Friday, November 30, 2007

TAGGED

I was tagged in a meme... I am kinda excited, while these things are kinda silly - I have never been tagged before!!! YEA!!!

Anyway - its really long... I am going to tag Jenifer, Jonathan, and Kathy

1. What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now? Ronnie uses dial.... the bar kind. I have equate brand with the little "exfoliators" in it.
2. Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? its WINTER! no.
3. What would you change about your living room? the placement of the doors - and the cable... the TV is just kinda stuck in one spot, and not the best spot for decorations
4. Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? dishwasher??? thats a luxury item
5. What is in your fridge? its the end of the month... not much:)
6. White or wheat bread? i like wheat better.... but right now the budget calls for white... $1.50 a loaf!
7. What is on top of your refrigerator? the electric skillet
8. What color or design is on your shower curtain? we have a boring white curtain... dont plan to live in this house long, dont knwo what the next bathroom will look like
10. Is your bed made right now? no but it will be when i get off this internet
11. Comet or Soft Scrub? i dunno... i use 409
12. Is your closet organized? its not bad... but kinda crowded.. need to do a cleanout.
13. Can you describe your flashlight? its blue???
.14. Do you drink out of glass or plastic more at home? Glass - i like plastic better... but the glass ones are easier to get to in the cabinet
.15. Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? yeah... made it yesterday
16. If you have garage, is it cluttered? no garage... just a carport
17. Curtains or blinds? Blinds.except in the kitchen where i have both
.18. How many pillows do you sleep with? One. any more hurts my neck and stuff.
19. Do you sleep with any lights on at night? no, but our alarm clock projects the time onto the ceiling, so that throws a blue "hue" around the room
20. How often do you vacuum? I dont... i have all hardwood floors (the kitchen is linoleum) but no need for a vaccuum
21. Standard toothbrush or electric? Standard.
22. What color is your toothbrush? green and white
.23. Do you have welcome mat on your front porch? yes... it says welcome.
24. What is in your oven right now? ovens are also a luxury item... my oven is in the same place as my dishwasher... the house we will move into one day... somewhere in southern va.
25. Is there anything under your bed? all my musical instruments... (guitar, keyboard bag filled with random percussion stuff, a bass, a couple of keyboard stands etc.etc.
26. Chore you hate the most? dishes!!!
27. What retro items are in your home? im not a very retro type of girl... cant think of anything
28. Do you have a separate room you use an an office? no... we have two bedrooms... one for us, and one for all of our stuff that we dont have other space for:)
29. How many mirrors are in your home? three... two in my room, one in the bathroom
30. Do you have any hidden emergency money around your home? first of all, if i did, would i announce it on the internet?? NO... .second... no i dont:)
31. What color are your walls? all are generic offwhite... its a rental - who wants to put all the money into fixing up a rental???
32. What does your home smell like right now? "Christmas wreath" by yankee candle... it will burn ur nose!.
33. Favorite candle scent? anything clean smelling... not a big fan of fruity stuff
4. What kind of pickles are in your refrigerator right now? none... grocery trip is tomorrow
35. Ever been on your roof? no... i might fall off... or through!
36. Do you own a stereo? I have a DVD player... and a ipod station... thats enough
37. How many TVs do you have? Two. the one in the den has the DTV hookup... the one in our room has the DVD player...
38. How many phones? one... and each of us has a cell
39. Do you have a housekeeper? huh??? i wish!
...40. What style do you decorate in? whatever has been given to me
41. Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? Solid all the way - too hard to match stuff to prints!
.42. Is there a smoke detector in your home? yeah... but i dont know for sure where it is, or if it works... we just like living on the edge...
.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

New Pics

Ok, I loaded 3 pics to the post below that you guys all read yesterday... you can also see more pics at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/allegro425

I will write more later - I am on my way to give out information about our church at the college here in town. They have a religion fair today.

Have a nice Thursday!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Its beginning to look.... smell... a lot like Christmas






Ronnie and I decorated our house for Christmas Monday night. This was quite an adventure for the two of us. Being newlyweds, we are stil learning that there are somethings that we always thought the Christmas fairy... or Santa... did for us! For example, did you know, that Christmas ornaments don't come with HOOKS? You have to go buy those yourself! This discovery led to a 9:00pm trip to our favorite place to spend too much $$ - Wal-Mart. Then, you have to decide, do you want big green hooks? big silver hooks? or little gold hooks? I am sure there were more options, but since I am not a very good decision maker, I decided that three choices were PLENTY for me!

We returned to the house - when I walked in I was OVERWHELMED with the smell of Christmas. Now, I would love to tell you that this is because the wonderful real tree in our living room, however, we have a wonderful fake one... (it was a GREAT deal though!) The smell came from the "Yankee Candle" Christmas Wreath smell tarts that were burning in the living room... and the kitchen... and the bathroom... Did you know your nose can ACTUALLY BURN from the smell of those things? Our house may smell like this for MONTHS! I think my sense of smell has been damaged because of these candles. I LOVE the smell - it reminds me of Christmas as a child, but WHOA, NEVER burn three of those in a small house with only 5 rooms in the whole house!

In the end, our tree looks BEAUTIFUL! At one point I thought we would have the most pitiful looking tree and stuff in the area, but thanks to my family helping us to get some extra lights and giving me my decorations from their tree... and the leftover gift cards from the wedding that we saved so we could get some decorations, I would venture to say we have one of the prettiest trees in the area! (Not that I am biased or anything). We had a blast decorating, even with the moments of realization that came to us. We have a wreath over the mantle and one of my grandparents' nativity scenes on the mantle as well. There are other small decorations throughout the house - but I am so happy with the living room. I love my little house!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Back to the real world

Ronnie and I had a great time visiting all appropriate family over the weekend, but WHAT A WHIRLWIND! It started at 9:00am Thanksgiving morning getting to his parent's house... then after lunch we headed to Bama, arrived around 10:30 there... I went on the annual Warren girl's shopping trip on Friday from 5:00am till after midnight, (yes, I left Ronnie alone with my dad all day... they handled it well:)) Saturday was full of getting Christmas decorations down, Ronnie and I got our Christmas tree - (to be put up tonight, I am sure the story will show up later). We helped mom and dad decorate the tree per the tradition on Saturday evening. Jen, Aubrey and mamaw were all there with us doing that... Sunday morning we went to church and then started the trek back home! The car was full of Christmas decorations and we drove with all the other crazy people that waited till the last minute to go back home from visiting family on Christmas.

I hope to write a more detailed "deep" blog later - it was a wonderful weekend... I am so thankful for the time to see my family:)

today we start with the Christmas decorating... I am so excited to decorate my own home!!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Typical Thanksgiving blog

Here it is, knowing that I will probably not have a chance in the next few days to write a new blog... I will write the Thanksgiving blog today.

I want to focus on the things that have happened in the last 12 months that I am thankful for. I mean, there are things that happened years ago that still impact my life that I am thankful for - but for today, I think that I prefer to focus on the things since Thanksgiving 2006. So, here is my list.

- Meeting, being engaged to, and marrying the man of my dreams... yes, it ALL happened since last Thanksgiving!
- Participating in the missions trip to the Dominican Republic in March - once again, God taught me more than I expected!
- Spending half of the year living on the Wings bus traveling and doing a combination of the things I loved the most.
- Getting off the bus:) to move into the next phase of my life
- spending 2 months with my mom and my niece planning my wedding.
- Having my brother at my wedding even though the Army almost stopped that:)
- having my sister as my matron of honor at my wedding
- the wedding of my dreams... to the most amazing man ever!
- my little house in southern VA - yeah its small, no it doesnt have a dishwasher, stove, or ice maker... but it is a CUTE house... and we have learned to be creative! (Plus I am thankful that Ronnie washes the dishes:))
- the time to say goodbye to my brother before he left for Iraq. I will never forget fishing with him on that Tuesday - He had all the other guys to let me pull in any fish that they caught so that I could be sure to catch one... Andy and Joey were nice enough to let him call the shots that day:) Thanks guys - the memory of standing on the edge of the pond on the Roberson's property will always bring tears to my eyes I think.
- The picnic in Mississippi where for 4 hours we did nothing but spend time with Jon before that stupid white bus took him back to his camp.
- flowers from my husband when i got to the airport from saying goodbye to my brother.
- making new friends here in VA... nicole and zach... kathy and jason... and many others!
- working on the campaign here in VA. I learned a lot, met a lot of people, and we won... what else could I ask for?
- new opportunities opening up for me in the next few months!

I could go on all day I think, but I need to get ready for tomorrow. So, I will do that. Ronnie and I have a full weekend of visiting both families over the next 4 days. I am so excited to see my family again!

What are you thankful for? What has God provided you with in the last 12 months?

jwm

Monday, November 19, 2007

New addition to my blog world

As mentioned last week - I have started a new blog. This one is specifically geared for some girls that are dear to my heart. However, it is also meant to be broad enough to encourage other teenagers in their walk with Christ as well. I am writing with the intended audience, and hopefully with the understanding that others will join our journey.

Parents are welcome to join in with us. Actually - I think it is mostly "parents" that read my blog anyway... so, encourage your daughters to take a look every now and then. I cannot promise how often I will write. My goal is at least weekly - but if you ask my brother, he would say that I am not very good at that. :)

For more confidential comments... please use this address: hearttohearttalks@gmail.com

A deer+A dark country road+Julia's driving = Smashed Echo

Friday night was an adventure! I won't bore you with tons of detail - because the most exciting (terrifying) part comes at the end. However, Ronnie and I got off work around the same time, I went to Wal-Mart and the Post Office, he met me for dinner (with coupons of course:)) and we went to pick up some tickets that were given to us for a concert on Saturday night. We also delivered some of the tickets to some other friends that were also going - we went by Toys'R Us to shop for non-lead filled toys for Aubrey for Christmas. I might end up getting in trouble with my Christmas present this year - but that is another story. (Jen, I got the list of approved toys - I have studied it and Ronnie and I will make our decision accordingly).

Anyway, after a fun-filled adventure at Toys'R Us, Ronnie and I (being in separate cars since we came to work at different times today) had to drive both cars home. Now, we live about 20 miles outside of civilization (Yet another long blog one day... city girl in the country). I was driving along, having a good ole time listening to the Radio. (A station in town is already playing Christmas music... shhhh.. don't tell my mom!!) All of a sudden, a deer JUMPS out from the woods that are dangerously close to the side of the road. He runs along beside me for a second, and I did what I thought I should do. I slammed on the brakes... HARD! This gave plenty of time for the deer to jump in front of my car. Now, I was still doing a good 50 MPH... (no comments about my speed are necessary.. thanks) and I hit the deer..... HARD! It flew up in the air, I thought it was going to land on my windshield - but due to the miracles of God, and the angle at which I hit the deer, it flew to the side of the road. I continued to slide, still riding my brakes, and came to a stop on the side of the road. My heart flying out of my chest, my arms shaky from holding the steering wheel, my mind racing with OH MY WORD!!! Ronnie pulled up behind me (he was luckily far enough behind me to begin with that he didn't also have the joy of crashing his car.) - he pulled over and helped me calm down, called the insurance guy, made sure the car was still drivable to get it home etc.etc.

All is fine with me - my shoulders were sore Saturday and Sunday, but are much better now. No, we didn't go try to find the deer for our roadkill dinners.... (if this costs too much to fix we will wish we had!) :)

The rest of the weekend was relatively uneventful. We went to Charlottesville Saturday with his family to visit his great-grandmother, we went to a concert Saturday night, had a good day at church yesterday, and had a very productive Sunday afternoon (including getting the window unit air-conditioners out of the windows, finding the few Christmas decorations in my boxes that are stored outside, gave him a needed haircut, and began the process of cleaning the extra bedroom since in a couple of weeks some of my friends will be staying with us for a weekend and they might want to be able to sleep in the bed). Basically, other than the smashed front end of my Echo.... life is good in VA.

AND - 4 days and counting till I get to see my family again! It has been two months, and I can hardly WAIT!

(PS. note to Jon... I will try to do better this week... I promise:))

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Procrastination

I am in the process of procrastinating a LONG list of things to do.

I have been asked to start a new blog for some of the teenagers that I used to work with in AL. I am praying about how to do this.... I just wanted to update you guys that I am working on it, I just haven't got it in my head yet. For those of you Alabama girls that I love so much, please know that I am PRAYING for you! I am hearing that you guys are having some tough times. (I have heard stories from more than one of you!) I also know, that you know the truth. And I know that if you will back up and keep your eyes on Jesus as they should be, that you will remember that He is your rock, fortress, protector, guide... etc.etc. You guys know this... Ok, well, I will make an announcement when I get a plan in my head - be looking in the next week for an announcement!

I don't have anything major to discuss today. I was kinda sad yesterday because the church where I was doing some work has blogspot blocked from being accessible, it seemed that I had much deeper thoughts! Oh well.

I will say that fall in VA is BEAUTIFUL! In Alabama, we have pretty falls, however, they are so quick! I mean, Summer is really long, but the other three seasons just get skipped. I have been amazed here that the colors of the leaves on the trees are not only beautiful, but they have been beautiful for almost a MONTH now! As I told the youth praise band at the church last night, how creative is our God - He didn't have to make it so that the leaves would change colors before they fall off of the trees. The color change serves one purpose, to be beautiful! How wonderful! How amazing is our God! He could have had the leaves go straight from green to brown and dead - but instead, our creative God painted the horizon here in VA with a pallete of red, orange, green, brown, and yellow. There is a hill that I go over on the way home from the city every day where I come up over a rise, and all of a sudden I can see the colorful rolling hills in our area - it was pretty in the Summer, but now, with the colors so brilliant, I remember daily to thank God for the beauty around me!

Well, my house is clean - my coffee is hot - I need to practice piano - I need to write out a Bible study that I need to teach in January - I need to start writing a syllabus for a class I am teaching in a local college soon - etc.etc.etc. I think I will finish my coffee first.

Please be praying for my brother.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Veterans day and beyond

Isn't it wonderful to have a day to relax? First of all, I have to brag on my man... (you know how it goes). He knew we had been so crazy busy that the house had gotten a bit out of control.... So, Sunday afternoon, when I had a bridal shower and other party to attend, he started the cleaning! He had the bathroom, living room and our bedroom done by the time I got back... we went to church, but afterwards I wasn't feeling too well. He finished up what he had started before he went to bed even "swiffering" everything befor he slept! How blessed I am!!! So, yesterday morning, when I had planned to spend the whole day cleaning... He and I worked to finish dishes, and got the clothes cycles started - then we had time to do other stuff! We went on a Bike ride that ended up being longer than either of us expected. We just kept taking some extra routes along the way, and it ended up leading to QUITE a few fun hills to climb... We needed the exercise though:) (trust me!) We also went and took some pics that I may use on a Christmas card, or, on second thought, maybe I will just post them here and say Merry Christmas when the time is right - who knows:) But with the beautiful colors on the trees here in Southern Va, the pics are WONDERFUL. At least they look that way on my camera, I haven't had the chance to load them to my pc yet - maybe I will add them to this blog later.

We then went to use a gift card left over from the wedding, to buy some Christmas decorations. I have never had to decorate a house for Christmas before - so, needless to say - my decoration options are limited. I am so excited about decorating my own house this year though! Hmmm... where do I start?? That is a blog for another day I am sure.

The end result - a wonderful day honoring and rembering our veterans spending time with my husband...

I want to note as well that my family has been blessed with people that have served our country in the military. Both of my grandfathers fought in the Korean conflict. My uncle served in the Coast Guard and passed away while on the Presidential honor guard in Washington D.C. and of course you all know that my brother is currently serving in the middle east today. Thank God for an "all volunteer" army that has stood for over 250 years protecting our freedoms... because as we all have heard many times... our freedom is not free - it comes with a GREAT pricetag of blood being shed....

Friday, November 9, 2007

Change is a comin'

Today is my last day at the political campaign office. We won, I have tied up the loose ends that I had left - I am cleaning today (BIG JOB). Next week I think I am on call just in case anything goes crazy... but all in all, this job is done. I have learned a lot, and met a lot of new people... but since I just went through that the other day... I will spare you the repeat. However, since it is such a special occasion.... I did make a starbucks stop on the way in to work... :) This makes me smile!

Last night Ronnie got a prize for putting up with me through the campaign. Everytime we eat at Chick-fil-a, he says that one thing he has NEVER had, is a WHOLE tray of chicken nuggets to himself! You know, those party trays? Well, I have to say, I understand... after all, who can actually be full after the 6-8 that you get in the lunch order? I mean come on! (Its remarks like that, that remind me why I still need to be working out.... hmmm...) Anyway, so, I got him his surprise. He got the small tray (with only 64 nuggets) all to himself last night. I even bought myself a sandwich just so he didn't even have to share with me! He was like a little kid. When he came through the door, he saw the chicken nuggets (complete with a cheesy card from me on top) and could hardly wait to sit down to eat! I was so proud! He does so much great stuff for me regularly, it is hard to surprise him with something that HE would actually enjoy. I mean, I could light candles, and all that jazz, but that is more for me right?? I wanted something that made HIM happy:) I think I found it! As info, he didn't finish the whole tray alone... I ate a couple, and we are having more nuggets for lunch today... but he ate until he could eat no more chicken nuggets! It was so cool to have a night at home!

For you lurkers! Thank you so much! I didn't know half of you even knew I HAD a blog! Hey Melissa! I haven't seen you in FOREVER! And yes, I also miss my BellSouth friends.... as well as my "childhood friend Jessie." :)

Well, the time has come... the piles of folders and papers have to be sorted, so that when I leave today, I don't leave an unorganized mess of junk! (Imagine that... Julia has a mess on her desk! Who would even DARE to guess that??)

Thursday, November 8, 2007

my friend

is having a BABY! I am so excited for her! (No names because I don't know who all reads this) but she is a newly wed and they will have a baby next year!

I don't have any deep thoughts today - really don't have any shallow ones either. I am so glad the campaign is over, but now, there is an emptiness in my time sitting here. I guess I should be cleaning out the piles of papers and folders surrounding me - but where is the fun in that?

Anyway. I wanna do something that my brother did the other day... Out of the closet you Lurkers! I am opening the door and wanna see who all is out there reading this junk that I write! Whether I know ya or not, please just leave a little comment (you dont have to be a blogger to comment.... I can take anonymous ones too... but please leave a name:))

SO, to the Lurkers - the ones that read but never comment... AND to the ones that comment regularly - Say a quick hi today:)

Plus.... I just wanna say that there are people in my life, that mean a lot to me, that I don't see very often... 1. my parents... 2. my brother and sister... 3. my niece... 4.my Wings friends (those still on the road and those that are off the bus) 5. my CBC family.... I miss you all today. I miss you all the time... but sometimes more than others and I just wanna tell ya that I really wish I could just give ya all a hug right about now and let you know that I miss you. I think I will have a chance to see you all in the next 6 weeks or so - and you have NO idea how much that means to me.... (except Jon.... it will be a bit longer for you:))

anyway - just wanted to say:) I love you guys!
Julia

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Campaign is OVER!

Good guys win again... but by a close margin.

Last night was long... well.. the last week... umm... month... was long. The race was ugly - there were untrue statements made on the "other side." I am EXTREMELY competitive, and the thing that just burns me up is when people win by cheating and lying! It was so close that I STILL am angry that so many people were confused about the truth before the end! Whatever, the bottom line is that around 9:30 last night, the candidate I work for claimed his victory over the opponent. YEA! I was on TV and just found that out as I was typing this blog, they said I looked good, smiled, and looked confident that I had been on the winning team... good..

So, I guess it is time for some lessons learned from my time working with a political office.

1. I will always disagree with someone in politics... however, I will still work to support the better candidate because that is what our system is made on.

2. Campaign workers have hearts and emotions too. To those of you that hang up on the political calls, slam the door in the face of the political walkers, or give hateful looks to people wearing the "other side" stickers.... PLEASE consider that the other person is still a person. THey may have different beliefs, or different opinions... but having been on the side of the person knocking on the door, or making the phone call, it still kinda hurts my feelings;)

3. We have a right.... and a responsibility to vote. Even when we think we can do no good, even when we think that it is a runaway... In 2004, I was in Germany and did not vote for the president because I knew which way Alabama would go. Alabama is a Republican state... and they always vote republican. What if the rest of the state had the same attitude? Many people in my area thought that the race was a runaway... People told me that they would be SHOCKED if my side didn't win. Hmmm...As the numbers came in from the areas where I talked to those people.. I knew that many of them had that same attitude, because the opponent won those precincts. It is our right... and responsibility to vote.

I have walked miles, stood in the rain, walked through windy, rainy, not so good areas of town. I have convinced people to vote, and have convinced some students to help me walk. I have lost sleep, and gotten up early because of this. Who knew I would even CARE? HA!

On the positive side, I have met some wonderful people (a few crazies, but I won't go there now... oh the stories I could tell though!!! One particular gentleman used the phrase... "people want to support education... I think that education is overrated. I think people have gotten too smart and now they think they know everything! I think that we should CUT some education and quit telling people they need it... the world is better when we are stupid.".... OH the stories:) Regardless, some opportunities have opened for me because of some of the people I met. My confidence has gotten better in this new area of town. I have even been on some streets that Ronnie had not been on before (they usually weren't particularly safe... and I got in trouble for being there later when I reported on my work for the day... ) I have talked to people on their doorstep - As mentioned before, I have had doors slammed in my face, been yelled at, cussed at, and told to "get off my property." All for the sake of this campaign... hmm... makes me think..

(ready for spiritual application?)

When was the last time I felt comfortable enough in who I am in Christ to knock on a door, to walk on "unsafe streets," to have a door slammed in my face, to have someone hang up the phone, to be yelled or cussed at for the sake of my Savior?!

Anyway, I am back to blogging, back to thinking, and promise not to talk about politics too much... after all I am just as tired of it as most of you are!

PS - if ya get an extra chance today... pray for my brother... he is working! Our God is big enough to protect him!

Saturday, November 3, 2007

missing in action

To my readers:

I am SO sorry this week has been so blank! As I mentioned a week ago or so, the political season is in high gear. I have worked more hours this week than the two weeks prior (both of those were over 50 hours). I hope to return to regular posting after the vote on Nov. 6. Until then,.... please feel free to check out my family and friends blogs as they are on the side of my page... mom, Jonathan and Jenifer happen to be my favorite becasuse the are my family and I love them so much....

the others are great friends of mine... read and enjoy...

Julia