Max's 1st Christmas

Oh yes, I'm posting about my cat. We decorated (or at least started) on Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly, Max found a wreath to lay in and stayed pretty quiet for about a day. Yesterday (Monday) he discovered the tree, but was still pretty good. Today he has decided to climb the tree. It's kind of like Where's Waldo... can you find the cat in there?

Of course, this is all while Eric is at class. He would never allow such madness to take place!

Here's a few pictures. And yes, we do have all of our childhood ornaments on our tree! Oh how I love Christmas :)

My First Experience of Southern Stupidity

Okay, probably not my first experience, but this one is blog worthy.

Yesterday's weather was beautiful and sunny with a high of 48. During the day I had to turn the air on in my car because the sun was so warm. It felt like a nice, somewhat breezy fall day.

The Southerners were going crazy. I was wearing a turtle neck and khaki jacket (the one in the picture, but the picture is from a different day). People were going NUTS because I wasn't wearing a winter jacket, hat, gloves, or a scarf. I was so confused... I didn't even understand at first.

Then last night I went to a conference and when we left there were guys holding the doors open, dressed like it was a blizzard, telling everyone to brace themselves for the winter weather. WHAT? Winter? Where? I didn't see any winter!

For the record, if precipitation falls from the sky and lands as water... it is NOT snow!

Ready for a Break

Eric and I are both blessed to have the full week of Thanksgiving off! Well, I have to work 1/2 of Monday, but then I have the rest off :) We are headed to VA to spend time with family. We are excited to spend a few days away, but we will only be gone for 4 days. So what are we doing the rest of the time?

Eric:
Reading & Writing, he has some pretty big papers coming up.

Joy:
Lounging around in sweats
Watching movies
Possibly reading a book
Baking desserts
Eating desserts
Decorating for Christmas
Lounging some more

I cannot believe Christmas is right around the corner. It seems it has come so fast! I find myself thinking in terms of "How many Sunday's are there before Christmas" as I plan kids' lessons for church. This year we are starting our Christmas unit on November 30 to give us 4 Sundays before Christmas. I am really looking forward to those 4 lessons... I've picked some pretty cool activities that I really hope will help the kids connect to the meaning of Christmas. It is oftentimes difficult to break through the commotion that surrounds the holidays and get to the root of why we do what we do.

The chorus of one of the kids' favorite songs says this:

And then I go all out
Beyond any doubt
I want my life to shout
God is Alive in me

My prayer this Christmas is that our lives will shout "God is Alive in me!"

Birthday Wishes

Today is my beloved husband's birthday. I find it very fitting to dedicate a post to him.

I love being married to Eric. He is very thoughtful, caring, loving, occasionally sensitive, fairly compassionate and a deep thinking person. Here I would like to highlight two of my favorite qualities.

• Humor! Eric loves to laugh and to make me laugh. He enjoys humor in entertainment and when we don't have entertainment, he creates his own! He can get a laugh out of almost any situation. I frequently find myself thinking, "I can't wait to tell Eric, he'll think it's funny," over meaningless daily activities.
• Passion. Eric is passionate about the things he loves. He is a deep thinker, and that carries over into his actions. His mind is consumed by the things he loves: Football, skiing, and ministry. He would probably want me to clarify "ministry" as areas of social justice and nonviolence. Eric inspires me by being so passionate about these things that they take over his life. I'm occasionally left wondering, do I care about anything that much?

So to Eric... Happy Birthday! Thank you for being an amazing and wonderful husband. I look forward to continuous laughter and deep conversations (where I'm typically lost). :) I love you!

Mean Mrs. Joy

I interrupt my lunch period to bring you a story too funny to pass up.

The kids I work with have really been pushing me lately. This week I decided to put my foot down. Monday was the stern "I have a waiting list of kids who would rather be here" speech with the threat of suspension. Tuesday the kids didn't have school (election day) so I didn't have them. I spent the day at the Center and saw about half of my kids on the playground. Throughout the day different kids kept knocking on my door asking "Will I be suspended tomorrow, Mrs. Joy?" So Wednesday I sent every kid home with a discipline contract. I thought it best to clearly outline our code of conduct (which they have all seen before) and the disciplinary consequences for them and their parents. On each kid's contract I highlighted specific things pertaining to that child. For example, "your child throws chairs," or "your child shouts profanities," or "your child screams in the middle of class for no reason what-so-ever." Needless to say, the kids were NOT happy with me yesterday.

Also yesterday, I had my 3rd graders write "If I could be an animal, I would be a..." for their journal. They turn them in and move on to the next thing, so I typically don't read them right away. Just now I was going through yesterday's journals and came across this...

If I could be an animal, I would be a lion. I would be a lion because I want to eat Mrs. Joy. I can be at the circus.

YES! I can't wait to see those signed discipline contracts come back today!

A Close Call

I think it's something only I would do, but perhaps you've had a similar close call?

We were wanting to have my car checked out before the warranty is up (60,000 miles). We've been talking about it for a few months, and I've definitely been watching the odometer... I just didn't do anything about it. So last Monday I finally got around to calling the dealership to schedule an appointment. The first opening they had was this Monday (yesterday). Eric and I were super selective about who drove where last week and we even car-pooled for 2 days.

I'm happy to announce that I pulled my car into the dealership yesterday at a proud 59,989 miles! Whoo-hoo!

Life As We Know It

Life as we know it is BUSY! I've had 2 full weeks on the job... going on 3... and I'm still breathing! The job is going well, definitely more difficult than I ever imagined, but well worth it. Eric and I got to take 5 kids with us to the Vanderbilt football game this weekend, and I will get to take 2 more students to the Nashville Predator's (hockey) game on Thursday. It's nice that the kids have an incentive to work towards :) I've also started giving out candy like crazy, and it's amazing what kids will do for sugar!

Eric is staying very busy with school and work. He just signed up for next semester's classes and it looks like he'll be just as busy. We both get home between 7-7:30, so our biggest adjustment has been making quick dinners to that we can eat by 8:00. We are thankful for the times we have together and are trying to be intentional about making more. This weekend we had dessert at the Cheesecake Factory... a true favorite for Eric!

In other news, we have a cat! His name is Max and he is a rolling, bouncing, running, prancing, playful, energetic ball of fun! His claws are sharp, his teeth are strong, and our hands are taking the brunt of it. Eric and I have resorted to wearing winter gloves around the house to protect ourselves! We're not sure the weather will ever be cold enough to actually need our gloves, so we don't mind wearing them inside.

The Benefits of Getting Hired

1. Your husband takes you out for ice cream
2. Everything is happy
3. I might get a kitten

So yes, I do have a job!! Here's the dirt: It is an after-school program is with students Kindergarten thru 5th grade. I will have 15 students who have been identified by their teachers as "at-risk." About half of my time will be working with the students and the other half of my time will be paperwork, meeting their teachers, helping parents, and being involved in the community. Eric and I both are very excited about this opportunity as it will give us a chance to live out our faith in very practical ways. This job will definitely be a challenge for me, I have a ton to learn. They normally hire certified teachers, so I have some catching up to do! Oh, and the best part... this is a faith-based program :) Yay! For more information, visit: http://youthlifelearningcenter.com/

Holidays

I have started my Christmas list!

For those of you who know me well, I'm sure this is no surprise. I usually have a list of things I want that I won't buy for myself. During this season every year I begin making my Christmas list so that I have practical ideas for those who ask.

This was new to my husband. He enjoys surprises and last year during our first Christmas season he wanted to surprise me. Why? Why would someone take the risk when I have a perfectly good list to choose from? He did a great job getting me things I really did want (even though they might not have been on my list). So this year I am allowing him to surprise me. But for everyone else... the list is on!

So what's at the top of this year's Christmas list? Remember, it's still early, but here's the beginning:

• Bread Knife
• Plates (3) from pampered chef
• Paring Knives
• Candles
• Silicone whisk
• A few movies
• A few books

And the list goes on... :)

Kittens

Every time I see a cat, I want one more. I think I've almost got Eric convinced. Last week we were at a friend's house and he was friendly to their cats. He even played with them! I'm pretty sure if I brought one home he would be fine with it. However, I'm trying to get him to actually help pick one out, and he's not quite there yet.

On Friday I decided to go look at some kittens at a shelter called "Love at First Sight." They were so precious and playful! This shelter requires that you pay for the animal's immunizations, but nothing else. I thought that was do-able. WRONG! They use one of the best veterinarians in town, so the whole ordeal was nearly $400!

Until I can afford to feed myself, I probably can't afford to feed a cat. Eric told me to find one for free. I'll be looking for a job first, and then a cat :)

Church

As I've been saying lately, "I have good news, and I have bad news."

Good News: I have a part-time job!
Bad News: I'm still looking for a full-time job.

Let's focus on the good...
Eric and I have a new church to call home. We're pretty excited to be a part of this growing and down-to-earth church. We're still getting to know people, but we have felt very welcomed and loved thus far. Even better than having a church to call home is that I have been given the absolute privilege of working with the children! I get so excited when thinking about the endless possibilities of teaching kids and all of the cool things we can do. It keeps me awake at night pondering how I can live a real yet inspiring life. I want these kids to know Jesus so badly, yet all of my wonder and excitement inevitably boils down to the same thing. I need to have a right relationship with the Lord, and through that growing relationship the kids will meet Jesus.

All that to say... we have a new church :)

The Orchard

Eric and I went to an Apple Orchard today. It was great to be outside and away from the house for a little while. We picked about 10 lbs of apples, bought a fried pie, and drank an apple slushy. The fried pie thing was new. When Eric asked "What's a fried pie?" the woman replied, "Are you from the North?" Turned out to be very similar to McDonald's apple pies, except better!

So I spent some of the afternoon peeling, slicing and freezing apples. I'm super excited about this new food to work with. Not that apples are new, but I have so many now! I made apple bread today (along with zucchini bread, my favorite). I sliced and froze enough for a pie, and I have PLENTY left! I've thought about apple crisp and apple muffins. If you have any other apple ideas, send them my way. I'm trying to freeze them as I would need them for a specific recipe (sliced, chopped, whole).

Also went to a Vandy game tonight... Vandy won 38-21 over Rice.

Nasty Thought

I'm at the library...

I just looked down at the keyboard and had this awful thought of all the people that use this keyboard every day. Then I itched my face with my hands that have now typed on this keyboard that dozens of people use every day.

Who cleans these things?

Now that I'm totally grossed out, I think I'll pack disinfectant wipes tomorrow.

Football Update

I mentioned in my previous post that we do not get ESPN. I need to clarify.

ESPN is not in the channel line-up we're paying for. However, if you go to that channel you can vaguely see a picture through "fuzz." I'm not sure what it's really called, but I grew up calling it a fuzzy channel. It's black and white, sounds awful, and you can barely make out a human figure.

Last night was the first "Monday Night Football," aired on ESPN. Well we definitely watched it, on a fuzzy screen, and muted. We honestly couldn't tell if the receivers were even catching the ball... but changing the channel was never an option.

On a more serious note, I know I poke fun at Eric and his love of football... but it is exciting to see how happy he gets when watching and participating in this sport that he loves. I hope everyone has a love like this... Something that makes you smile when everything else is going poorly... that you can talk about until you're out of breath, and then talk some more!

Musings of a "stay-at-home wife"

I saw a commercial on TV... "Test drive a new or used car and receive a $100 gas gift card." I clearly have nothing better to do, so I tried it. It was NOT a $100 gas gift card. Instead, for every $100 YOU SPEND on gas, you get a $25 rebate (up to $100). It was still worth it, but why do companies insist on false advertising? SCAMS!

One of the perks of Eric being a student is that we get season tickets to Vandy football/basketball games. We had our first football experience last week and we had a great time! The first 500 people to the game got free t-shirts. We are 1.) New to Vandy, 2.) Poor, and 3.) Have nothing else to do... so we decided to try to get the t-shirts. We met up with some friends for dinner and got to the stadium a good hour and half before game time. And... no shirts! I think we must have been fans 501-504 because the stadium was EMPTY. The best part of our night: Vandy won 24-17!!!

And for the weekends when Vandy is away... we have football on TV. For those who are unaware, yesterday was the opening day of pro-football. For the next 6 months I will be second-rate, as football (of course) takes precedence in our household. For those of you who think this is just one day a week... IT IS NOT! Oh no, we (read: Eric) watch every game that is broadcast, participate in Fantasy Football, and follow the player updates on a daily basis. What if someone on "your team" gets injured? Then you have to maintain your team and switch starters, and put together the best game plan according to who you are playing this week... the world of Fantasy has just begun. Unfortunately for Eric, we do not get ESPN, which means no Monday Night Football... or so I thought. He invited himself to a friend's house this week to watch the game!

I am highly anticipating employment :)

I'm not using my words!

This has become one of my favorite new phrases... "Eric, I haven't used my words today." I'm sure you've seen the studies about how many words women use in a day verses how many words men use in a day. There seems to be some discrepancy over the difference between men and women, but most would agree that the average adult is using approx. 20,000 words per day. In my desperate plea to have engaging adult conversation I now embrace Eric with "I haven't used my words yet... can I please, please talk?!" He loves coming home to me :)

I have found a whole new motivation for the job search. I'm determined. I NEED adult interaction, and the income would be a huge bonus. In the last 24 hours I have sent my resume to 24 different employers and I have 2 more to call. I will continue with this tenacity and determination until I am employed.

Ooh... one more thing. My husband made a great comment this week. "Joy, I really appreciate you stepping it up and cooking dinners now." WHAT? What is that? As if I couldn't before? He just offered and so I let him! Anyway, yes I am cooking now. Eric is working and attending classes, it's really the least I can do.

The Long-Awaited Update

I have been getting lots of "So... do you have a job?" Here's my response: NO!

In an effort to save time and energy, here's the short story. I have been interviewing with a church for the past few months. It started with a few written interviews and a personality test, then proceeded on to a phone interview, in person interview, and a family interview. Not joking, longest interview process of my life. As you can imagine, I had gotten to know this church and it's people pretty well. I was excited about the community, the potential, the ministry, the job, the unknowns, the friends, etc. Eric and I both felt comfortable there, which is quite an accomplishment for us! Normally one of us has a "small issue" of some sort.

So this past week I was fully expecting the final offer. We had been through all salary/benefit negotiations and I was more or less waiting on a start date. Then it came... the fateful realization that we had doctrinal disagreements. After a few days of discussions, and 4 long days of processing (as I call it), I withdrew my name today. It was a difficult decision. I was sold out for that church. As I recently told a friend, I feel like I'm now grieving the loss of that church/job.

For the record, I still think it's a great church. I believe in the ministry they are doing. However, I need to be able to support 100% the work of the church, and I'm just not there. After that dreaded conversation (umm... I'm actually calling to withdraw my name...) I do feel better. I know it was the right decision.

On to other topics: THANK YOU to those who have "submitted" recipes! We love them! I have not tried them all, but we're getting there:) Also, Eric started classes and it's going well... he's excited every day to go to school!!

And so the job search for me continues...

Wedded Bliss

I was having a conversation with a neighbor recently about dating and marriage. He was fighting his case that all couples should live together before they marry and he said something quite interesting. "When you date someone, it's like you're dating a representative."

Oh how true that is. During the dating process you are intentionally trying to make a good impression. Your "rep" puts the best foot forward, representing the good. When you get married some things suddenly change, for now you have not only the good, but the whole person. The following is an example of the "whole person" Eric married :)

My marriage has unveiled a lot of things, but I'd like to take a moment to mention just two; selfishness and a sour attitude (which is a result of selfishness). My pre-wedding days were filled with lovely thoughts of uniting with another, sharing life together, reaching for our dreams, and raising a family. I still think those are great thoughts, but perhaps there is another side of marriage that I thought very little about before I was married... that it's not all about me.

I am now living life with another human being. My "ah-ha" moment came when I realized that I had to take another person's thoughts, actions and feelings into consideration every day. My decisions affect Eric. My attitude affects Eric. My selfishness affects Eric. Maybe even more revolutionary was when I discovered that I'm NOT called to simply take Eric's thoughts, actions and feelings into consideration. Instead, I'm taught to put him first. This lifestyle of selflessness is the most challenging part of my marriage. Why has it become so easy to attend to the masses (work, friends, other obligations) and put off one person (my husband)? When in fact the example Jesus gave was to put off the masses for the one person.

My selfishness was challenged in a new way this week. I pulled a muscle in my shoulder/back while trying some new exercises. It hurts. It is painful to sit, stand, lay, walk, turn my head, lift my arm, etc. On day 3 I was agitated, cranky, and selfish. I was rude and altogether unpleasant to be around. Despite my discomfort, I had no excuse to treat my husband that way. He had every right to block me out and stop listening. Instead, he displayed his selflessness. About mid-way through the evening of Olympic watching he declared "I have an idea!" He went on to purpose, "How about you lay down and let me try to massage that muscle in your back?"

That night I was taught an important lesson. Marriage is about servant hood, selflessness, and sacrifice. I expected Eric to tell me to suck it up. He had been working all day while I had been home all day. After all, didn't he deserve a few minutes of peace and quiet? I'm sure I had been complaining to him from the moment he got home. Instead of asking for a few minutes to himself, he calmly and quietly gave of himself.

I believe this is the embodiment of Christianity. If I recall, didn't Christ come to Earth and give of himself time and time again and ultimately on the cross? This week I have been the recipient of Jesus' hands and feet on Earth. I hope and pray that my own selfishness will dwindle as I, too, learn how to be Jesus' hands and feet.

This thing called Food

Eric and I are cooking all of our meals for the first time in our lives. We've been richly blessed with other means of food service for the last 6 years, and before that, loving parents who fed us! Now that we're on our own, we find ourselves searching for new recipes often.

We enjoy cooking, both of us actually. It's probably because we both have a great love for food :) Despite our desire to learn, we find ourselves cooking variations of the same meals time and time again. Some of our favorites have become chicken and rice, pork and spaghetti. As of late, we've been scouring our cookbooks to find a few different meals. To our disappointment we haven't found much.

Most of our cookbooks are filled with great, amazing looking gourmet recipes that we lack the ingredients for. I'm sure we will build our spice cupboard over time, but until then we lack some of the ingredients necessary for gourmet food. We do not stock apricots, rosemary sprigs, fontina or smoked gouda cheeses in our home.

This leads me to my plea... Could you share a recipe with us? Some of our favorites have been passed on to us from our mothers, they are tried and true. If you have a favorite recipe (that's for the average person), please share! If we have the ingredients, we will try almost anything!

Will I Ever Learn?

This seems to be a lesson I may never learn. While I was in Michigan in June I was in need of a hair cut. I don't have a stylist there, and I didn't need anything special, just a trim. So I went to a walk-in hair salon. The girl was nice and it seemed okay, but upon my arrival home it was clear that the cut was uneven. My mom convinced me it wasn't that noticeable, so I kept it "until the next cut." Well I recently got my picture taken for a new ID card and let me just say it was definitely noticeable!

Let me interject in this story to say that I have a deep love for my hair. Yes, it's a bit excessive and I realize that, but it's true. It took me almost 2 years to find a stylist that I liked in IL. She was a great stylist and I trusted her. As I understand it, these people went to school to do hair. They have invested in their career and so I should trust them.

Back to the story... this week I decided to get my hair cut. As you know, I have yet to accept a job, so we're trying to be financially responsible. I found a coupon last week to another walk-in salon here in Nashville, just one short mile from our home. And again I tell myself "it's just a cut, nothing special, it will be fine." Regardless, she is cutting MY HAIR! I know that hair grows back and all that, but I have to wear it in the meantime... I absolutely care about the quality of the cut. Well my coupon was for a SHAMPOO and CUT. I show the lady my coupon, she affirms that everything will be fine, and I take a seat in her chair. She proceeds to lightly dampen the ends of my hair and she starts cutting!

About this time I'm giving myself a mental pep-talk about being more assertive... it's my hair and I'm paying for this visit, right? So I politely ask, "Ma'am, is there a difference between cutting hair when it's dry and cutting hair when it's wet?" (Now I realize I could have and should have worded that differently. I'll work on my pep-talk skills next time.) Her response, "Oh not with your hair, it's bone straight and won't make one bit of difference."

So how do I ask again? Or maybe mention that my coupon is for a SHAMPOO and cut? It makes a difference to me and I CAN tell the difference! Yes, I know I have some work to do on being assertive. So then she's just chopping away and as she gets close to my face I get bold again and ask, "Ma'am, are you planning on framing that around my face?" And she responds, "Well, if you ask me to. Is that what you want?"

So I did learn to be more assertive, and maybe I should have been more direct from the beginning. But again I go back to my original thought, she went to school to do this career, I should trust her. And she's the stylist... shouldn't she be asking me what I want? I used to look forward to my salon visits. I could come home with a fresh look and a new bounce. This week I came home a bit frustrated, a little embarrassed, and have yet to show off my "new look."

This seems to be a lesson I may never learn.

Recent Activity

The last 2 weeks have been a bit dull and frustrating... so Eric and I decided to do something about it! We visited REI to look at books on hiking trails in our area and we planned our first hike. We decided to drive 1 1/2 hours to do a pretty cool hike and see some waterfalls. We were pumped! THEN Eric remembered he had a meeting in the afternoon and couldn't go... so we re-vamped a little. We went to a local park/lake and hiked for about 3 hours, ate our lunches (that we had packed), and came home. In all it was a great trip and makes us look forward to more hiking in the future.














A few days later we went to the Nashville Zoo. We both love zoos, it was beautiful weather, and we had a wonderful day. We saw Timon and Pumba and all of the animals from Madagascar :) I've posted some of our favorites below. We also saw the stork that delivered me to my parents 24 years ago. Can you believe he's still alive?! Oh, and Eric had a lovely adventure on the playground, which you can also see!

Back in real life we're still job hunting. We believe we're in the final stages, praying that current opportunities will work out. I would say we're more hopeful than we have been, which is great. Eric starts classes in 2 weeks and he's pumped! Sanity is right around the corner :)

The "Other" Blog

I think I owe my husband a plug... so here it is.

Eric's blog: pruningspears.blogspot.com

Or "Children of Peace" on the blog roll to the right.

Nothing like mine... his takes actual brain power.

The Male Gender

What makes them so unique? Here are a few musings from recent weeks with my husband...

Tidiness is like a foreign term. Where Eric takes his shoes off, they will stay. They will NEVER make it to the closet. Same with the dishes. Where he finishes eating, they will stay. They seldom make it to the kitchen and rarely make it to the dishwasher. He recently told me I was "wasting my words" by asking him to put his dishes IN the dishwasher. What was I thinking?! And this morning there were 2 folded blankets on a chair needing to be put away. Eric wanted that chair and instead of putting the blankets away, he merely moved them to another chair!

The laundry... I will never understand this one. Eric will wait until the LAST second to do laundry. I mean to the point of having no undergarments left to wear. Then it's a huge rush to do his laundry. Let me quickly insert that Eric does his own laundry, and for that I am very thankful :) So this huge rush happens so he can have clean clothes and then what? THEY SIT IN THE DRYER FOR DAYS! Eric is now living out of our dryer. He also doesn't like his clothes wrinkled. A female would fold or hang her clothes to avoid wrinkles. Eric...? He'll just push the "start" button on the dryer and let them tumble a little more. His clothes will not disappear until I need the dryer and remove them myself.

On the clothes topic... Why is it that men have their favorite outfits that they wear again, and again, and again, and again while ignoring the rest of their closet? Eric has some nice clothes that he looks great it. Does he wear them? NO! He wears t-shirts everyday. He also has a wide variety of t-shirts. Does he wear them? NO! He definitely wears the same 4-5 t-shirts again, and again, and again, and again. By the way, he does the same thing with towels. He will only use HIS towel. What's wrong with the new ones that match our bathroom?

While I've dedicated this post to my husband, I need to take a moment to mention the positives.

• Eric cooks! He prepares the meat portion of our meals 98% of the time & I love it :)
• Eric is fun. Life is never boring or dull... he makes me laugh!
• Eric appreciates me. He is very loving, thoughtful and caring... and he tells me!
• Eric thinks. His favorite things are to read and study. He will not let his brain go to waist and he challenges me to do the same (I'm still learning).
• Eric cares about people. His love for humankind is contagious. He whole-heartedly believes that we are the glory of God and he lives that way.

I love my husband. While his nuances are frustrating, they do make me smile :) He is wonderful.

3.2

What is 3.2??

There this is this road, Franklin Pk, that Eric and I drive down almost every day. We've discovered it's a better route to downtown than the interstate. We're only on it for a few miles, but it's beautiful. The houses are set back off the street, some look like the plantations on "Sweet Home Alabama," they have beautiful yards, some are gated... exactly what you would expect southern plantations to look like. Most have garages larger than any home I've lived in, some pretty neat cars, and and a mystery to them. On our very first trip down that road I commented "I would love to see the inside of these homes." Not because they're huge, or fancy, but because they have history, personality, and a distinctness that makes them unique.

So I obviously have nothing to do with most of my time every day (I mean come on people, I'm crocheting!). A few days ago I discovered a website of Nashville tours that you can take. They drive through the "highlights" of Nashville, a tour bus full of folks gawking at all of the stars' homes. Okay, let's face it... if I could afford it, I would be on that bus! However, I am currently lacking an income, so I took my own "at home, on my computer" tour. And guess what I discovered? That road that I love (Franklin Pk) is LOADED with stars' homes. There are swimming pools shaped like guitars, and tour buses parked behind the houses... their own personal tour buses!

And the best news of all? Martina McBride! Oh yes, her house is closest to ours!

I LIVE 3.2 MILES FROM MARTINA MCBRIDE :)

Anyone want to visit???

Yarn Balls

A quick update on the crocheting project...

I bought a book titled "I taught myself to crochet" and it has worked quite well! I crocheted a sample of about 6 different stitches and then let Eric pick his favorite. (I decided to make a throw to match our new living room colors.) Then I made a pot holder of the favorite stitch. It actually turned out quite well, which led me to dive right into blanket making!

I am currently on my second ball of yarn, and it's going alright. Eric still thinks I'll stop with an extremely long scarf when I reach the right width. I am determined to prove him wrong! However, it might take me a little longer than planned... I need a job in order to purchase more yarn :)

When I find the camera cable, I'll post pictures.

Community Noises

We live in a new area. We're close to a fairly large city, and our complex is off a main street. The first noise you would expect to hear is that of traffic. You're right, we do hear a lot of traffic... but that's only the beginning!

We also have a hospital behind us... maybe 1/4 of a mile. We hear ambulances day and night. We don't mind them most of the time, I think we're getting used it. I just have to remind myself "It's the hospital, not the area we live in."

We landed ourselves in a predominately Hispanic area. Our neighborhood, the grocery store, international markets on every corner, signs I cannot read up and down all near streets... it's interesting. We don't mind it at all, and Eric speaks some Spanish, but it's still catches me off guard sometimes to hear another language that I cannot understand. There are definite perks to living in this area. 1. Pick up soccer, any time of day, in all open fields and parks. 2. A wonderful variety of Mexican restaurants that are very authentic. 3. Seeing God more clearly. "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27

But perhaps the strangest noise, and one that will take the most getting used to, are the airplanes. Much to my dismay, we live about 2 miles from the Nashville airport. I did not know this before we moved in (yes, poor research on my part). One will never be ready or prepared for the sound that comes with a landing airplane. It shakes our windows, rattles our ears, and temporarily suspends conversations. It even warrants a "pause" in movies while we let the plane pass. As you would imagine, it is especially annoying in the minutes before falling into a deep sleep. We experienced one of these moments a few nights ago. In our groggy, almost asleep voices...

Joy: I think that one is coming to get us.

Eric: I think it's gonna fly through our house.

Food

So I've been trying to eat healthy lately. It's been 10 whole days now of healthy eating with one "bad" day. Let me just say, it stinks!

It all started by going on vacation. Eric and I decided we would eat whatever we wanted that week, and it ended up full of pastries, coffee, pizza, ice cream, candy, snow cones, popcorn, etc. If it had sugar, we ate it! That was a glorious week :) Well then we visited with family in Frankenmuth and happened upon a bakery... and then we visited with family in Virginia and went to our favorite place, the Desserterie. By the end of 3 weeks traveling I'm sure we had both gained weight and I may have had a sugar addiction! After sharing my story with my mom and asking "Is a sugar addiction a good thing?" she suggested this "diet" of sorts. Yeah right!

So my mom came to visit us in Nashville and brought this magazine full of "eat healthy" advice and decided she'd do it with me for 3 weeks. At the time I thought it sounded like a great idea. Eat healthy, start exercising again, and feel good, right? Well after 10 days of absolute misery I'm ready to quit! All of my favorite foods have been nixed... ice cream, pizza, bread, ice cream, yogurt, pasta, ice cream, fruit, candy, soda, and ICE CREAM! Every day I wake up ready to quit and somehow talk myself into finishing "just this one day." So far, this battle has happened in my head every day except one. Sunday.

On Sunday we decided to have some friends over for lunch, so I had to cook a FULL meal. We had spaghetti, chicken Parmesan, watermelon, garlic bread and fruit pizza. It was AMAZING! I even had a glass of sweet tea to finish it off. The truth is, none of those foods are on my "approved" list :) It felt good to be rebellious on my little diet!

I'm sure you guessed it, I definitely gained weight with that one day's meal... boo! I suppose that's how I energized myself enough to kick it into gear on Monday. So here it is Wednesday. Once again I want to quit. I'd love to eat a nice greasy pizza for dinner... but I won't. Even more than that I'd love to have a nice bowl of creamy ice cream tonight... I'll try not to.

Thank goodness for support (thanks, Mom). I'll do my best to finish out my 3 week commitment. Only 11 days to go!

Welcome

So I'm creating a blog... I've recently moved to a new state, consequently have very few friends, have yet to secure a job, and... have some time on my hands! So why not share with you?

Today Eric and I decided to get our new licenses. Tennessee, yay! You all know how it can be sitting in line to get a license. Some of our friends suggested we visit the "License Office" in the city south of us, since the offices in Nashville are always over crowded. We took their advice with much appreciation and journeyed to La Vergne this morning. When we arrived we were told there was one person before us in line (despite about 15 people in the waiting area). Eric's number was B213 and I was B214. After a few minutes of paperwork, Eric's number was called. His procedure was fairly painless, despite the "office" worker leaving for lunch in the middle of transferring licenses and handing him off to the next guy. That's where it went sour... the lunch hour. Everyone working in the office went on lunch except one lone ranger. As we sat there for the next 45 minutes we watched the numbers climb... soon there were 48 people waiting in line. Oh, did I fail to mention that 3 other people had their number called in front of me? Not sure how that happened. I, however, waited patiently because I was staring at a poster on the wall that read "Thank you for waiting patiently, there are 17 people in line for an organ transplant."

At the end of our 2 hour trip, we have new, yet 80's looking licenses. They are a nice urine yellow color with the words "The Volunteer State" printed boldly across the top. I would have preferred to keep my pretty Illinois picture, but oh well. The next step is transferring my license plate... I think I'll wait on that one.

So I still don't have a job, which has made me kind of crazy. I freak out when one bowl is left in the sink, or when one black spot is on our carpet. I have nothing else to do, so why not have the cleanest apt. in town?! I've been exercising every morning, I've painted all that needs to be painted, I've unpacked and put away all possible things. Our laundry is up to date and our apt. is spotless. So today I decided to take up a new hobby... crocheting. :) Let's face it, I need something to keep me busy!

Until tomorrow...