High Five for Friday

Wooo hoooo!  It's Friday!   Some weeks Fridays are worth celebrating more than others, and for me, this week is one of those weeks.  Not because we have any big plans for the weekend, in fact the lack of plans is what has me celebrating.  School overload has occurred this week, and I'm just ready to relax!

1.  This past Saturday we had Thanksgiving with Jesse's side of the family.  I know, it was early, but it was really nice!  Those that cooked didn't have to fight the grocery crowds and we went shopping afterward without chaos.  We all loaded up and went to the Peanut Festival in the evening.  It was my first Peanut Festival and was directed to all the right vendors to get the best food from:  corn dogs from the corn dog man, roasted corn from the roasted corn man, kettle corn from the kettle corn man, and funnel cakes from the local band boosters.  The festival was complete with an exotic petting zoo and a sea lion show which was pretty impressive!

2.  We moved our voter registration not too long after we moved here, and finally got to really vote (in comparison to absentee voting).  Although the election didn't go quite like we hoped, we were still able to express our voice.

3.  More fall food inspiration: squash!  Spaghetti squash and butternut squash!  The spaghetti squash made it onto our plates last night, but I'm not sure yet where the butternut will wind up.  So many wonderful ways to cook it.

4.  On the way back home from our "holiday" weekend we were able to swing by and visit with a few friends along the way:  good ole Chase (and his critters), and the newly weds Jarrod and Jennifer who were even kind enough to prepare a lunch feast for us. :)

5.  Not such a great highlight, but Jesse was able to repair a couple of things on my car after having it serviced, which saved a lot of $$$ and now my dash is no longer flashing at me.  (He's so handy... when he wants to be.)

A Happy Birthday

Today is Jesse's birthday!  I'm sure we will go out for dinner tonight, but we actually did most of our celebrating a few weekends ago while I was on fall break.  We took an early birthday trip to Chattanooga to Ruby Falls and their Zipline Adventure Course.  It was actually a surprise trip - so much so that he didn't know where we were going until we pulled up at our final destination!  I tried to pick something unexpected and geared more towards something he would choose to do instead of me, because he deserves a fun little getaway.  He does so much around the house, without complaint, so that I can study.  I am so blessed with his love and support, so I wanted to (partially) return the favor.

Saturday morning we loaded up bright and early with no clues as to where we were headed.

I had wanted to take him back to the zipline course when we saw it on our last trip to Chattanooga, but turns out that he didn't even remember there being a zipline course!  So he still didn't know my plan until we arrived!  (I was a little proud of myself for keeping the secret so long!)

Due to the long wait when we arrived we decided to go inside Ruby Falls first.  It was neat to see the different rock formations.  (Was reminded of the terms stalagmite and stalactite from, you know... 4th grade.)

And the original passageway to the falls was so tiny! 

(the tiny gap behind the sign)

The grand finale of the cave of course is the falls:

Then we had lunch at their cafe, gaining strength for our big adventure!

And went to the lookout tower:

We headed back to the zipline course and barely had to wait before we were strapping our gear on.  Now, I won't lie.  I was a bit nervous.  I've never done anything like this before, and it wasn't just a simple zipline.  It was a whole obstacle course where you went from platform to platform in the treetops walking across rope bridges, planks, or tight ropes! (check out their website here for pictures) Unfortunately they don't allow cameras on the course, so I had to resort to posting pictures of pictures they took of us going down the zipline.

This was SO much fun, and Jesse was proud of my surprise.  :)

Let's Catch Up

Hello there.

I know it seems like I forgot about you all.  I'm behind on my blog posting (and reading the other blogs I follow), which is funny because life actually slowed down a little bit around here.  It's been good taking a little time to actually relax.

But let's recap what's went on around here in the past week or so:

The past two weekends I have finally given in to the Yard Sale signs that are always lurking on Saturday mornings.  Best thing ever!  I should have been yard sale hopping all summer long!  Yard sales usually mean junk sales, and while you do have to weed through a bit of junk, most of the sales I've been to have been full of pretty nice stuff.  Between the two weekends we've picked up the following for super cheap:  a magazine rack, a metal floor/standing fan, a basket for the kitchen counter, K-cups (at a weird estate sale I happened upon), cute metal Christmas tree candle holders, and a purse.  Plus, it's fun to browse around people stuff and chat with them - you can learn a lot about a person in such a short time that way.

I made a batch of pumpkin muffins.  One of my favorite things about fall is pumpkin.  Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin Poptarts (yes, this is real), pumpkin bagels (I've only heard rumor of these, but I've got to try them).  I've had my can of pumpkin in the pantry since last fall, but you can't just whip out of a can of pumpkin anytime of year.  It's just not right.

I introduced a few of my friends to Steel City Pops last week.  Just spreadin' the goodness.  I'm so glad they enjoyed it- so much so that where planning to go back before we left!  It might just become the new stress relief place after long days of studying.

Now this, my friends, is BREAKING NEWS!  I have been begging kindly asking my dearest husband to build a mantel shelf to go over our fireplace for months a while.  And this weekend my dreams came true! (Well...they are on their way of coming true.)  We got up Saturday morning and headed straight to Home Depot to get the supplies.  Due to my impatience of not wanting to wait until the next time we go home to Luverne to use dad's saw that can make all the nice cuts for us, we were going to buy a miter box and had prepped ourselves with youtube tutorials on how to make this work the hard way.  But, every time we go to Home Depot, we always run into the same employee to ask for help, and he is one of the most helpful and most giving people I've ever met.  He was going to let us (who he doesn't really know) borrow his big (read: expensive) saw to make our mantel, but then he remembered that the store has one.  Now, I don't know if he should have been using it to help us or not, but he did.  Which allowed us to leave the store with perfectly cut pieces, ready to be assembled! It's not complete yet - a little priming and painting to go - you will know when it's ready, believe me!  I have so many ideas of how I want to decorate it (thank you, Pinterest).
Side note that is worth mentioning:  It's so nice when people go above and beyond to help others.  Unfortunately, that's rare in today's world, which is a shame.  We are so busy and fast paced that we don't take the time to notice people and their needs, or are too afraid to inconvenience people or be inconvenienced.  Some people are just made with a spirit of giving, but if we all tried to be a little more like our Home Depot friend here, the world would be a much better place.

Tonight we were invited for a little impromptu pumpkin carving party.  We chose to carve an owl this year, which turned out pretty good!  Equally as impressive was the eek! pumpkin, the pumpkin within a pumpkin, and the family of candles pumpkin.  And it was complete with apple crisp.  I almost let studying stand in the way of having a great time with friends (and pumpkins), but I'm so glad I didn't. :)

What are you doing to enjoy this fall season?

High Five for Friday

Good morning and Happy Friday!!  It almost doesn't feel like Friday to me because I had a "short week" this week.  But I will take another weekend with no complaints!

1.  This past weekend we celebrated Jesse's birthday early with a trip to Chattanooga.  I surprised him by taking him to the Ruby Falls Zipline Adventure course!  We also went through Ruby Falls since we were already there.  More pictures and a post to come about this!

2.  Matthew and Heidi came to visit again on Saturday/Sunday, and we got to introduce Heidi to Steel City Pops.  They are now creating fall flavors like pumpkin and buttermilk which are fabulously delicious! While there, we brainstormed all the flavors they should make for Christmas.  (Can you tell we are a bit addicted to these popsicles?!)

3.  Monday and Tuesday was my Fall Break!  I spent it studying for my Ocular Anatomy midterm for Wednesday, but it did allow me to spend Saturday and Sunday having fun and not thinking about school! (A much needed mini-break!)

4.  Our little Maggie got sick again this week with her sensitive stomach issues, but thankfully we have a wonderful, really sweet vet office just around the corner that takes excellent care of her.  They were willing to take her in bright and early yesterday morning and keep her to monitor her during the day instead of sending her home with meds for us to figure out how to manage.

5.  Jesse brought me a cupcake home from the tailgate-themed Boss Appreciation Day they had at work this week.  He knows how to make me happy: chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting.  :)  It was also a nod to quote "what I do all the time" (which is evident by the background on the photo).

Have a lovely weekend!

High Five for Friday

Keepin' it short and sweet this week:

1.  After I finished class today I was officially on fall "break!"  Which is really just a long weekend, with Mon. and Tues. off, but I will so take it!  

2.  I made it through these horrible two weeks of testing I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. (Woohoo!)  And Jesse finished up another section of training, acing yet another test!

3.  Possibly the biggest highlight of the week was Jesse's new edition to our "entertainment center."  There's this nifty little adapter that you can use to connect your cable tv to your computer and turn it into a DVR.  Which means we can now record all the shows and movies from cable tv that we want!  This means a little more to him than me since I don't have much time to watch tv, but when I do, all our recordings are at my fingertips and I can skip commercials!  Pretty awesome.

4.  Speaking of tv shows.  The premiere of the second season of Duck Dynasty ran this week!  I know, I know... not something you would think we would watch.  But it is hilarious!  You should give it a try if you haven't already.

5.  I picked up a few mini candles tonight from Bath and Body Works.  Their new line of holiday candles smell wonderful.  They have some very unique scents and have captured them really well. (Fireside seriously makes your feels like you're next to the campfire. Love it!)

High Five for Friday!

Hello everyone!  We hope your week has gone well.  Now it's time to celebrate the fact that it's Friday!

1.  Cousin Jessica and her hubs Jarrod came to visit this weekend.  They were nearby for the Alabama game and crashed at our house after a long night cheering on that other team.  It was late and they were tired, but it was so good to see them, and we were glad they could use us as a stopping place instead of driving through the night.

2.  I finally took the time this week to go to Community Group Bible Study.  Jesse has been going, and I've been studying.  But I enjoyed it a LOT this week.  Not only was it a break from the books, but it was a very insightful approach to 1 Samuel, surrounded by wonderful people.  And there were lots of laughs afterwards, which definitely made my week.

 3.  I have been itching for a Hobby Lobby trip.  In Auburn, I used to go all. the. time. to Hobby Lobby during my lunch break. (Hi Heather.  I miss Hobby Lobby trips with you!)  It all started when wedding planning, but then I discovered all of the hobbies you could have while there and couldn't stay away.  If I had a million dollars I could spend it all at Hobby Lobby, and they would love me for it.   Anyway, a few neighbors have hung some fall decor by their doors, and I wanted to show my love and welcome to the season as well, so I swung by the ole H.B. and picked up some things for a flower arrangement.  Why I chose flowers I'm still not sure... I've never arranged flowers in my life (again, new hobby inspiration due to being in Hobby Lobby), but I think it turned out pretty well. (The coloring in the picture is a bit off... it's much more fall-ish and less bright green.)  I plan to use the container again each season and change out the flowers.  It's a much prettier sight to come home to than a blank doorway.

4.  Jesse had spent the week in training courses, learning all about nuclear power.  Now I know how he feels when I come home taking about optometry school things.  Let's just say he is the one made for engineering and not me. :)  (Way over my head)

5.  Random fun fact for the week:  The lens of they eye has some of the oldest cells in the body.  In the very center are cells formed during fetal development.  New cells are constantly growing, but they just become more and more compacted around the center.  Since these cells have been with us throughout our entire lives, they can be used to determine the age of an individual.  This is helpful in identifying victims after natural disasters.  It was noticed in Alaska that Bowhead whales that were caught would sometimes have spears stuck in them that were of much older technologies than the spears we use today.  So, scientists have used their lenses to determine their age and have discovered that some whales are up to 200 years old!  Pretty cool, right?

Have a wonderful weekend!  Go out and enjoy this fabulous weather before we are bundled in coats... or back in shorts... who knows.

Perspective

Some mornings as I'm pulling out, I see the school bus come by and pick up little kids from our apartment complex.  Some mornings I have to stop for the bus, but even if I'm in a hurry I don't mind.  I love seeing the little ones with there backpacks as big as they are, dressed in their cute little-kid clothes. They look much more excited than I do about starting the day so early.  One day a couple of weeks ago, amid my stress from testing taking I had to stop for the first time for the bus on my way home.  I smiled to myself in the car because I was going to get to see the cute little girls unload excited to be home for the day.  Really, I was thinking, "those kids have it so simple.  It was so nice back in elementary, you don't have huge exams to study for and you might even get naptime."  So I stopped for the red flashing lights on the bus, and a minute later the little girl got off, her backpack slung low over one shoulder, nearly dragging it behind her, and the biggest frown on her face.
And then I realized - just because she's a kid doesn't mean she doesn't have her own troubles.  It doesn't mean her day was full of fun at school.  There I was thinking my problems were bigger than hers because my plate was full for the week, and she's just a kid.
And my problems of stress and school seem small when I compare them to what other people are going through.
But the truth of the matter is that we are all important to God, and He is bigger than all of our problems - no matter who we are.  He cares about the little girl who may have been picked on at school and came home crying.  He cares about me making it through this path that He is leading me on.  He is in control of it all, even though I'm not.  And His plans are greater than anything I could dream of.

Thanks for the reminder, Lord.