so much. the location is PERFECT for us. the kitchen is spacious and wonderful. the walls are a little thin, but so far that's been quite the source of comedy for us - our neighbors have some hilarious conversations. it is warm and cozy feeling, and it truly felt like home right away.

we moved in last saturday, and were completely unpacked by monday - wow! we had lots of amazing help =) tuesday we went back to the old place to clean (thanks for helping, mom). and now all we have left to do is finish putting up art and decorative stuff. that's the funnest stuff, i think.

::sigh::

i can't wait to take and post pictures!

...

in other news, we are enjoying the beginnings of christmas shopping... ! what fun!

everyone, this is my friend mary

mary, this is everyone else.

...

i just thought you guys might like to meet. =) mary is a friend from mariner's church. she and her husband, craig, lead our small group. craig and daniel get along super well also, so that is wonderful.

::sigh::

God provides.

p.s. we have sideways-rain all of a sudden. blue skies to blustery rain. hooray, maryland!

highlight

my favorite conversation from today:

daniel walked in from faithfully taking the dog out. always serving, even in the smallest of ways, he asked, "baby, would you like the door open, or closed?" i put on a pretty darn goofy voice and replied, "i love you, please!"

=)

sometimes i feel like i'm so thoroughly contented that i'm jealous of myself. even though i don't think that's humanly, or grammatically, possible.

p.s.

the very day i posted my last blog, we chose an apartment. =)

...

west annapolis, here we come!

(we move nov. 7! so soon!!)

the great apartment adventure

i haven't even gotten around to posting pictures of our "new" apartment, and here we are looking to MOVE!

i don't know about you, but i'm super excited.

our top 5 reasons for moving:
1) there's no washer/dryer.
2) there's literally 4'x1' of kitchen counter space.
3) there are only two closets, and they are tiny. seriously, one isn't even deep enough for a clothes hanger to fit. so lack of storage space is a challenge for us.
4) it is not in the best of locations/neighborhoods. i do not leave the property by myself. even in the daytime.
5) now that it's getting chilly out, the heat has been turned on. it's a super old house, and the heater makes it smell like the house is on fire. or spritzed with diesel. =P

and with the addition of the bacon i'm bringing home now, we are ABLE to move! praise God!

our 3 options:
1) annapolis street.

• this is a 2nd floor, 625 sq ft apartment above commercial space in west annapolis - charming! it has a fabulous kitchen with lots and lots of counter space, including a spacious breakfast bar. the washer/dryer is stacked in a closet in the bedroom. the living/dining space is plenty big. all of our key furniture should fit. we measured. =) a HUGE perk of this one is that i could easily walk to work - parking every day in downtown annapolis is NOT the funnest part of my job, as any of you annapolitans can imagine.
• the drawback is that storage space is still limited to two closets. they are slightly bigger than the two we have now.

2) harbour gates.

• this is a 1st floor, 645 sq ft apartment directly across from all the wonderful amenities - indoor and outdoor pool and hot tub, raquetball, and a big fitness area. the washer/dryer is NOT stacked, which is nice, and the room sizes are almost identical to the annapolis street apartment. there is also a storage space off of the balcony/patio, which would take care of the storage issue.
• the kitchen is not quite as fabulous as the annapolis street one. counter space is somewhat limited, though almost anything is more than what we have now.

3) annapolis roads.

• this apartment complex is tucked into the bay ridge area, off of edgewood road. it is near where we live now, but in the nicer (safer) part of town. it is a 3rd floor, 800 sq ft apartment. there is a whole laundry room, which would provide tons of storage space, as well as a little room for jack, so that we wouldn't have to crate him so much. the unit we are considering is all the way at the end of the complex, which goes out to the water. you can see the bay bridge from the parking lot! an additional safety feature of this one is that you have to punch in a code to get to the stairwell, so you can't just walk up to people's front door.
• you have to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom. not my favorite. also, the kitchen is extremely closed off from the rest of the home.

so... what do you think??????????

my first sale!

and i did it all by myself =)

about 15 minutes before closing, with no sales at all for the day so far, a man and his adorable little girl walked in. i'm not sure what the occassion was, but they were shopping for a gift for mom, to be from this little girl. they had a pretty good idea of what they wanted, and i helped them find something they thought she'd really like, in their price range, the color they had hoped for.

it. was. so. exciting!

i rung them up and put the earrings in a gold gift box. i slid it across the jewelry case to the little girl and said, "i put it in a pretty box for you." her eyes lit up as she took it in her hands. she looked up at her dad, and said, "look how shiny the box is, daddy!"

SO CUTE!

i was so glad to help them find just the right thing, and so proud to have finally made a sale all on my own.

want to know the best part? on his way home from school, my adoring hubby drove past my store. through the window, he could see that i was with a customer, because we were at the jewelry case closest to the window. he started praying real hard, right away - "God, please let her make the sale!! not for the money, or even for jeff or the store, but just for her. oh, God, it would encourage her so much if she could just make this sale!"

yeah, baby. thanks for praying for me. =D

on that note, i'd really like to be a blessing to this store. i don't make a very big percentage on commission at all - like, we don't even include commission income in our budget. but it would be amazing if we could all pray together that God would bless jeff and niland & co with better sales. the past two or three weeks have been especially slow. in this economy, jewelry buying has taken a hit, that's for sure! but now, as things slowly begin to turn around, i pray that i might bring in sales to benefit this company that i've come to care about.

bringin home the bacon

or at least SOME bacon, at last =)

my last job paid very well by the hour, but i hardly got any hours. so i've been job searching like crazy, and God finally gave me one! hooray!

i'm working at the local jeweler where daniel and i got my engagement ring and both of our bands. i even had a little sterling silver, engagement ring made for daniel at this place =) he wore it on his right hand. anyway, the place is called niland and company jewelers, and i just help out all around. sales, organizing, record keeping, hanging out and chatting when it's slow. it's very laid back and non-stressful, which is lovely.

i work saturdays, but i have sundays off. so i work 10:30 to 6 tuesday through saturday (they are closed on mondays). so daniel is going to try to do lesson plans and grading till i get home from work each day, and when i'm away on saturdays. so hopefully we will still have plenty of time together.

i've only worked two days, but so far, i have a feeling that this job will be a good fit for me, and that i will be a big help to jeff, the jeweler.

photos galore

so, interim grade reports were due thursday morning at daniel's school.

this means he was up till 2 a.m. finishing the grades.

this means that i was up till 2 a.m. with him =)

to stay awake, i posted FIVE new facebook photo albums - photos of jack, our honeymoon, a really cool date we had to celebrate 3 months of marriage, my brother's wedding, and some random photos of married-ness. it was pretty fun, since i have a mac and iPhoto has this sweet facebook photo exporter. also, i like that now we have some pictures of life AFTER the wedding =P

so check it out!

you MUST try this!!!

new favorite recipe, adapted from Rachel Ray (whose show i cannot stand, but whose cookbook i adore).

super stuffed french bread pizza!














before you get cooking, get 12 oz of chopped frozen spinach defrosting.

in a large pan (we use a "jumbo fryer") start off by getting about 5 links of sweet italian sausage (casings removed) browning on the stove, in about 1 Tbsp of olive oil.

while that's going on, chop up 1 medium sweet vidalia onion and 1 orange bell pepper.

once the sausage is browned, dump the onion and bell pepper into the pan. add 2 or 3 large cloves of minced garlic (or 1-2 tsp jarred minced garlic). stir it up. saute till you think the onions and bell pepper look fabulous.

while THAT'S going on, take a french bread baguette, and cut it length-wise. then cut the whole thing in thirds the other direction (you should have 6 "pizza crusts"). tear out the soft bread on the inside, so that the bread is stuff-able.

drain the thawed spinach and then get a bunch more water out with paper towels. add the spinach to the pan and stir it up. when it's mixed, take it off the stove and transfer it to a large mixing bowl.

add 1 package (15 oz) of part-skim ricotta and 1/2 c parmesan cheese to the mixing bowl. or, if you love parm like me, add a whole cup =) mix it up.

now you're ready to stuff the bread. load it up! you might even have a little left over, but try to really cram it all in there. mound shredded mozarella on top. really mound it - it will be so much yummier that way.

stick it in the oven at 425 for 10 minutes or so. when the cheese looks too good to resist for a moment longer, take it out.















eat it up.















the end.

(seriously. try it. AMAZING.)

p.s. hi, eve! =)

the return of the camera!

hooray!

this saturday we went to silver spring and had a lovely dinner with daniel's uncle peter and his family. it was so much fun. AND we got our camera back!

so, long overdue, here is the video from our visit to new jersey that i've been dying to share with you. it is of jellybean, daniel's family's beagle.

growth group... finally!

tonight, daniel and i had our first night of growth group (a.k.a. small group, home group, core group... the list goes on)! hooray! we have been seriously in need of some friends at our same stage of life.

God provides... eventually ;-) sometimes quickly, other times not until I'm good and grateful for it.

spoiled =)

i am one spoiled wife.

i had my husband all to myself for four days in a row! it was WONDERFUL! saturday, as i mentioned in my last post, was not without its hazards. but, get this: we were together all day long. just like we had been the day before, and just like we were for the two days after.

we had lazy sleep-in mornings, which are an all-time favorite of mine. we watched movies. we watched an entire disk of the office. we played cards. we spent time with friends together. we shared a meal with family together. we went to church together. we dreamed about vacationing in california together, at night, before dozing off (another favorite part of my day).

mmm mmm good. i love that man.

(ya think maybe i'm a quality time/conversation person??? =P)

one of those days

this morning, daniel woke up a little before me and started to do some research into resources for the upcoming school week. but out internet was being stupid, so he had to fight with it some. grrr. that can be so frustrating.

so about when i woke up, daniel had decided to switch over to grading, only to realize he'd left his red pen at work. and then i realized that jack had pooped in the corner of the living room (his old favorite spot). what fun.

so then, daniel decides to get started making breakfast, because he thinks it will be easier to cheer up after having some yummy food. he makes the best breakfast potatoes, and we planned to have scrambled eggs, too. from the kitchen daniel asks me to turn on my itunes, so we can have some music going while he cooks. "sure!" i said.

because of the music, when daniel started calling out, "Heather! Open a window!" all i could hear was muffled noises that could've been any number of things.

"honey, are you talking to me?" i shouted over the music.

daniel came running into the hall, short of breath, and urges me to open a window, quickly.

turns out that, while chopping potatoes, he'd decided to heat up the oil. to avoid spitting, he covered the pan. when he opened it to put some potatoes in, a bunch of smoke came out and then the oil burst into flames!

thankfully daniel is super smart under pressure like that, so he covered the pan back up, moved it off the hot burner, and turned the stove off. we opened every window in the house, and and the front door. we sat on the porch to get some smoke-free air.

as we recovered from the mini-crisis, we discussed our breakfast options. daniel decided that he wanted to go to muddy paw wash, get jack's nails clipped and filed down, and get coffee and bagels at the little cafe there. so off we went.

poor jack is so melodramatic when it comes to getting his nails clipped. so daniel went back there with him, to help hold him still. when they came out, daniel had scratches all up and down his arms, on his foot, his neck, and even on is abdomen - jack had scratched him through his shirt! he was so wiggly that they decided it would be best if we took jack to the dog park at quiet waters and run him around before filing his nails down (they are super sharp when they are freshly cut. that's why daniel got so scratched up).

so we went. jack got really dirty, but he ran really well with another dog in the small dog park. we headed back to get his nails filed down, and then went home. jack drinks a lot of water at the dog park, so i took him out again before we left for lunch with friends, even though he'd gone three or four times at the park.

when we got home, he had peed in his crate. a bunch. so instead of lying down for a much-needed nap, i gave jack a bath, took him out to pee again, and cleaned out his crate.

::sigh::

just one of those days =P

happy birthday, little lady

this post is to celebrate this day, when my dear friend melissa and her hubby andrew are having their first baby! i wanted to post a prayer, so that if you read this, you can pray with me =)

i pray that they have all strength and courage, but peace at the same time. i pray that andrew and melissa each grow closer to God through the birth of their daughter. what a tangible, amazing picture of new life in Jesus, of being "born" again! i pray that they grow closer and more in love with each other through this day than they ever were before. for andrew, i pray for patience, perseverance, and a deep understanding of melissa and her needs. for melissa, i pray for rest in the arms of Jesus, perfect health, and a newness of love and joy for both andrew and her baby girl.

for their sweet baby girl, i pray for health and vitality. annoint her from birth, God. and may she grow up to appreciate the awesome parent's God's given her. =)

(update: check out answered prayers here: andrewmelissalivinginlove.blogspot.com)

on the whereabouts of our camera

daniel's parents came down to maryland to help move rachel back in at college in frederick. not exactly close to annapolis. so they left our camera at our uncle pete's house... in silver spring.

so... yeah. still no camera. but our camera clearly misses us, as it has made it all the way from new jersey to maryland. almost there!

doggy park

today i took jack to the dog park at quiet waters. i try to do this a few times a week. lately, we've been favoring the big dog park over the small dog park, because usually when jack is in the small dog one, if he's not running the fence with a big dog, he's crying and sticking his little nose through the chain link fence, pining away for the chance to really RUN with those big dogs.

how's that for a run-on sentence?

anyway, today when we entered the gate, jack took off, just like normal, eager to play chase and tag with the friendly doggies. but there were a lot of dogs today. and when he got to the corner area where the dogs were congregating (i.e. a pack. red flag.), they ganged up on him!

they were tossing him so hard he was flipping in the air, and they barked aggressively as jack scurried away from their biting mouths. jack's eyes became super-wide and he did his best to bare his teeth and give a mean bark back. but he was surrounded by at least three big dogs! i called after him, but i didn't want to jump into the middle of things, for fear of being bitten or even attacked myself. i was shocked and angered that the owners of these dogs made no effort whatsoever to intervene.

i finally got jack out of the middle of these dogs, and he made a slow, steady, cowering, straight line for the exit. tail tucked tightly between his legs. ears back. head lowered. poor baby.

i found several mild bite scrapes on him when i gave him a bath. he needed one badly from being tumbled around. i'm very proud of him for playing well at the small dog park, after such a frightening incident with the big dogs. and i'm thankful that there was a dog in the small dog park who was spunky enough to run around with jack =) i'm also glad that all he has is a few scrapes. thank you, Jesus! it was so scary!

(when i was about 10, i remember my aunt's little, white dog being mauled severly by an aggressive neighborhood dog. so i am particularly keen to/paranoid about these types of occurances.)

first day

daniel's first day as a school teacher went BEAUTIFULLY! i am overjoyed, though not at all surprised.

he had the students fill out a little questionnaire, and he brought them home. i got to look through them, and it was really fun to get to know his kiddos a little bit. as a joke, the last question was, "who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?" about 90% of the students thought it would be hilarious if they answered, "mr. clark." they were right. =)

i'm so impressed with how efficiently daniel is planning his lessons. his creativity and ability to communicate with and instruct middle schoolers are gifts i already knew he had. but i have really seen tremendous growth in him in planning and even organizing. these were two of his biggest obstacles as a youth pastor, and he has come such a long way in such a short time! hooray!

i have a dream =)

picture this: me and daniel. spain. me dancing for Jesus. daniel helping connect people with God and his church.

is that not the coolest thing you've ever pictured???

well, we're super stoked for daniel's sweet new job - a total gift from God - so we're not doing anything hasty.

but we're praying about it! and that's super exciting to me!!!!!!!!

blessed with some good free time during the day while daniel is at work, i've been researching spain a whole bunch and missions organizations and stuff like that. i'm trying to get a full time office job so that we can afford for me to take dance classes one or two nights a week. =D

exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oops

so, we forgot to take our camera to lake tahoe.

but we did remember to take it up to new jersey when we visited daniel's parents, brian and lucy, this past weekend.

...

and then we left it there.

grr!

i have some really fun stuff i want to share, but alas, it will have to wait.

and they're off!

actually, we're off. to lake tahoe. daniel is a groomsman in a wedding this coming tuesday, and we will be out of town and pretty much out of touch until thursday.

i will miss reading your blogs =) and i'm looking forward to sharing pictures with you when i get back.

family reunion 2009!

June 28-July 3 daniel and i ventured out to the rocky mountains for the biannual leone family reunion. i went two years ago when it was in canada and daniel and i were only dating. it was a lot of fun to go as our own little family this time =)

after uncle larry drove us all to the wrong park on the wrong side of the rockies, we made it safe and sound - and had a FABULOUS week. it was beautiful, relaxing, and chock full of fun times. here are some pics...















this is where we stayed: Snow Mountain Ranch, CO. b-e-a-utiful!















this is us with andre and alyssa - the real newlyweds of the group. they'd only been married for about two weeks! "welcome to the lef-hand-ring-club," as daniel would say =) it was our first time meeting alyssa, and my first time meeting andre. we had a really great time together, even though it was brief.















we stood outside for about 15 or 20 minutes taking this shot on pretty much EVERYONE'S camera. wow. and, of course, daniel was the only one to ask for a silly pose =) too fun! right smack dab in the middle, our cousin sean is pretending to strangle my father-in-law, brian. hehe. it's a big, crazy group - and there were even a few who couldn't make it!

i ADORE having a big family =)

merely a flesh wound

today i got bit by a chinchilla.

it's true.

i went to my hubby's classroom to check out his new job-spot. hooray, daniel! anyway, they have about a billion animals in the classrooms - 3 turtles, a ferret, 4 chinchillas, fish, mice, dare-i-say-it-snakes, and in iguana. (there was only one snake, and daniel covered it up for me before i came in the room.)















anyway, the chinchillas were just so stinking cute. i put my finger near the cage, and that sweet little face BIT ME! i was shocked! i bled and everything. it hurt like heck.

turns out, these little guys are used to being fed raisins anytime hands get close to the cage. i bet raisins taste a lot better than may hand.

thanks a lot, chinchilla. i'm glad at least we understand each other now.

after two moths of dating...

Two Months
(To a girl I'm totally crazy about)

Two months of playing
Two months of fun
Two months of stories
Heather, our relationship has just begun

Two months of laughter
Two months of right
Two months of dancing
Heather, you are my delight

Two months of holding hands
Two months of new
Two months of jazz
Heather, I love you


=)


We've been without a printer for the last year. With the class that I'm doing right now, this has produced some frustrating/stressful moments. Well, when I got home last night, there was a note on the doggy gate at the top of the stairs. It was a plain sheet of printer paper, and right in the center, "I love you" was typed in my favorite font. Sometimes the little things feel pretty big =) So, in response, I wanted to post this poem Daniel wrote me in April of 2007, because... well... I don't know! I'm feeling so proud of him for how well and how thoroughly he loves me, that letting you see another way he has loved me seemed a more appropriate way to honor him today than me writing my own feelings. I don't know if that makes any sense at all. But it feels right. =)

i've missed you

it has been almost 2 months to the day since my last post. whoa. i just got caught up on a bunch of my friends' blogs and i'm super glad to be back =)

so, here's the scoop:

may 23, daniel and i moved out of our first apartment, with the immense help of my parents and our friend craig. no joke, we got the truck at 3 p.m. and returned it by 6 p.m. it was amazing! we moved everything into my parents' house/garage, and set up shop there to live for 3 weeks.

may 30, daniel and i celebrated our FIRST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY! how exciting! what a wonderful, crazy, unexpected year it's been, and we are so thankful for how far God has brought us in such a short time. we got to hop in the car and return to our honeymoon spot for the weekend (the outerbanks). good food, relaxation, and fun! we mini-golfed at the funnest golf course ever designed and we saw a play on roanoke island called "the lost colony" that has been playing there every summer for decades.

































june 2, daniel teaches a science class (with only 36 hours to prepare) as a candidate for a job. the class goes so well that in the interview, the principal tells him that he has set the bar very high for the other candidates! WAY TO GO!!!!!!!! to be continued...

june 6, my big brother got married in indiana! i got to stand on his side as his "groomsmatron." it was so wonderful to see our extended family, and i'm so happy for jeff and lauren! daniel and i took a road trip out to indiana - 10 hours each way. we really really ate up that time together in the car. it was refreshing and sweet =)




























june 12, my last shift at starbucks!

june 14, daniel and i move into our new abode, with the help of my parents, daniel's dad, daniel's dad's best friend, daniel's best man and daniel's best man's friend. how's that for helping hands?!?! i tell you what: many hands DO make light work. pictures to come!

june 15, daniel gets a job as a middle school science teacher for the fall at st. martin's lutheran school!!!!!!!!! I AM SO PROUD OF DANIEL!!!!!!!!!!

june 20, rohanna dance productions 5th annual recital! they do SO many dances, that they actually have two three-hour recitals on the same day. my mom sat with me for the whole thing (noon to 8!), and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

i'm down to just one job now, bookkeeping for ken's creative kitchen. it's a great job - flexible, chellenging at times, but very doable. i'm hoping that i can become a teacher, too, but in high school english. so i'm working on that as well.

looks like i may have to start capitalizing things if i'm gonna teach english.

tricky jack

check this out!!!!!




pardon my high-pitched giggles right next to the camera's mic. i was so giddy because this was one of the first times i'd seen him do this. i just think it's ADORABLE! =D

monsters vs. aliens

"guys, this is a code brown, because i need to change my pants."

funny movie! we saw it on easter with my cousins =)

my bday at the national zoo

i had the best birthday yesterday.

daniel sent me out to get a pedicure in the morning, and then we left for an afternoon at the national zoo! it was soo much fun! and it was so cool because so many times, when we walked up, the animals started moving around and stuff. like the hippo came inside, the lions got up from their nap, the sea lions started playing... it was incredible.

the lions were beautiful.














thirsty...














the sea lions were hysterical... especially with daniel's commentary =)



this hippo was ENORMOUS!!!














this baby panda was very very hungry. and cute.




























i have, of course, dozens more pictures, but i'll spare you a blog post of that length. suffice it to say that we had a FANTASTIC time, and we want to go back again and see the flamingos and the cheetah conservation thing.















bye!

a few of my "favorite" things

disclaimer: this post is not meant as a rant or a whining session. i'm just poking fun at my job. =)

i love when you're making drinks at the bar, and you have about 8 cups waiting in line for you, and a crowd of customers gathered around watching, when all of a sudden, you hear, "i didn't get whipped cream on mine!" you look up to find a face as distraught as someone who was just told that their life is in danger and they must evacuate the building. you paste on a smile and politely as which drink is theirs. "white mocha, fat free, venti, no whip." you glance down at the venti, upside-down, extra caramel, with whip, carmel macchiato that you're finishing up. clearly not a match. scanning down the cup line-up you find that hers is still 6 cups away. "i'm sorry, ma'am; this is not your drink." "OH!" she replies, as though it has never occured to her that you might be making a drink for someone other than her. wow.

i love when people call whipped cream, "cool whip"

i love that everyone who orders a grande coffee waits around for their change: three pennies. really? three pennies? you couldn't spare that for the tip jar?

i love when people tell you about all the things that corporate should change. as if you, a barista, can do something about it, right then, in that moment. sorry, sir.

i love when people get REALLY upset when you make a mistake on the job. manners? they are out the window. it's almost as if i have purposely screwed up their order, as a personal affront toward them. do i come to your work and tell you you're doing a bad job? nope.

i love when people walk up to the counter, set their travel mug down and stare at you expectantly. didn't you know that mind-reading was an integral part of the job description?

i love when people in the drive-through make me hoist my upper body over the window sill, because they're too lazy to extend their arm out their window.

i love when people don't stop at the menu board and speaker to order. just pull right up to the window. "oh, i didn't see it. i didn't know you had one of those." really? well have you ever been to any drive-through ever in your life before? and have you ever ordered at the window? no. now the drinks are out of order and everyone behind you in line has to wait, because we haven't had time to start your drink ahead of time. thanks.

what i really DO love is my co-workers. ashley paired me up with a girl named kat for my training and said right off the bat, "you guys are going to be bff." =)

lastly, i love all the myriad pronunciations of "carmel macchiato" (mah-kee-ya-toh). my all-time fav, so far, is "muh-cheeto."

i lied. one more. i love the words "extra carmel." i think i have heard them about 157,982 times since i started at starbucks in february.

Tag - I'm It

My friend Heather C was tagged, and now she has tagged me. The "rules" are to go into my My Pictures, open the fourth album and post the fourth photo in that album. I use a Mac so, it isn't so clear cut for me. I followed the directions a closely as I could, and here's what I came up with:

The story is that my friend Rachel, from college, got a few friends together every once in a while to go have a delicious home-cooked meal at her grandmother's house. I had a chance to go once, and this is me with Rachel's roommate, Emily, after eating a ton of food. =) Also, Emily ended up being a big help on my wedding day, helping to keep things running smoothly and on-time.


okay, so now i tag... um... joelle, and beth b. i think i'm supposed to tag more than two, but i can't think of anyone else who hasn't already been tagged. =P

big big news

about a month ago, we received an anonymous charitable donation to cover one whole month's rent for us, through a ministry called Helping Hands. WOW! that was a shocker! amazing, right?!

and on TOP of that, get this: so when daniel lost his job at the church, we applied for some financial help from the insurance company. they only granted us 3 weeks worth. we appealed their decision TWICE, and we found out this week that we got the whole other 2 months' worth! how exciting! this is 60% of what daniel made at the church for 2 whole months. woohoo! praise God! this will get us to the end of our lease with no trouble at all!

now these financial provisions from God really ARE paying the bills! before they were sweet encouragements that helped us financially, but more so helped our spirits. but God has, as usual, just gone ahead and blown our socks off with much more than we "could ever ask or imagine" (eph. 4:20)

jack

jack was neutered last week. poor guy has had that silly cone on his head for 8 days. i think it's kind of cute, though. =) anyway, with jack on my mind, i realized i had posted very few pictures of him! how sad for anyone who hasn't had the chance to enjoy his adorability. hehe.

this is when he was just a tiny little guy














see how small??














maybe this is inappropriate, but i just can't get over how cute it is! he used to sit in our pants all the time in the bathroom! how funny is that?



















this is him now. i like this picture because you get a good view of his spots.














why can't they just stay puppies forever? i just looked through a few pictures of him now, and he's just REALLY not as photogenic these days. oh well. still pretty darn cute!

busy bee

wow, i haven't posted much since i started my job at starbucks. it has been quite a challenge acclimating to the much busier schedule. also, daniel started substitute teaching today - HOORAY FOR DANIEL! he's excited; he's been looking forward to getting started for weeks now.

anywho, i wanted to share some more pics that i finally got onto my computer. daniel and i celebrated 6 months of marriage on november 30. well, not "celebrated," per se. so in december, when we ended up in sunny florida, we decided to set aside some time to actually celebrate.



















we stayed in a DARLING bed and breakfast for 50% off (daniel is my hero).




























we took walks along the river and in downtown stuart.














we ate at a cute little mexican place.





























also, we enjoyed lots of family time. i got to meet a bunch of dad c's family for the first time. we stayed with daniel's cousin and her hubby, and i really enjoyed them. we had a great time. except that we accidentally let all of their cats out of the house one time, and i felt really awful. thankfully they all came back home quickly =)

the best

so i was on the schedule on wednesday for 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then i had to teach ballet from 5:15 to 9 p.m. i knew it was going to be a rough day, especially since wednesday is my most difficult day of teaching. also because i'm just beginning to adjust to early mornings. (it takes a half hour to get to starbucks for work.) so i let daniel know in advance that i was going to need extra support from him on wednesday. he was amazing.

first of all, on tuesday night, when i was closing, i asked ashley if i could come in later so that i could get a little more sleep, and she changed my hours to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. hooray! BUT then i woke up at 5:40 to pee and i couldn't fall back asleep! i tossing and turning until my alarm went off at 7. i was SOOO grumpy! i hate when that happens, don't you? so i told daniel, and he rolled over and rubbed my back for ten minutes, till the snooze went off. THEN he got up and put jeans on when i had to get up, so it would be easier for me to get out of bed! =) how sweet. he talked to me on the phone for a bit as i drove, and assured me that even though my gas light had come on, i would make it to work just fine.

as if that we're enough, he drove up and had lunch with me. when he left, he filled up my car with gas!! wow! so then, i had one of my classes cancelled at ballet, because they needed to rehearse for their competition this weekend, so i came home in between classes to have dinner with daniel, and he had grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup ready for us when i got home =D

how wonderful. he's the best. i am so thankful for him.

also, he's lots of fun. =P

i got a job =)

at starbucks!

so, here's a big

THANK YOU

to ashley ward for getting me the job!

newsweek

i love it.

i am also very, very behind. haha! they are piling up on our coffee table. but in the past week, i have plowed through 3 more issues - thank you very much - and so i'm getting closer and closer to catching up.

how did i get so behind??


well, when obama won the election, they put out the coolest issue ever. back in 2006 they assigned a few journalists to follow around a few of the most promising candidates (clinton, mccain, and obama) through the whole entire campaign, including the primaries. the issue is one huge, long article, chronicling the different events that factored into the outcome of the elections.

it. was. fascinting.

there was no skimming or skipping a paragraph here and a page there, as i sometimes do with newsweek issues. i read every word of every page. i was glued. it's interesting to see what made a successful campaign team, what what actions and personalities hampered the other campaigns. you can probably find a copy at the library. it's worth checking out, whether your a fan of obama or not.

"money makes the world go 'round"

ok, the girls at rohanna (where i teach ballet) have a competition dance to that song, so it is almost perpetually stuck in my head. (what musical is the song from?)

but what i really wanted to tell you about is this: God is giving us money. randomly and in small bits. but still! it's pretty cool! we got an overdue small paycheck from daniel's brief stint at the cheesecake factory ($35), a reimbursement from the MVA ($64), and reimbursement from our previous healthcare provider ($55), TWO $75 gift cards to trader joe's anonymously waiting for us under our front door (if you read this - thanks you!), our small retirement fund from working at the church (february's rent), and we've been able to have two dates out to eat because of gift cards. i even feel like i'm forgetting a couple. anyway, it's not like those amounts will pay the bills, but it's still pretty unbelievable timing, right? too cool.

looking down

i didn't get the job.

looking up

i'm super happy to report that things are looking up. unemployment sucks and it's been a tough few month, but i feel like we've turned a corner.

i had my second interview for a promising job prospect today, and it went well. i will hear back by the end of the week. this would be great because it would give us significantly more financial stability, as well as excellent benefits to take care of us!

also, God has provided rent for us for february, and probably march, too.

"wow. i tell ya what - wow." -name that movie!

p.s. happy inauguration day =) we wished we could have gone into d.c. but i didn't want to reschedule the important interview today. what a bummer.

once upon a time

for our 3-month-wedding-anniversary, i made up a sort of scavenger hunt for daniel around downtown annapolis. i wrote up a whole bunch of clues, and he had to figure out where to go. we took pictures at each place, and some places, i had something else planned, too. here are some snapshots:

ready to roll

our first clue takes us to aromi d'italia, the site of a date over 6 months before we started dating.


















we made a stop at starbucks, a place where we shared a memorable new year's coffee over a year before we started dating.

revisiting the spot of our last moments together before stepping into our rehearsal dinner and the ensuing wedding mayhem.














annapolis summer garden theatre, where i took him to see thoroughly modern millie in the summer of 2007. we love theatre.














the spot where daniel gave me my promise ring. little did i know the big question was only a month away!














we ended the afternoon at niland and company jewelers, jeff the jeweler's shop where we had my engagement ring and both of our wedding rings made. my ring was supposed to be in this shot. hehe. oh well.














and they lived happily ever after.

the end.

as promised...

pictures! these are of our first christmas as mr. and mrs. clark, and mr. jack, too.

this is one of my favorite ornaments:














this is mr. jack thinking that the super-soft blankie is for him. he's very much mistaken. it's for me.














these are the stockings i made for us =D


















i hope you guys had as fun a christmas as we did. sadly, we parted with our christmas tree this week. we still have a few decorations out, but not for long. ::sigh:: i love christmas. i have a hard time saying goodbye to the season each year.















many more pictures to come, now that i finally got them all onto my computer. come back and visit again soon.