Living Blossoms

Things that made me smile today:
+ Getting done with work extra quickly for no apparent reason
+ Finding out that my modeling agent only accepts 5-10 adults each year... and I was one of them
+ Having good friends over for dinner
+ Their comments on how great the living/dining rooms look
+ Their shocked reactions when told Mandy is 13 years old
+ Isaac being the grillmaster and making some rockin' pork loin wrapped in bacon
+ Showing them all our Europe pics and telling all our stories
+ Giving them some Starbucks ice cream to take home
+ Doing the dishes as soon as they leave so they're not waiting for me in the morning, while singing and dancing along with a great CD, with a hard cider in reach.
+ A husband who loves me, waiting in bed for me

This is my life. I am grateful.

+ Happy Christmas Eve Eve! I've only wrapped two presents so far. I keep meaning to, and then other things come up - like today, when Mom called me and asked if I wanted to go to SnS for lunch. How could I say no?

+ I've been a crocheting fool lately. My first attempt at making the hat I mentioned somehow went haywire and I ended up with a slightly concave doily. LOL. So I tried an easier one and it turned out pretty darn cute. It's a little small, but it will work for my purposes. I may make another just because I am empowered by my success. Today I began working on a lacey scarf, which will be gorgeous when finished. It'll take me a while though - it's quite intricate.

+ Thank you to all who've sent Christmas cards. I've put them up on the part-wall between our living and dining rooms. I fully intended to send some of my own this year, but I didn't even get any out to relatives. I really do like sending Christmas cards, but oh well. Maybe next year. So yeah, if you were waiting for one from me, don't worry - it's not you, it's me. Hehe.

+ I went to CVS at midnight Sunday morning to get all the free stuff before it was taken. (Then yesterday I learned they offered rain checks for all of them. Heh.) That should've been quick and painless (and it was kinda fun CVSing in the wee hours of the morning; if only Angela was here to go with me!), but I was not the only person with that idea, and the cash registers were acting up. At least everyone was in a good mood. I got so many goodies. I gave some of my loot to my family Sunday night - that was cool. And I managed to get two bottles of laundry detergent, which weren't even on sale, for $1.50. Nice.

+ I keep forgetting to tell y'all my thoughts on the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner. The shower certainly isn't sparkling (and we've been using it for about a month now), but it is definitely cleaner. I like knowing that it's cleaned and disinfected every day. I would say don't pay the asking price, but if you can get a good deal like I did, go for it. It's worth it to have to scrub the shower far less often.

+ I think we're going to spend the night at Mom & Dad's tomorrow night. We'll watch movies, eat some caramel corn and Doritos, and sleep in the living room. After breakfast we're going to go to the beach (it's going to be 80º and sunny!) and then probably go see Bedtime Stories. Then Dad will get home (he's working in the afternoon), we'll open presents, and eat dinner. Sounds like a great Christmas to me.  =o)

+ I think my dishwasher has officially died. It's been acting screwy lately, and after the last wash, which I had to cajole it into doing, none of the dishes were clean. Well, I suppose 2 1/2 years for a countertop dishwasher isn't too bad of a lifespan. I wish we had the money to redo our kitchen and just put in a real one.

+ I hate doing laundry. I usually put it off till we have a humongous pile. Today was just a medium pile, but I got it done. Bleh. I don't know why tags on cashmere sweaters say to dry clean only. I've washed all of mine in cold water on a gentle cycle, and they come out clean and even softer than when they went in. I hit a thrift store on Saturday and found my 2nd thrifted cashmere sweater ever. It's a lavender one from Ann Taylor, and it is so gorgeous and soft. It's one of my favorite sweaters now - not bad for $4. I also found a totally cute casual dress from Banana Republic for $2. I may wear it on Christmas, just because I can.  =o)  I went to the Ann Taylor and Banana Republic sites to find out the average price for those things, and basically I got them at at least 98% off original retail. Rock on!

+ Does it annoy you guys when I write about my thrifted finds, or do you just skim right through? I just realized the other day that it may come across as bragging, but that's not at all how I mean it. I'm usually just thrilled that I found such great stuff, so I want to tell you about it. Still, I could stop it if it bugs you.

+ Well, I'm gonna go keep crocheting and watching Supernatural season 2 with Seth and Isaac, and then it is off to bed sooner rather than later. I've had a sinus headache all day, and sleep is the only way to put an end to it. In case I don't get on here again in the next few days, I pray you all have a fantastic Christmas, celebrating the birth of the Savior!

Throughout the day I think of so many things I want to tell you guys, but when I actually sit down to do so, they fly right out of my head. It's kind of annoying. Perhaps it's the scent of the Crock Pot Italian Roast Beef wafting through the house that's distracting me. It smells heavenly. I can't wait to taste it!

I bought the roast at the grocery store this morning and amused Isaac by calling him to ask him where one might find bay leaves. Having never heard of them until I read that recipe, I didn't know what they looked like, and I (wrongly) assumed that they were in the produce section. Heh. I then also had to hunt for a rump roast. I figured I was just not seeing it because I wasn't 100% sure what to look for (my mom has made roasts before, but I never saw them pre-cooking), but when I finally told an employee I couldn't find any, he responded, "That's because there aren't any out here right now." Now you tell me. But he brought me one from the back and told me to come back and tell him how dinner was. Hehe. And since I began cooking, the house has smelled fantastic. I'm sure it is a very unhealthy dinner, but it may well be worth it!

The Kutless concert on Thursday night was so good! We went with David and his girlfriend Jenna, which was a lot of fun. It was the least acoustic-sounding acoustic set I've ever heard though, LOL. Somehow they managed to make acoustic guitars sound more rock-like than ever before. It was at a small venue, so we had a great view even though we got there late. (I went up to the front for part of Kutless' set, though, in the extremely calm mosh pit.) It was cool to see them in a more intimate setting like this acoustic tour. They explained the reasons/stories behind a few songs, and interacted with the crowd more. I thought it was funny that the (very few) parts they yell/scream on the CD versions, they whispered on the acoustic tour. Screaming, unplugged. Hehe. Also, we were sitting near the sound booth and saw their playlist... including their "spontaneous" encore a few spaces below the rest. Ha!

The first opening act is much better on his MySpace songs than he was live. The second, though, was awesome! Their name is Esterlyn (named after one of the guys' nieces, who was adopted from China) and they're great. Similar to The Swift, Everyday Sunday, Switchfoot, etc. I bought their CD that night and have been listening to it in my car ever since. So, this is me recommending it to you. =o)

The LJ strike was fun because it made me feel like one of the Newsies. Hehe. It was funny though, how knowing I couldn't go on LJ that day made me think of going there more often than usual. Silly subconscious.

Did you have a good Easter? I hope so. Friday night we had a really nice Good Friday service at church. My Sunday didn't feel very Easter-like, apart from church. We were in a choir for a few songs, which was fun. I think that's the first time Isaac has sung up front at this church. Crazy. After that, we went to Mom & Dad's for lunch, but AAAC were still sick, so it was just us, Mom & Dad, and Seth and two of his friends who are on spring break. While we were at their house, I put some ringtones I had made for Mom on her phone. (They were the theme from her all-time favorite TV show, The Big Valley, and "My Girl" by The Temptations.) She was thrilled. =o) When we got home, we finished up watching the 2001 Word of Life Passion Play video, which is the one we were in and during which we became best friends. It'd been several years since we watched it, so it was really cool to remember that. Being in that show changed both of our spiritual lives as much as our physical ones.

Sunday afternoon I took one of the youth girls from church to what I think is the first thrift store she's ever been to. She ended up finding a cute J. Crew dress for her sister for $2. I think she's hooked on thrift stores now, hehe. When I got back from that, Isaac really wanted to go lay around at a park (sounds weird phrased like that, but we love to go down by the river, lay out a sheet, and just chill). Chill we did, though, as it was quite cold. We didn't stay very long, but it was pretty while we were there.

Yesterday we went to the Cheesecake Factory for the first time, because we had a gift card. It was really good! I got the Herb Salmon and Shrimp Scampi with steamed broccoli. The salmon was fantastic, but sadly, the shrimp was fried. I can't eat fried seafood. =o/ The broccoli rocked, because it was in the lemon juice from the salmon and the garlic sauce from the shrimp. Amazing. And I saved some to eat for lunch today. We also had to get cheesecake, since, hello--Cheesecake Factory! To see what kind, check out my latest Project 366 post. =o)

Isaac had a great idea for raising money for El Salvador. We're going to see about setting up a small photography gallery of pictures I've taken and those that another photography enthusiast in church has taken, print out 8x10s or 11x14s, mat them, and put them up in the foyer at church, and then sell them. Assuming people buy them, we could raise a lot of money that way. That would be great, since Isaac and I are hoping to raise all our money for this year's trip.

Our body fat scale has definitely bit the dust. Today it told me that I have gained 2% body fat since I started working out. Yeah. I'm doubting that.

Haha, I guess I managed to come up with plenty to write after all. Well, keep in mind I haven't written since Thursday afternoon, and you can forgive me. Right? *puppy dog eyes* ;o)