Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Last day of November

Ok I'm back to finish my Thankful list!

26- I'm thankful for the Christmas season. I honestly think it seems to bring a lot of good out in people when the Christmas spirit is in the air :) Just love this time of year!

27- Doctors, especially mine. I'm blessed with some wonderful physicians who truly care about their patients.

28- Pictures and the wonderful way they preserve memories

29- My vehicles. They aren't the fanciest, but they are both good vehicles, one of which is already paid for, and they get us where we need to be. :)

30- Maybe this should've been #1, but I chose to end it with the one thing I am thankful for the MOST, and that is my Savior, Jesus Christ. After all, without Him, what would be a reason for living? I wouldn't have all of the blessings that I AM thankful for. He lived a perfect life, suffered, died, and rose again for MY sins, so that I will live eternally w/him in Heaven. Yes I'm most definitely thankful for Him!

Alllrighty that's it! :) I cannot believe tomorrow is the start of December! CRAZY!

Quick update

I'm sending this from my phone. I have a double plan at work today so for a sub that equals free time! Anyway as you can see I survived yesterday (as did Brew lol. He drives me nuts sometimes but I love him & we can't stay mad long.

Anyway, some awesome news...yesterday I wrote about a job opening at csx railroad in st albans that Brew was going to apply for, well later yesterday evening a Parkersburg position posted! So he applied for it last night. I am really praying that this is the right job (career) for him. So if you can please pray that if it's His will that Brew will get this job! He would enjoy the job itself not to mention it would be a tremendous financial blessing!

Ok well I'm quickly tiring of typing on my phone so I'm off! I will write again tonight!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Typical MONDAY

Ok so I'm still behind on my thankful list but I'm not feeling particularly "thankful" at this moment. I need to rant so here goes...

It's been a pretty sucky Monday so far. This morning got off to a bad start because Duke woke up at 4 needing to go out. So I let him out & then brought him back in and he went back in his crate & slept till 5 or so, then he decided he wanted to get up AGAIN. Knowing full well he did NOT have to go out again, I laid there & listened to him whine/cry for 20 min or so, before finally relenting and getting up and letting him out (as predicted he did not have to use the bathroom) and fed him. Hoping to squeeze another hour or two of sleep in (as I didn't have to work today because of a Drs appt) I put him back in his crate. He then proceeded to whine/cry some more. Frustrated I woke Brew up, who can sleep through World War III, and asked him if he minded if I let Duke come up on the bed for an hour or so so I could sleep. Well then he gave the way WRONG answer and really ticked me off. He said "No then I can't sleep!"... "Ok," I said "then what am I supposed to do, I can't get back to sleep" And he says "Well get over it or get up". Yea. Not the right answer. So I was really ticked off and frustrated and tired at this point. So I laid there until Brew's alarm went off and he got in the shower (when Duke finally shut up for 5 seconds) and then he comes BACK into the room and flips the light on in my face. Ugh. Not a good morning for us we'll just say that.

Then I was going to take an order into Shirt Factory for the clogging team after my Drs appointment. Well I don't have a printer so I emailed the spreadsheet to myself and went to the church where mom was working to print it out, only to find out that the document didn't attach properly and I just got a bunch of weird symbols and such. Grrrr. So I just went home, ate lunch, and am now complaining to the world. lol. I'm going to try this whole shirt factory order again here in a sec. This time I'm saving it to a jump drive AND emailing it.

It's just one of those days...




Ok well to avoid having this blog be entirely "poor me", Brew is going to apply for a job with CSX railroad in St. Albans. His dad says that there is also an opening coming up in Parkersburg (yay!) So I'm not crazy about the possibility of moving an hour and a half away, but there's a good chance he could be transferred back to Parkersburg within 5 years if he gets the one in St Albans. Not to mention he'd be making twice what he does now, and this is really a career. If he were to get a job for the railroad he'd be the 5th generation railroader in his family, which is kind of neat. His dad works here in Parkersburg. So I'm just going to be praying for God's will on this one. If one or the other job is right for him now then I pray that he gets the position, but if it's not right then I hope he doesn't.


Alright well that's all for now. I promise since tomorrow is the 30th I will post with my final 5 things I'm thankful for. :)

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Stuffed like a turkey...

Hey! Well I'll give a quick recap of Thanksgiving-- it went great! The Deans came out to our house in the afternoon & everyone had a good time, ate plenty, and my dog was well behaved :) (I was so proud of him. LOL. I was afraid he'd be incredibly hyper w/everyone here, but he was really good) Then later in the evening I continued to eat myself into misery at my mom & dads with my family. Whew. I wish I'd of thought to take a few pics but I didn't. I need to get better w/that!

Yesterday was black Friday, so I went shopping w/the "Dean women" lol. It's a tradition w/them. I didn't really get a whole lot, and honestly probably wouldn't go if it were just me, unless there was something on sale I realllllly wanted, but it was a lot of fun hanging out w/my mom-in-law, sis-in-law, and aunt and cousin-in-laws. :) Needless to say though after getting up at 4 and being at Walmart by 5am-- I was ready for bed EARLY last night. (And we did go to bed at like 9 lol) Brew went hunting while I went shopping and shot his first "real" buck (an 8-point!) So looks like we'll be getting some deer meat before long!

Annnnd today after I got home from working at the Y, we decorated for Christmas! I was super excited about this since it's OUR first Christmas :) Brew hasn't gotten the outside lights up yet but here are some pics from today (linked from facebook!)















Well, I know I haven't done my things I'm thankful for, but this post is pretty long, and I'll be getting ready for bed soon so I will catch up on that later!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Ok so it's a day early but I doubt I will have time to post tomorrow... it's a BUSY day!!!

But I'm wayyy behind on my thankful list so here goes... (and I'll go ahead and add one for tomorrow too!)


18- I'm thankful for modern communication (aka email, internet, skype, cell phones, etc.) My cousin Stefani & her new (growing) family is living in Germany at this time and if it wasn't for any of this modern communication stuff I'd hardly ever get to talk to her! But we are able to email/facebook each other, and I can keep up w/her pregnancy through youtube, not to mention now that my new phone has a skype app I can talk to her on the phone!!! :)

19- My house. Yes it's not much, and we don't own it, but it's a HOUSE. I'm fairly certain if we did not have the opportunity to live in this "family-owned" house of mine, that we'd be stuck in some dinky apartment or house in a not so great neighborhood. We are very fortunate to have this home!

20- The amazing Thanksgiving dinners (yes, two) that I get to have tomorrow!

21- Everyday heroes, like police officers, fire-fighters, paramedics, etc. These people often risk everything for the lives of others.

22- Good books. I love to read and nothing beats having a free moment to curl up w/a good book :)

23- Public Education. It gets a lot of flack, but I'm glad it was there for me!

24- Along those same lines, I'm thankful for teachers. More specifically all the wonderful ones I have that inspired me to become a teacher myself!

25- The Seasons that we get to experience here in WV. I know not everyone gets to see snowy winters, rainy springs, hot summers, and cool autumns (with beautiful foliage), and I may complain about the weather, but I'm glad we get all 4 seasons here!



Alllrighty, all caught up plus one day! :)

Plans for Thanksgiving...

We're having the Dean family HERE at my house for Thanksgiving! Yikes! LOL THankfully, Brew's aunt Laura is doing the majority of the cooking, I'm just hosting (lol and making pumpkin pies, cheesy potatoes, and green beans :)

Thennn, in the evening we're going to my mom & dad's for the Greathouse gathering. Two dinners in one day, woo hoo!

Alrighty well I'm off to go finish cleaning! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! ♥


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

"hump" day...

Hey everyone! So I'm working today & since I'm not usually in this position at this school I don't know where the lunch crew would be soooo I'm eating my lunch in my room :) Hence the blog post. Honestly I probably shouldn't be working. I've had a stupid cold for like a week now. Brew & I BOTH have/had it. Now it's moved to being a sore throat/caughing/losing my voice thing. Blah. But I couldn't turn down a job, especially at Franklin (like this school) and since it's for a reading specialist I figured it'd be easier on my voice seeing as how I'm only working w/small groups. But anyway, hopefully I'll be over it by Thanksgiving!

Which I opened my big mouth & said "sure we can do thanksgiving here!" (meaning my house) sooo the whole Dean clan will be at my house for Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I'm not doing most of the cooking. Brew's aunt Laura is providing the majority of it, she just wasn't able to have it at her house this year as usual. Soooo I'm making my cheesy potatoes & pumpkin pie. And just helping w/the rest! But that means that I have a week now to get my house cleaned. Like really CLEANED. And it's probably going to take me a whole week :-p I'm working today & Friday for sure, not sure about tomorrow yet. But next week is Thanksgiving break so I should have enough time to get everything done.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'll give a little recap & then add my things I'm thankful for for the past 3 days...

Here's my list so far...
1. My husband
2. My parents
3. My parents-in-law
4. My siblings & siblings-in-law
5. My nieces
6. My extended family
7. My church
8. My close friends
9. My job
10. My health
11. Our troops & veterans
12. Music
13. clogging
14. My hubby's job

and now today's additions....

15- My puppy, Duke. Yes he's incredibly rambunctious and annoying. And he destroyed a pair of my heels. BUT I love that little dog to death. He really does have a way of making bad days better ;) I'm glad we got him, he fits in w/our little family perfectly!

16- The United States of America, and everything it stands for. I think we all forget sometimes just how blessed we are to live in a free country. It's not perfect by any means, and maybe I'm biased, but I certainly wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

17- My state, West Virginia. West Virginians have a horrible reputation in our country. I'm sure people from out of state assume we're all toothless, barefoot, hillbillies. And well, there are plenty of them here LOL, but that aside, not only is our state a beautiful one, when it comes to seeing God's creation, but the people of this state are like no other. Especially as I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate and embrace being a part of the appalachian culture. Again, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. :)


Alrighty well I'm gonna finish up my lunch & get ready for my next group of kids. Adios!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Simple Life...

Hey everyone! Let me get to my Thankful list first thing!

12- I'm thankful for music. I enjoy lots of different types of music, and I love to sing. It's just always been such a big part of my life. My dad plays pretty much anything w/strings, as did my grandpa, and as do my brothers, uncles, etc. So family gatherings almost ALWAYS involve some guitar-playing and singing. I was involved in all sorts of choirs and things growing up. I've never been a solo artist so to speak, but I have always enjoyed singing and making music!

13- I'm thankful for clogging and more specifically Class Act (the team I dance with). I started taking clogging lessons when I was a week shy of 10 years old. I loved it from the very first day. I love learning new things, challenging myself, performing for others, and of course all the friendships I've made from clogging w/Class Act. So thankful for all of them!


14- I'm thankful for my husband's job (as well as mine, mentioned earlier) and the fact that it puts food on our table and pays our bills. We don't always have a lot of extra stuff but we have what we need!



On another note I think I'm going to join the bandwagon with

The Simple Woman's Daybook
.

I'm trying to figure this out here, so we'll see how it goes. Saw this on Trinity's blog so hopefully you can tell me if I'm linking this appropriately!

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... it's dark, and has been since 6! (Still getting used to no Daylight Savings time!

I am thinking...about Christmas shopping, about my appt with the hematologist tomorrow (finding out results of bloodwork)

I am thankful for... my awesome husband, family, friends, etc. Go read my thankful posts, I'm working on a list! :)

From the learning rooms...(if this applies) huh? this must not apply to me LOL

From the kitchen... Domino's cooked tonight. Hubby & I neither one felt like it. Not to mention there's a sink full of dirty dishes as we speak (er, type)

I am wearing... sweats. I was dressed nice for church, but as soon as I got home I got comfy!

I am creating... nothing at the moment. I have two unfinished scrapbooks waiting for me, when I get a minute to work on them.

I am going... crazy? Haha kidding. Life is moving at a good pace right now :) I'm trying not to get in a hurry about things :)

I am reading... I'm in between books right now. Just finished the Nanny Diaries. Looking for another good one to read next...

I am hoping... that all is normal w/my bloodwork & I won't have to worry about dealing w/any blood clotting issues when I get pregnant.

I am hearing... the tv. My husband is watching his "dweeb show" as I call it. Battlestar Galactica... or is it Battleship? Who knows.

Around the house... it's kind of a mess. End tables and kitchen table has stuff piled on it. Bathroom could use cleaning, spare room (where I am now) still contains unpacked boxes, my bedroom has clothes in a basket that need hung up, and the 3rd bedroom we never use needs cleaned out, old furniture given away, and repainted...

One of my favorite things...is when I leave for work a few minutes after my hubby and he has scraped the ice off my windshields because he knows how much I HATE doing that! <3 (He did that for me twice last week!) A few plans for the rest of the week: Tomorrow Drs appt and starting christmas shopping. Tuesday I'm working at Lubeck. That's the only day I have scheduled so far so we'll see!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

My little brother went w/Brew & I to the WVU game yesterday. :) It was his first time going to a Mountaineer game & he had a blast! (I was also even more grateful that he got to be there for a WIN!)



Alright all, I'm thinking bedtime is in the very near future... see ya soon!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Happy Veterans Day

First I'll do my things I'm thankful for today...

10- I'm thankful for my health. I'm so fortunate to have always been pretty healthy and never have had any chronic medical issues. I am able to do the things I love and be with those I love and don't have to worry about anything really. I'm thankful for that!

and since today is Veterans day...

11- I'm thankful for our troops and their families. They make HUGE sacrifices for us every single day. They have to be away from their loved ones in order to protect us and our rights. Some make the ultimate sacrifice- their own lives. I'm thankful for those who are serving right now and have served in the past!


And I have a couple of videos from YouTube that I thought I'd post in honor of Veterans Day. Warning- get your tissues cause you WILL cry lol. It's heartwarming footage of soldiers surprising their loved ones, but it also reminds you of what these people are sacrificing for our freedom!






THANK YOU Veterans!!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Few of my favorite things...

So one of my blogging ideas was to do a few "favorites" posts. Now I won't be able to do one like every month because- I'm a creature of habit & poor as well so I don't buy a lot of new things every month or week or whatever. I watch a lot of these on peoples vlogs but since I mentioned before I'm not a fan of hearing/seeing myself, we'll stick to it this way. :)

First I thought I'd lump all the health/beauty related thingys into one post. Then later, I might do other categories, like food, or clothes, or whatnot... Soooo here goes!

1- Suave Professionals "Vibrant Shine" Shampoo & Conditioner

LOVE this stuff (and annoyingly haven't been able to find it at our Wal-Mart lately...) but it's cheap, it's got a lot of moisturizing/conditioners in it, which is good for my hair because my hair and skin tends to be on the dry side, ESPECIALLY in Winter. Yes I also just realized I wrote a run-on sentence but I'm not changing it LOL. Anyways, great stuff, and it's cheap so that makes it even better!

2- Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum

My hair is naturally wavy, thick, and frizzy. Really "fluffy" is a good word to describe it lol. But a little bit of this stuff really helps smooth it out when I'm blowdrying it straight and/or flatironing it. It's affordable too, and lasts forever. I've been working on the same tube since like May and barely made a dent in it.

And still on the "hair" topic...
3- Sally Hansen Beyond the Zone "Noodlehead"

As I mentioned before, my hair is naturally wavy. Well I've always had a hard time making it look not fluffy/frizzy while trying to bring the wave out. Gels and mousses make my hair stiff and weigh it down so it just looked stiff & frizzy still. But this stuff is like the consistancy of leave in conditioner. It really brings the curl/wave out without weighing it down or making it stiff. I used it ALL the time in the summertime (when my hair was both long AND it was ok to go outside w/my hair still pretty damp) But it's great stuff, if you have that hair type it's definitely worth it.


Moving on to skin stuff...

4- Equate "Absolutely Beaming" Daily Moisturizer w/SPF 15

This is the generic of Aveeno's Positively Radiant Moisturizer, so that's probably like the same thing, this was just about $5 cheaper! LOL. I use it every single day though because again, my skin tends to be a bit dry, especially in the winter, but it also has a sunscreen in it, which I need as any fellow redheads reading this will understand!


5- CVS advanced healing body lotion


Works great on really dry skin!

6- Softlips Lip Balm

Best. Lipbalm. Ever. LOL- it smells good, feels good, moisturizes well, and has an spf. They have lots of different "flavors", vanilla is my favorite though!


7- Loreal Bare Naturale Mineral Makeup

I tried this because my cousin raved about the Bare Escentuals Mineral Makeup, and I didn't want to pay that much for it, so I went w/the cheaper Loreal version. I really like it, it covers imperfections well while still feeling super light. Which is good, because I don't even wear makeup everyday, so I don't like the feeling of heavy makeup. It's great!

8- CoverGirl Professional Waterproof Mascara

Mascara is one thing I do wear pretty frequently, and this stuff is really good. It like NEVER clumps, goes on really smooth, not cakey. Just overall really good. It's waterproof but it will come off fairly well w/regular soap & water. Used it on my wedding day :)


9- St. Ives Blemish Fighting Apricot Scrub

I like this stuff because it cleans well, has a "blemish fighting" ingredient (which helps me because even though my skin is usually fairly dry, I will still get that lovely female-monthly breakout LOL) but it's still gentle and moisturizing. Good stuff, and affordable :)


10- Victoria's Secret Dream Angels- "Heavenly" Angel Mist

This is probably the most expensive thing on here, but it's ok cause I don't wear perfume everyday. This scent is amazing though, my husband LOVES it perhaps more than me! It's not really flowery or fruity or musky, I honestly cannot explain it, you'll have to just try it next time you are in Victorias Secret. I buy the Angel Mist rather than the actual perfume because it's lighter and cheaper too.



Alrighty, I think a perfect 10 here is a good place to end. That's about all I have, however, if I ever find anything else great & wonderful I will blog about it! :)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Another week in Kindergarten...

Yep the title says it, I'm subbing another week in Kindergarten! :) This time, at a different school (Lubeck- last weekend I was at Franklin). I'm enjoying it, in both classes they have a great aide and just really good, organized teachers. The kind of teachers who remember what it's like to sub and make my life sooooo much easier LOL. Right now kiddos are in gym and I'm on plan, hence the midday post.

It feels like this week is creeping by though. I think cause I'm looking forward to a day off Thursday. (Thanks Veterans :)) And then this weekend Brew & I are taking my little brother (Mason, he's a senior in h.s. this year) to a Mountaineer game! I'm praying that WVU has improved during this last by-week because I would LOVE for them to win when Mason is there, he's never been to a WVU game, annnnd, they are hardcore recruiting him & offering him scholarships, so I'm going to encourage him to go. If I'd of had the means without going into serious debt I would've gone somewhere like WVU. My little brother is super smart AND a good student so he's got a 4.0 and just scored a 31 on his ACT (sickening, I know lol) but yea I'm looking forward to that this weekend!

I'm coming up with all sorts of ideas to blog about. I'm going to have to start a list so I don't forget anything! I've been watching a lot of vlogs lately, but I'm doubting I get into that. Just something about watching/listening to myself lol. I did that house tour video and may do more things like that, but I'm not sure I can get into that all the time. I much prefer writing :)... well, typing I guess.

Ok back to my thankful list...

8- I'm thankful for my close friends. Yes. Extremely generic, but I don't want to name everyone for a separate post, so I'll name the ones I'm thinking of now... Nicole, Abby, Whitney, Teresa, and my friends that qualify as "family" now too, my cousin Stefani, and my sisters in law Mandy and Amanda. These are the people that are there for me and that I can talk to about anything. Love you all!

and

9- My job. Yes, I complain because I'm "just a sub", but I realize my job is important as well, and though I'm constantly searching and applying for full time positions, at the same time I appreciate the conveniences I also have of subbing, in that I don't have to write lesson plans or take work home to grade/prepare. I can take any day off I want (I just miss the chance to work & earn money). But I also have a job, which many people aren't fortunate enough to say even that, and not to mention I've been getting good, steady, work so far this year and for that I'm very thankful! I like getting to know different kids, and getting to know some of them very well since I sub primarily at the same few schools. :)

Alrighty well the aide was taking the kiddos straight to lunch so it's time for ME to eat lunch now!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Ok so just a quick post for my thing I'm thankful for today...

7- I'm thankful for my church and church family. I've been blessed to have gone to the same church since I was born; I was baptized, confirmed, and married there. My Pastor is great, he stays true to the Gospel and is very convicted, not to mention he's just a fun guy. I met my husband there, and many of my close friends. :)

With that I'm off to wear my dog out (hopefully)... here in an hour or so I'm headed to the Magical Night of Giving at our mall. Maybe I'll be able to grab a few Christmas gifts since I pretty much haven't even started thinking about that lol...

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Procrastinating

Yeah, totally putting off housework right now.

So what better to do than play on Picasa & Youtube? lol- I made a slideshow video of favorite wedding pics :)




Anyway, I really do need to do laundry and at least clean the kitchen if nothing else. Brew is off helping my brother build a shed, so it's just me & Duke.

And for my thankful list today...

#6- My extended family, that is, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other in-laws not mentioned :) I truly am blessed with a wonderful family! Love them all!


Ok REALLY getting to work now....

Friday, November 5, 2010

TGIF

Whew am I glad it's Friday. Seems like this week has just dragged... hasn't been BAD really just long. And I'm happy because I don't have to work or be out of town or HAVE to do anything on Saturday for once. I'm hoping my puppy will let me sleep in since it seems like FOREVER since I've gotten to do that! It's been a good week so far, next week I'm working in Kindergarten again, this time at Lubeck. Should be fun! Besides it's always nice to know when I'm working ahead of time. After next week I don't have any days booked so it'll be back to taking the phone calls...

Anyway, right now I'm working but the kids are in Music then Library so I thought I'd take a few minutes to update my Thankful list, since I missed yesterday...

I'm thankful for...

4- my siblings & siblings in law. That's my brother Matthew & his wife Amanda, my brother Mason, my sister-in-law Mandy, and her husband AJ. They are all so much fun :) Love all of them! Our kids will have the coolest aunts and uncles ever ;)

5- My sweet nieces, Miryan and Makalyn. (Mandy & AJ's girls) These little girls may not be my blood nieces but I love them just the same. I've really known both of them since birth and when Brew & I actually started dating, Miryan was a year and Makalyn hadn't been born yet. I do love being "Aunt Missa". I love watching them grow & develop their own personalities and senses of humor. Love those little girls!

Allllrighty I think that's all for now, hopefully I'll get the hang of this daily posting thing ;)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Thankful

So it's November already! Hard to believe. I've now been married for over 4 months! Crazy. It's been great so far :)

Soooo I thought for the month of November, with it being 30 days long, and you know, having Thanksgiving in it, I would come up with something for each day that I am thankful for. I really am blessed in soooo many ways, so it shouldn't be hard for me to come up with 30!

Since it's the third, I will do three today! :)

1- I'm thankful for my amazing husband. He is truly my very best friend. I may complain sometimes, but I honestly don't know what I'd do without him. He's always there to support and encourage me in every way, loves me unconditionally, and just plain makes me happy. Love you Brew! ♥

2- I'm thankful for my wonderful supportive parents. They have given me so much over the years, I know I could never express to them enough thanks. As I get older I can begin to appreciate the sacrifices they made and just the excellent, loving, job they did at raising me and my brothers.

and finally,

3- I'm thankful for my parents-in-law. I seriously could not have picked a better family to marry into. My mother-in-law & father-in-law have treated me like part of the family from day 1. Taking into account my previous relationships and all the stress and heartache I experienced having a significant other's parents treat me more like an outsider and not approve of me in general, it was a refreshing change to be welcomed in by Randy & Jerry. I AM a part of their family, they are wonderful people, and I love them!


Ok that's all for today folks, I'll try to keep these posts as much to daily as I can, if not I will do like I did today and group them together! :)

Adios!