Anniversaries and Randomness

Two years on the 26th... craziness. Bob got me a big bunch of gerbera daisies. (awww!) And we met for lunch. Otherwise, it was a quiet day.

And, proving my dear Dad wrong, the 27th marks three years of working at the lab. Therefore, my retirement is vested and I get 6hrs of annual leave per pay period. Ha! He didn't think I'd make it. *grin*

Dale and Meg and Maria came for supper Wednesday night before church. I have been sadly remiss in attempts at hospitality lately, so I was glad they could come.

Do bent pages in the hymn books and bibles at church bother anybody else? I always fix them.

Tolstoy is awesome.

Blessings.

Easter

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed!

It was a busy weekend... I worked Friday, and then we went to Good Friday services... and I begged for Pinkies on the way home. Bob is so nice. hehe.

Saturday I cleaned the house, and did laundry, and made food, and planted a few seeds, and was very productive in general. I'm ready for it to dry out a little bit so I can plant the rest of my garden box and maybe even get some flowers! I have a few tulips and bluebells but they look rather bedraggled. That evening we went to the cabin with all the Beutels for Easter.

I honestly can't remember the last time we were in W-ton on a Sunday. It's been a loooong time. Pathetic, I know, but stuff just kept coming up! It was great to see the W-ton girls, we were all home for Easter. And my most favoritest thing about W-ton; everybody standing up to sing 'Christ the Lord is Risen Today' at the end of the service. So it was good to be there, although, I got really tired of people asking how I'm feeling. Um. I don't have a disease, I'm not ill, and I'm not sure why you need to know that. *sigh* I'm afraid that one of these days I'm going to reach my limit and say something really impolite and disrespectful. (I was complaining later that afternoon and my mother has already informed me that people just want me to know that they care and it's not all about me. But, but, I don't see people asking you odd questions and commenting about your figure! *grin*)

We spent the afternoon checking out the baby chicks and picking flowers and shooting things. The chicks are starting to get a few wing feathers so we were just in time before they get ugly. You know that awkward adolescent stage... chickens have a bad one... hehe. The boys were wandering around shooting at birds and any thing else that moved. I got to try out Dad's euthanasia plan on an already dead bird so I for sure wouldn't miss. I'm such a risk taker.

The whole family came out for supper... much good food. And amusing conversation. And over sharing. Certain of my aunts (who shall remain nameless) were discussing hot flashes in the kitchen... and Bob made a crack about it.... which sent Shelly and I into peals, yea, even gales of laughter. Good times. One of Clayton's friends joined us for the evening, not sure what he thought of us all! (Although, I think G and G approved of him, watch out MKW, KRL, and ALK! hahahaha) Hooray for Easter, and Grandma's ham, and Pearline's bread, and Freida Buns, and leftovers!

Blessings.

When I see the blood

I will pass, I will pass over you.

We celebrated Passover last night. Sort of. Not exactly a Seder, but I made passoverish foods and set the table with candles and china... and Bob read Exodus 12. This year I broiled the cute little lamb chops with herbs and spices and they were much better than last year. And the potato and leek casserole was good. We had deviled eggs and saltines (they're kosher and I can't find matzah at Kroger) and watermelon and romaine lettuce and grape juice. It was good, and I'm excited about eating the leftovers for lunch. Even though you're not supposed to have leftovers or carry them out of your house. Eh, o well, we're under the new covenant right? hehe.

Maybe someday we'll do the full Seder. I think it would be cool. I read a great article on Christians celebrating passover here. And a Messianic Passover Seder here, and how the passover is all about Christ here. But I maybe wouldn't serve lamb to more than just us two, it's expensive!

After supper we ventured into the great outdoors to mow the lawn. Hooray for living in town where people care what your grass looks like. My job was picking up sticks. And providing moral support and paper towels while Bob changed the oil and tried to get the mower started for the first time this year. Kerry took a break from working on a leaky drain next door and cleaned the spark plug and fiddled with it for a while. (He said it was more fun than plumbing...) They got it working and Bob got the front yard mowed before it got dark and started raining... nobody sees the back yard and it's mostly weeds that thrive in the shade anyway....hehe. Can't say I'm too sad- we have so many violets and I hate mowing them while they're blooming.

Have a blessed Good Friday!

Elevensies

Pretty sure I'm turning into a Hobbit. I eat breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, afternoon snack, after work snack, supper, bedtime snack....

Haven't taken up pipe-weed yet.

Blessings.

Easter Eggs

So I love dying Easter eggs. It's so much fun. And they're so pretty. Bob humored me last year and helped... but... this year we went over to Rustin and Sharon's to dye them with Grace. She was much more enthusiastic about it. *grin*

Maybe not quite as coordinated.... that is green dye all over the table.... hehe.

Bob kept Eden entertained. He did put one egg in the dye, just for the picture. *grin*

And the finished product.... so springy. Sadly, I already used half of them to make breakfast casserole. Which was/is good, but not nearly so pretty.

Saturday I finally got the house all clean. It feels so nice... it's crazy how fast it gets dusty. And then we went to Communion.

We also spent the weekend trying to discourage some robins from building a nest on our window AC. Um... that would not be a good place for your eggs, Mrs. Robin. We knocked it down 3 or 4 times, and they kept coming back. Bob finally made a pyramid thing out of cardboard to set out on top of it so there is no place for them to even land. Hopefully they'll be done with nest building by the time we actually need to use it! I would prefer not to smell birds when it's 90 degrees outside...

Blessings.

I got better

I've been trying to lay low though. It's hard when my house is so dirty. And it's so nice outside and I want to go out and plant things. I'm hoping it doesn't get cold again... :)

We went for a walk last night. It was lovely out. I love spring. And I love not feeling sick.

Otherwise, pretty quiet, which I love. Blessings.

Oh, the flu, it mkes me so blue

Going on day three... ick.

*sigh* so much for never getting sick.

Monday was a good day.... I went over to Meg's to sew for the evening. It was good for my soul.

And then I started coughing Tuesday night and woke up with the full blown fever/cough/stuffy nose flu on Wednesday. Hooray. So I've been spending most of my time in bed or on the couch. Poor Bob. He's been so great, from bringing home supper on Wednesday, to taking off early today and bringing me ice cream and 'Tangled' (which is really cute). Hopefully he stays healthy.

Tylenol cold is my new best friend. Don't worry, I did call the Doc this morning....

Hopefully I'll get better this weekend so I don't have to miss more work.... although... if they don't make the midnight deadline to pass a budget.... Latest word is they could push it back three days. Do they leave their brains at home when they go to Washington?

I've very much appreciated all the encouragement and empathy- it's nice to know I'm not the only crazy one who has ever dealt with these feelings. *grin* And I'm feeling ten times better about everything just from writing it down...

Blessings.

Sooo...

According to Great Grandma Metzger, I currently have one foot in the grave.

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

Bob's excited. Me, well, excited is not exactly the word I would use. It's good, it's right, it's not at all a surprise. But, I'm not excited. More like vacillating between sheer terror and resignation.

I'm not naive about what this will require of me physically, spiritually, emotionally.

I don't even like babies... and yet, I'm less worried about that than other things. That will come.

Change is very stressful for me. New things are very stressful for me. Will I actually be able to handle it?

I like my privacy. And boundaries. And that's pretty much out the window... church was rather awful on Sunday (as much as I love and appreciate everybody who congratulated and encouraged me!). I still felt like I had to play a part and act like everyone expects me to. Put on a mask. I kind of just wanted to hide in the bathroom and cry and wish that no one knew and I could be left alone. I know I can't live under a rock, but oh, I wanted to Sunday.

I dread hearing the same crass, rude, and tasteless comments directed at me that make me cringe when they're said about others. 'Wow, she looks ready to pop.' 'She's really gotten huge.' (For the record, I will say something equally nasty back. or just cry. hm, yeah, probably just cry. :P ) I don't like people touching me. I'm told I have that to look forward to also.

I'm not planning on going back to work. It's been a while since I've been wholly dependant on somebody else. Bob has even said that I don't really need him... I have a good job... I can take care of myself. I don't think my identity is tied up in my job. I don't think, but how will I feel when it's gone? It's going to be an adjustment, and not an easy one.

I mourned college life, I mourned singleness, I'm mourning being a newlywed. I don't want to go back, but I've loved every stage and it will never be the same again.

I can't deal with gushing... and when people say they're soooo excited, I just kinda don't understand. What are you excited about? That I have to deal with all this? I know they're just thinking about the good, about how they'll get to hold a baby once in a while. But I have to deal with both the bad and the good, work through everything before and after, every day. And that's not really exciting or pleasant to think about.

Anyways, and in light of all that.... I'd rather have your prayers than your congratulations or excitement... much more useful. :) Don't worry, I'm really not unhappy. I'm quite content and peaceful. Just realistic. And I think too much.

And I don't want to hear any birthing stories! Spare me please! *grin*

When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2

Happy Birthday

to Bob. Last Friday... he's so old now. :P

We didn't do anything super exciting. Thursday night we went out for pre-birthday pizza at Firehouse. Just because we like Firehouse and it never disappoints.

Friday was a quiet day. Ha! The carpet layers showed up at 6am to lay carpet next door. O.my.goodness. I was under the impression that carpet laying was rather passive... I was not aware that it involved hammering and loud thumps and banging and dropping of heavy objects and the shaking of floors and walls. Now I know. We only had one picture fall off the wall and it didn't break. :)

We took the day off with the idea that we could go do something fun with a long weekend... yeah... Bob couldn't really think of anything and it was his birthday so I didn't want to make him do something I wanted to do. So we didn't go anywhere. Oh well, I needed a day off since the next federal holiday isn't until Memorial day. *grin*

I picked up a whole freezer full of meat from the farm. Hooray! My freezer is full of raw flesh! They got a side of beef and a pig to split so it took awhile to haul it all in from the van and then sort it out. And Dan showed up in the middle of it all with fresh liver sausage. Which, I love and which thing Bob hates. tsk. So sad. No appreciation for the finer things in life.

And then I came home and cooked up a storm. Cake and frosting for Bob and an attempt at Chicken Lo Mein and Crab Rangoon. They were both good, but they didn't taste quite like at a restaurant. It was kind of fun to try it once, I don't like Chinese at all enough to try very often...

Saturday we went out to Bob's parent's and took a walk through the woods before supper. It was so pretty out. Bob wants to live in the woods someday... I prefer the prairie. I need to see the horizon or I feel claustrophobic... and I don't like ticks and bugs all the creatures that come with the woods. Anyway. It can be spring now, please.

Sunday... well... I'm not ready to talk about Sunday... And today it's back to work... huzzah. Blessings.