Favorite TV Shows

Recently, Scott discovered that we have "instant watching" availability on Netflix, meaning that we can sign into our account and watch movies, tv shows, etc online. So he started watching "The Office". I had heard a lot about this show and watched bits and pieces of it a few times, but I never really got it. Well, since he started watching it, I have started doing the same thing. Now, I'm addicted. Forget "King of Queens" and "Friends" - I'm now going to have to get "The Office" on DVD. I think it's one of those shows you could watch over and over, and it would still be funny.

Anyway, as for other shows that I am into right now, I have to say there's not a whole lot. "Lost" is one of my faves but I guess it's not back until January. My guilty pleasure show is "Desperate Housewives", which is sort of drama/comedy/romance. I know, I know, many people think it's ridiculous (my husband included), but it actually does have a pretty interesting story line. And, since we don't get cable, I don't get to stay current with my other favorite show, "Smallville". I need to watch Season 6 - I'm waiting for Netflix to send it to me.

I think that's about it for shows for now. Any other suggestions out there? Not that I need to spend more time watching tv...

Funny Dogs

This morning when I was getting ready for work, my dogs were being hysterically funny. Mostly Moxie, the black lab pup. He does this thing where he acts like a cat - he puts his head down low, crouches his body a bit, and stalks our other dog. Well, it's always funny when we see him do that, but this morning it was hysterical.

Picture this: Mia is tied outside minding her own business, digging around in the pile of branches, probably looking for a squirrel. Scott and I are inside getting ready for the day. Scott was about to take a shower when I looked outside and saw Moxie. I motioned to Scott to come look out the back window with me. We look out and see Moxie way down in the back yard (he's tied out on the run), and he is crouching down, walking slowly toward Mia with this intense look in his eyes. He did this for probably about 20 feet before he actually decided to "attack". When he "attacked" (i.e. ran full speed towards Mia with his front paws going up to tackle her), Mia started running away super fast. It was hilarious! Scott and I were laughing so hard.

I don't know what it is, but I have never seen a dog do this before. It's something you see cats do all the time when they are going after their prey - you know, crouching and being really quiet and then full on attack - but I have never known a dog to do it. Perhaps we'll catch it on video sometime and win lots of money on America's Funniest Videos...

My Day's Events

Crazy busy day today! I left the house at 7:30am (a few minutes later than planned) and then hit Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast. Then I drove to Machias for team meeting - yes, that's right, Machias. It's quite a drive but it is beautiful this time of year. Not sure how that's going to be mid-January. I arrived a few minutes late due to the major traffic to get across Bangor and Brewer. After the meeting, I headed home and made a few calls on the way.

Back at the office, I worked on several issues and finally got a conference call together which was really important. Then I left a bit early because I realized I was going to get my hours due to going in early yesterday and today. So I headed over to Bangor Christian to watch the girl's soccer game. I saw one of our youth group girls play, and that was nice since I hadn't gotten to any of the games yet. Scott met me at the game and then afterwards we headed home.

At home, I took a nap because I was really tired from staying up too late the past few nights and getting up earlier than usual. (The ride back from Machias, I was struggling to stay awake). It felt really good to rest for a little while. Then I forced myself to wake up because I had a business call to do. I spent the rest of the evening working on my business, except for break for dinner - which my wonderful hubby made for us! It was a good night for business, as I helped someone on my team and also did some stuff for myself. Finally, I got done and relaxed! Now I'm debating on watching another episode of King of Queens, watching The Office on my netflix account, or just getting ready for bed. I know which one I should do... we'll see if that happens.

Dancing

I am not a good dancer. Growing up in a conservative Pentecostal family, dancing was a "sin". Even when I was in high school and my family wasn't quite so rigid, I still didn't learn to dance. That was mainly due to going to a Christian school where dancing was also not allowed. Of course, my friends and I would have our sleepovers and dance the night away - but in the privacy of our own bedrooms. I never learned to truly dance.

During college, dancing was okay. I went to a Christian college, but they had dances and such. Again, I usually just went for the social piece and didn't really dance. If I did, I probably looked ridiculous. And, my boyfriend/fiance at the time was not around (he was several states away), so I definitely didn't do any slow dancing.

At my wedding, there was no dancing. Mostly because of not having the space at the reception center (it was a low budget wedding) and because my grandparents probably would've keeled over if there had been dancing. Scott and I went to other weddings with dancing, and I made a feeble attempt when dragged onto the dance floor with my hubby.

I think I've gotten a little better with this dancing thing over the years, but I've still got a long way to go. I've been on a few trips with mostly women (business trips) that involved dancing, and I did give it a try then. But that was okay because there were other people who looked just as unskilled at dancing as I am.

So, last night Scott and I were at at wedding, and some of our friends were there too. We did dance a few times, but we were really put to shame by the Mexicans who were there (the groom was Mexican). It was so fun to watch them. I could picture myself doing all the moves, but then when I'm out there, I'm probably looking like a fool.

Oh well. One area in which I have truly changed over the years is how little I care about what others think about me. It's fun to dance - so who cares if I look ridiculous? I managed to get my hubby out there for one faster song (which I prefer to dance to), but then he left me. I stayed out there dancing with Peter and Shannon and random other people. Fun.

Well my friends, when are we going to take those dancing lessons? We want to follow in Jason and Sarah's footsteps - literally.

Headaches and such

Well I am so bummed because today did not go as planned at all. The first part of the day did - got up, showered, went to meet with someone for my business, came home. But by the time I was home, I started to feel my headache coming back. It had started Saturday and therefore I hadn't done much Saturday other than the youth group Harvest party. Well, it was feeling better yesterday, but it came back today. So I took a medication with my lunch, but I didn't notice much change.

Then, after lunch, I decided to lay down instead of work on my business. I just felt like I couldn't make my calls because I couldn't really think straight. Urgh. Anyway, I layed down and ended up sleeping for 3 hours!!! Crazy. When I finally woke up, I felt a little better but still a little funky. Mostly it's my head, but I think that all the work we're doing here at our house is causing me to have some sinus/chest issues and that's really annoying. So I took care of the dogs and started to get ready for youth group. Then I realized that I really didn't feel up to going out, which is frustrating because I hate missing youth group. I miss being with the kids, so I really hope that everything went okay. I'm now sitting here deciding if I can eat something for dinner... I'm hungry but I want to eat something that will help me feel better.

Anyway, I guess this is a weird post... all to say that I hate getting these headaches (which the doctors have told me are migraines) and I'd like to find out what is causing them. I also hate it when I don't accomplish what I wanted to for the day, but I know the world won't come to an end and I can work on some things tomorrow evening. Hopefully I'll feel better by then!

a couple more photos

Ok, since I've received so many comments on my photos (ok, not so many, just one... hint hint people!), I've decided to post a couple more. I love this one of Scott and I taken by Abby, and then there's one more that I took of Abby. This is at the cliffs of Magnolia in Mass... a little place that hardly anyone knows about...

Photos of our weekend

Here are the pictures I promised to post.... there's more on my myspace page...

Seagulls in front of the surf at the Cliffs of Magnolia







A great wave at Pebble Beach in Rockport







Pebble Beach again







A cool bird on Pebble Beach











An old, rundown building in Rockport











Taken by Scott and Esther.... please don't use without permission.

Ahhhhhh....

That's ahhhhhh in a good way. Scott and I are in Rockport, Mass on our little getaway! It's so wonderful. We drove down yesterday after I got out of work. Before we left, we had a big answer to prayer with Moxie. We hadn't found anyone to keep him, so we were having to take him to a kennel, which I didn't really want to do. Anyway, a family from our church emailed and said they could take him, and so we cancelled the kennel reservation and had him go there instead. Yay! Thanks Karen and Scott! They have 2 older labs, and so they already know all about raising a dog. Anyway, that was a big answer to prayer, and when I called to check on him tonight, Karen said he'd been swimming in their pond and having all sorts of fun.

So back to the trip... on the way down after stopping to eat at On the Border, I called our B&B to let them know we'd be later than planned. When I called, they didn't have us down for a reservation! I was so confused, because I knew I called two weeks ago and made the reservation. Well, thankfully they still had the room open and we were fine. When we arrived, they had found the reservation, so I was relieved to know that I wasn't calling the wrong place.

Today we spent the day relaxing and having fun. We started by going shopping in downtown Rockport, which is fairly small but has tons of cute shops. We also climbed out on a bunch of rocks and took tons of pics of the birds. Then we went to Pebble Beach in Rockport, which was absolutely beautiful!!!! It was about 80 degrees today, so if I had brought my swim suit I probably would've gotten in the water. I left the beach with a burn on my neck and arms. I knew I was forgetting something.... sunscreen! As we were walking down the beach, Scott remarked at how crazy it was that this is October.

After that, we headed to Beverly for a late lunch at Bertucci's.... yummmmmm. I'm eating the leftover Silano pizza right now. Then, we headed to Gordon and met up with Abby L. Yay! We walked around the new and improved "Fowler Campus" (named after the couple who just donated $60 million to the school), spent time in the bookstore, and just enjoying reminiscing about my college years. Then we took Abbs on a trip to one of my fave spots during my college years - The Cliffs of Magnolia. It's a little known spot in the town of Magnolia, but it's so beautiful... I'll post the pics when I get home.

Then we headed to Captain Dusty's ice cream for some homemade ice cream - another favorite place from the college years. I couldn't even finish it because they gave me so much. Anyway, after the treat we took Abby back to Gordon and then came back to our B&B. Since then, we've been watching a movie, reading, talking, and now I'm going to hop into the jacuzzi tub. Yup, it's a rough life....

Update on Life

I was doing better with blogging for a while, but I have been MIA for a while. I am sitting upstairs currently, in my "office". Right now, though, it looks kinda like a tornado hit it. Due to our renovation project right now, everything for the living room and dining room (or, almost everything) is either in the kitchen or upstairs. Ahhhh! It makes life a little challenging, but I know it'll be worth it. We actually have bought sheetrock to start putting up in the dining room. We still have to tear out the sheetrock in the living room from the outside walls, which hopefully will happen this weekend.

Other than the chaos that has been created by the renvoations, there's been lots of other stuff going on. On Saturday night, I drove to Portland to pick up my sister from Portland. She is visiting for the week, so that is lots of fun. Sunday we went to church, then we had a dinner afterwards with missionaries visiting our church. After this, we went home and relaxed for the afternoon. Then back to church for the evening service.

Monday I spent most of the day working my business, and then also made dinner for Naomi and Rich. Then we went to youth group as always. Naomi joined me for that while Rich went to do a college fair at UMaine. After youth group, I had a training call and then finally went to bed after that.

Today was not too eventful - back to work, went to my regular Tuesday Forum group for lunch, and then home around 5pm. My stomach was doing something funny this evening but it is feeling better now. I have gotten a lot done tonight, so that is good. Overall, things are going well although I am so excited to get the house project done so that we can put furniture back where we want it! We may even buy a new kitchen table and/or living room set now that we'll have a remodeled living room and dining room.

Well I guess this wasn't too exciting, just a basic update. I will try to post something more interesting next time...

Urgh!

Moxie is driving me crazy! I played with him, threw the stick, fed him, played with him, and so on. He rewards me by stealing my Teva Sandals (one of the pairs he hasn't ruined yet), barking at me, getting tangled around the trees outside, ripping stuffing out of the dog bed, and trying to steal trash out of the trash can.

Yup, I'm going crazy!

It's My Birthday...

Ok, so yesterday was my birthday. So I figured I should share my thoughts about that day. First off, if you haven't figured it out, my birthday is September 11th, which is also the anniversary of a tragic event in the U.S. It was a horrible day for our country, and I don't ever want to forget what happened 6 years ago. I hope that we all continue to honor and remember those who sacrificed on that day as well as those who were murdered by terrorists.

So, on to more upbeat topics. I started my birthday waking up to my amazing husband, and that was great. Then I showered, and realized that I was feeling much better than the previous few days. After that, I went back upstairs and received my birthday gifts from Scott, nicely wrapped in a New York & Co bag... OK, so I picked out my birthday gifts, but I did have to wait to open them. So I wore my new pants to work and felt quite stylish. Work went well, and I realized how happy I am to have this new job and the freedom to work part time.

After work, I headed home and played with the dogs. I also made a few calls for my business while waiting for Scott to get home. Once he was home, he shaved and got dressed up (!) to go out. I still didn't know what we were doing. We drove into Bangor and by the direction we were headed, I figured we must be going to Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden, or Applebees. I thought we probably wouldn't go to the Roadhouse cause we went there recently, and I thought that if we were going to Applebee's, I'd have to kill him because that's his favorite restaurant, not mine.

It turned out that we were going to the Olive Garden. We had some scrumptious food (I tried a new dish - a shrimp and asparagus dish but I traded the shrimp for scallops) and great conversation. Then we went shopping at Target where we bought some great throw pillows (my choice) and a couple movies (Scott's choice).

Finally, I ended my birthday night by watching Big Brother - a very shallow but entertaining show!

So, thank you to everyone who called, emailed, or said Happy Birthday yesterday OR today (Jess and Steve). And, thank God for my wonderful husband, family, pets, friends, business, job, and so much more!

Attack of the Killer Bee

Today we had another "work day", and this time we had help! Kevin, Mary, and Pete came to help us. Pete fixed our lawnmower (yay!) and Kevin and Mary helped us tear out the sheetrock in our dining room. Very wonderful! It was pretty messy, but now it's all down from the entire dining room. Scott and I even got the insulation started after the others left.

So, you're probably wondering - where does the title of my blog come into this picture? Well, I made some very yummy pizzas for lunch to thank everyone for helping us. Since the dining room in not exactly usable right now, we sat outside on our camp chairs, lawnmower, and cooler to eat lunch. We were all enjoying our food and drink while trying to ignore the whining puppy, when a bee started flying around us. It started near Pete, buzzing around his head and even flying into the pocket of his shirt!

Just as we thought it was leaving Pete alone, it came back and started flying around Scott. It quickly left Scott and then came over to me. It started buzzing around my hair, and I tried to stay still and not freak out. Then, it flew to the other side of my head and stung me in the ear!!! I jumped up and ran inside to examine my injury and escape the bee. Mary soon followed, as she did not want to get stung. The guys then tried to kill the darn thing, but they couldn't get it. Mia even participated by barking while Kevin swung his hands around trying to kill it.

Meanwhile, I was checking out my ear, which was now turning red and swollen and also hurting quite badly. I applied some ice and finished my lunch. Once things settled down outside, Mary and I made our way back outside to have a little more to eat and enjoy the fresh air. I moved my chair over next to the dogs so that they didn't have to be lonely, and about 2 seconds later, the bee came back near me! I then jumped up and went inside for good.

We really don't know what was wrong with that bee. We did nothing to antagonize it, but yet it felt the need to attack us - especially me! I don't know what it is, but bugs and bees seem to be attracted to me. Thankfully, I survived the attack of the killer bee.

Renovation

Yesterday was Labor Day, and Scott and I took that seriously. We started on a project that has been long overdue. We bought this home almost 4 years ago. At that time, we did a lot of renovations that we much needed. However, one thing we were unable to do (due to running out of time and money) was the dining room and living room walls. We discovered, after buying the home, that the walls were covered in about 5-7 layers of wallpaper, with dark blue or dark green paint over it. Ugh!

So, finally (thanks to my earnings with my business), we have the money to do this HUGE project. Yesterday we began by ripping out all the trim in the dining room and starting on tearing down the sheetrock. It is not a super-easy task but I already know it's going to be well worth it. Once we have the sheetrock ripped out, we'll have to put up new sheetrock, mud, tape, and finally paint. Then new trim will need to go up as well. Finally, after painting, we will put down new flooring - Laminate most likely. Yay!

The hardest part of all this is figuring out what to do with the furniture while we work on it. Currently we've got the buffet table in the kitchen, the desk and bookcase in the living room, and the table and china cabinet in the middle of the floor in the dining room. After the dining room is done, we'll have to figure out where to put the couch, futon, entertainment stand, and everything else that's in the living room. Hmmmmm....

Well I'm sure I'll post some photos at some point - hopefully we'll be finishing this project sometime in September. This is truly my birthday present from Scott - cause he really isn't into it too much. But he's doing it for me!

Favorite Pasttime

Today I participated in one of my favorite pasttimes: whitewater rafting! It has been a while since I've gone, and it was so great to be back out on the river! I grew up in a family that was very "outdoorsy" - camping, hiking, biking, and yes, rafting. We would do these things whenever we had a chance - to me it seems like it was every weekend of summer, but I know in reality it wasn't. It's just that those memories are some of the best of my childhood.

My dad became a whitewater rafting guide when I was probably 10 or 11, and then he got his own raft. That meant we could go rafting anytime we wanted, which is much better than paying $100 a person to go. So when my father passed away, our friend Tim bought the raft from us. Tim had gone rafting with Dad a few times, and it became one of his favorite things to do as well. Now, Tim takes us rafting anytime even though it's been over 10 years since Dad passed away.

So today, Scott and I drove up to the bridge at The Forks, where we always meet before rafting. It turned out that the other couple Tim was bringing couldn't make it, and I didn't realize that he had room for us to bring 2 friends, so it ended up just being Scott, me, Tim, Michael (Tim's son), and John (Michael's friend). That was fine though, and once I was out on the river I was reminded of how great rafting is! It's not so much the waves and getting wet and everything, but just being out in God's beautiful creation! It's so freeing to just ride the current of the river and not have to think about anything else...

So, it was a good day and I am thankful for it.

Waiting Games

Last night, Scott and I decided to enjoy our newfound freedom (i.e. having Friday nights off together) by going out to eat and to a movie. We hadn't had a "date night" in a while, and I was looking forward to it. We left the house around 5:40pm to head to our favorite restaurant, the Texas Roadhouse. Well, I decided to call ahead in case there was a wait. There was. A 50-60 minute wait. So we got our name on the list, and then arrived there about 10-15 minutes later.

Once we arrived, we checked in and asked how long the wait would be at that point. They told us about 40 minutes. So, we said we'd be back - we were just going to go to the stores in the plaza. We were back within 25 minutes, and then we sat down to wait. We waited, and we waited, and we waited some more. Many tables were called - 5 people, 2 people, 4 people, 7 people. I started getting a little annoyed when it had far exceeded the 60 minutes we were originally told. I thought, what's the point of calling ahead? You don't get in any faster. Finally, after the numbers had gone past ours by quite a bit, I told Scott I was going up to find out what was going on.

Well, I went up and managed to get by the throng of people standing directly in front of the counter, and asked where we were at on the list. That's when they told us - our number had already been called - several times. I asked how long ago it was called - she said 25 or 30 minutes ago! I was so perplexed because we had been told 40 minutes and we were only gone for 25, so they must have called us during the 25 minutes that we were gone. I wish that they would tell you "20-40 minutes" if it's going to be WAY less than 40! Urgh.

Anyway, they acted like it was our fault, which is why I was annoyed. But, they did give us the next available table, which is the only reason I did not walk out of there. I love the restaurant - the food is delicious and the service is usually good. I'd just have to say that they need to get a little more organized about their call ahead and waiting list because it's frustrating to be told one thing and to have an entirely different thing happen...

Oh, and by the way, because of that little fiasco, we missed our movie and ended up just going home.

New Job

I have a new job which I started last week. It's for an agency here in Bangor (FACT), and I am a "Family Advocate" - a fancy word for foster care case manager. I am working part time now, which is so great. So far the job has been good - no major surprises. Basically I've been reading policies, info about the clients I'll be working with, and touching base with the foster parents. I'm fortunate that the foster parents I'm working with are very experienced, and therefore it will make my job even easier. I know it won't be a bed of roses, but even the fact that I'm only working 20 hours makes it incredibly better!

I am now able to have more of a routine, and spend more time with Scott. I'm looking forward to having Friday nights and Saturdays together. It's gonna be so weird, but good! This new job also gives me more time in the evening. Take today for example: I left work at 4:30pm, went to the gym to work out, did groceries, and got home by 6pm! I was able to have dinner, do some work on my business for a couple hours, and still have time to relax after that. Woohoo!

Well, as you can tell, I am pretty happy with this whole thing. I have to say though, it's all God. I truly believe that God has played a part in several changes that have taken place in my life over the past months. I thank Him for leading me into each area of my life and I hope that I can honor Him with everything that I do.

Atlanta

Well Scott and I recently returned from Atlanta, GA. We were there from Wednesday through Sunday for a convention with my business. We had a fabulous time! It was quite crazy getting there, with delays starting in Portland and then having to wait for Mom and Paul's luggage in Atlanta. It didn't come until the next day...

Anyway, I had really wanted to go to the Georgia Aquarium, but with getting in late on Wednesday and the next few days being packed from start to finish, we had no time! I have decided something - next year when we go to Salt Lake City, we'll be adding a few days on to the trip so that we can enjoy the local scenery and activities.

As for the rest of the trip, I had tons of fun. I finally got to meet Kindel, one of my support team members from Oregon. It's funny how you can get to know someone so well just over the phone -but it was lots of fun to meet her in person as well. I think my favorite part of the trip was just seeing how full of integrity this company is and how glad I am to be a part of it. It has allowed me to quit my full-time job and go to part time - which is something I've worked towards for 4 and 1/2 years with another company and not been able to accomplish. In addition, it has been great to help other people improve their own physical and/or financial wellness.

I could go on and on, but I won't. I am so glad we were able to go, and I am so thankful for Steve and Jess who watched Mia for us! They took care of her for us and almost didn't give her back! Moxie went to the kennel again and that cost a pretty penny, but at least he was able to play with other dogs, etc.

I think we're done traveling so much, at least for the rest of the year. No more major trips - perhaps just a camping trip on Labor Day weekend, but nothing out of state...

Freedom

I have been told recently that I don't post on my blog enough, so I'm going to try to do a better job. So here's my update:

I am FREE!!! I am no longer working full time - my last day was Friday. I am so excited! And God is good, because last week I got the call that I got the new job I wanted! It's part-time, foster care case management, and the schedule is flexible. Basically it means that I no longer have to work nights or weekends, plus I have an extra 20 hours a week to spend with Scottie and/or doing my business and youth group stuff. Woohoo!

So, in celebration, Scott and I went to Acadia National Park on Saturday along with Steve and Jess. Here's a couple pics from that trip:

Headaches

I have been having headaches lately, and they are very painful. I've seen my doctor on and off about this, as no tylenol, ibuprofen, or even prescription stuff seems to touch these headaches. I actually started to get one yesterday, had a difficult night's sleep, and when I woke up I was nauseous. I tried to go to work but felt as though I would throw up as soon as I got into the car. Urgh! I hate feeling this way. I don't want to miss work over a headache, but when the only thing I can do without throwing up is lay completely still on the couch, I don't really have a choice.

Anyway, as I said, I've seen my doctor about this and we finally decided that I'm going to have an MRI to make sure it's nothing serious. So next Monday I get to go into a giant magnet. So if you think of it, you can pray for me... currently I'd just like to be not in constant pain. And I'd like to find out that this is nothing serious, but also I'd like to know what is causing them.

Moxie

We have had Moxie now for quite a while. He is a handful, but super-cute and lovable! Here are some fun pics of our new little bundle of spunkiness: